I ran to school this morning. I ran a "half mile" at marathon pace during the run just to get a feel for pace during the marathon, and to try and stay relaxed. It was windy as always, and the distance is approximate, so times don't mean much, but I wanted to go no faster than 2:40, and with the wind I thought 2:45-2:50 was more appropriate. I also didn't want to artificially inflate my time by looking at my watch midway and then speeding up if it looked like I was running too slow, so I did not look at it until I finished. I felt very relaxed, and ended up running a 2:47, which made me happy. In fact I felt very positive about things this morning. Part of it comes from a running quote my dad sent me yesterday, but also because I was thinking and Ether 12 came to mind where it says:
"I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." (v.6)
"For if their be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith." (v.12)
"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make the weak things become strong unto them." (v.27)
These words give me so much comfort. I know that an OTQ time is within my reach. I know that I have put in the work, and that by the grace of God I can run under 2:19:00 in a few weeks, but I must show my faith first, as it is not until after the trial of my faith that miracles will happen. Now, I do not want to appear arrogant and proclaim that I have the faith, thus I will run an OTQ. Nor do I want to trivialize the things of God and assume that it is in his best interest to aid my running performance, thus helping me to run an OTQ, as I know that spiritual things spoken of scripturally and temporal things are in decidedly different realms. Nevertheless, these words bring comfort to my mind, as recently I have been weighed down with worries and mind games, wondering if I can really run an OTQ. My mindset will be different in these coming weeks because of this, as I truly feel that if I do qualify for the Olympic Trials that it will be through the grace and aid of the Almighty, and I need to have the faith to allow that to happen.
PM: I ran home from school in 1:03:17.
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