dedication, perseverance, self-discipline

To put the race in perspective two months later is fairly simple.  I had two things going against me, the first being that on race morning it was cold (27 degrees) and the second was that my training had not been what I had wanted due to struggling to adjust to issues with the heat in Las Vegas.  The second issue was the biggest problem for me as hindsight tells me that I wouldn't have made it more than about 15 miles on pace even in ideal conditions as my fitness was not what I was hoping it would have been.  As it happened, it was cold (I had not stepped outside in temps colder than 50 degrees in months) and I was not dressed appropriately.  I was tight from the very beginning of the race, and I never loosened up as it was honestly too cold for me.  So, I ended up only staying on pace for about 6 miles, at which point I made the conscious decision to slow down in hopes that I would loosen up a bit at a slower pace, and thus be able to finish faster.  However this did not work, and I was almost a minute and 20 seconds off pace by the halfway mark.  I decided at around 14 miles that I would drop out, and by 16 miles I was no longer trying to run fast, as I was simply trying to decide how long I would run before stopping.  I was still in the money, but knowing that my only goal in going to this race was to qualify for the trials and that was not going to happen I felt that it would be a smarter choice for me to not finish so as to not destroy my body in an effort to break 2:30.

So, basically this race comes down to me simply not being in good enough shape to run a fast marathon, and the cold temperatures only served to make the situation worse.  The good thing for me is that being in Las Vegas I will be able to get more high quality workouts in during the winter than in Provo, as there wont be snow on the ground.

I also had a very good experience with the people that picked me up after I dropped out of the race.  I was talking to them in the van as they drove me back to the starting line and they asked me why I had chosen this particular marathon.  I was about to spout off my generic response about wanting a fast flat marathon at which to qualify for the Olympic Trials, and the thought came to mind that I should be not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.  So, instead I told the the real reason I went to Indianapolis, being that I am not willing to run a marathon on Sunday in order to keep the sabbath day holy, with the more generic response really being more of a secondary reason for picking Indy.  I received a very positive response as the couple driving the van started to quote scripture affirming that they believed the same way as I do.  I ended up having a nice conversation with them before they dropped me off, and once we returned to the starting line the driver offered a word of prayer.  It was a nice way to end an otherwise disappointing experience.