My post trials thoughts.

Its been 13 days since the Olympic Trials and I have only run 3 miles since the very painful finish of the marathon.  Those 3 miles were run with a group of runners in Santa Rosa in conjunction with a very successful Steps Foundation Fundraiser.  I have no more planned runs until I run a couple of easy miles with the kids who will be at the ING Miami Marathon on Sunday.  They will have to take it easy on me as I am sure my form will be poor by that point.  My plan is to take 3 weeks completely off before beginning my preparations for the Olympic Marathon, which will take place on August 12th.
Reflecting back on the trials it was a very different marathon than any of my previous marathons.  Never had a felt so good in the final few days leading up to the race.  I was really pleased with how easy the first few miles felt.  In comparison to the Chicago Marathon, my effort level felt very easy for the opening miles and I was optimistic that I could maintain that opening pace throughout the race.

As in any marathon there were obstacles that came up along the way and things got increasingly hard as the race unfolded.  By the time Meb, Abdi and I shot free with a lap to go we were all hurting.  I hadn’t done a good job of finishing my bottles along the way as a result of some stomach issues I was having and so the dehydration and lack of calories was beginning to take its toll on me.  I have never felt like I did in the last three miles of the trials.  My energy was extremely low and I felt like I was beginning to have an out of body experience.  I was starting to get concerned that I may pass out.  I was glad I had a lot of people praying for me because it was these prayers and the thought of walking into the opening ceremonies at the London Olympics with Sara that got me to the finish line.

Looking forward, I have never felt so optimistic about a marathon as I do feel about the Olympic Marathon.  I have a strong since of destiny about this race.  I believe God has been preparing me until now for these next 7 months of training and for the race that will unfold on August 12th.  I am not sure exactly what the results will be but I know I will walk away from the games and this experience forever changed.

. Posted by Steps Foundation.