Am I a quitter or smart?

Being either a "quitter" or "smart" don't seem to be polar opposites to be in an either-or question. Usually one is considered to be "smart" or "dumb." Also, in a race, one would either keep going or quit.

Well, in last Sunday's Texas Trails 50K race in Huntsville, TX, I entered into the club of "quitters". I have been fighting a bit of an injury in the left glute/hamstring area just after finishing the Great Floridian Triathlon. My left leg just doesn't want to pick itself up correctly, and when I force it, it really hurts. Nonetheless, I started the day feeling OK; the starting gun went off, and away I went.

The first 10K brings you back to the start/finish line to cross the timing mat. As I crossed the mat and headed out for another 20K loop, I thought to myself how well I was doing considering my situation--the day was executing well.

Then at about mile 15 (according to my Garmin Forerunner 305), I tripped on root in the trail. Oh, well...I got up and suddenly tripped again, and again, and yet again. Inside of a single mile, I tripped six times!! It had to be that my injured leg was not picking itself up high enough. Funny thing was that I knew that and was consciously trying to lift it higher. The sixth time I tripped, I hit my knee pretty hard, and decided that to be "smart" I better quit. I proceeded to run/walk to the start/finish line at mile 19, and turned in my chip. I quit.

This is the first race I have ever quit. I could have finished, I had plenty of time to even walk the last 20K. But I was afraid I would hurt myself more that I was already hurting, so I figured I be smart and quit.

Therefore, it is not an either-or question. However, I still internally struggle with these questions: "Was I smart to quit? Or am I just a quitter?"