Overcoming Des Moines Half Marathon Setbacks

October 21—DES MOINES, Iowa. —Divine intervention has the power to humble us, especially when we try to control everything ourselves.

When we put all our faith in our own plans, God finds a way to remind us of His presence, often in the most unexpected ways. This is exactly what happened to me Sunday morning during the IMT Des Moines Half Marathon.

My original goal was to run 1:44 or 1:45, but I had to adjust that plan due to an injury to the inside of my right knee. Instead, I aimed for a pace of 8:20 per mile, hoping to minimize additional damage.

As I crossed the finish line in 1 hour, 48 minutes and 53 seconds – or 8:17 ppm – I knew that I didn’t get there through willpower alone. Divine intervention was at work.

Not only did I run injured from the start, but the KT tape I had applied to support my knee started to peel away barely 800 meters in.

But this little frustration was only the beginning.

Near the one mile marker, my Garmin GPS watch malfunctioned. The screen froze and then went black, showing only a blue triangle.

My carefully crafted running strategy, which relied on monitoring my pace and adjusting for altitude, was suddenly out of my control.

For a moment I panicked. Without my watch, how would I know when to push or when to save power?

The watch resumed tracking after about a minute and a half, but with one small difference: it switched to displaying my speed in miles per hour instead of my pace per mile. I didn’t know how to translate this data on the fly, so I had to accept that the next 12 miles would be run “blind”, relying entirely on feel.

It was an overwhelming moment for someone like me, who relies so much on data to manage a race. Looking back, I think this was the first divine intervention in this race because without my watch showing reliable data, the chances of me injuring myself further by pushing too hard decreased significantly.

As my emotions flared, I noticed my heart rate increasing. By kilometer 5, he had reached 185 beats per minute – a dangerous level to maintain this early in the race. I knew I had to find a way to calm down before things escalated.

Then the second wave of divine intervention hit, this time through music.

“Faithful (You Are)” by Life.Church Worship – sung by my friend Devon Goins – came on and the lyrics sank deep into my soul:

“You’re the reason I wake up this morning

Because your mercy will cover me today

And I will never give up

Because you fill my cup with praise.

“Everywhere I look, your love surrounds me

And the Holy Spirit fills the air…”

Suddenly, I looked around and felt a wave of calm come over me.

My problems weren’t as big as I made them to be because Jesus was there with me. I realized I should focus less on the faulty watch and more on the beautiful fall scenery around me.

But God wasn’t done with me yet.

Despite the calming influence of this song, I still had some lingering frustration.

Then, as if he knew what would speak to my heart, a song from “Descendants: Rise of Red” – a song I often sing with my daughter Ivy – started playing. The lyrics to “Life Is Sweeter” struck me in a different way:

“…Sometimes I make mistakes

And sometimes I burn the cake

But I still believe everything will be okay

“Because the sun shines a little brighter

When you take things a little more lightly

Everything will be fine…”

That’s when I realized how much pressure I was putting on myself.

The race didn’t have to be perfect, I just needed to take things a little easier. Ivy and my wife Kelsey were at home cheering me on and they would be proud of me no matter what.

This change in mentality was reflected in my body. My heart rate dropped significantly after this song, dropping as low as 30 bpm at times.

My stress disappeared, the kilometers flew by without problem. I felt strong until the final stretch where I started to get tired, but the most important thing is that I had fun.

As for my knee, the injury that I treated all week hardly bothered me during the race. It held up long enough for me to cross the finish line, and I give God all the credit for that strength.

Returning to Oklahoma, however, was a different story.

The pain in my knee was very bad, making even sitting in the car excruciating. At this point I suspect it is an MCL or meniscus problem.

Despite this pain, the weekend was not without joy.

In addition to the race, I got to spend time with my best friend Seth Olson, who I hadn’t seen since our trip to Minnesota in June.

Unfortunately, my future as a runner for the next few weeks is uncertain.

I’m supposed to run the TTCU Tulsa Run 15K this weekend, serve as pacer in the Kansas Half in Lawrence the following week, then tackle the Route 66 Half Marathon at the end of November. But at the moment, I don’t know if I will be able to cross one of these starting lines.

The thought of missing even one race is daunting, but I still hope I can recover in time.

At 29 years old, I know I have many years ahead of me if I make wise decisions now. It’s better to play for the long term and preserve my ability to run for years rather than push too hard and risk losing everything.

For now, I’m going to stay calm and trust God because:

“…When I think of freedom in Your goodness

It’s impossible for me to understand

I say yes to your plan

And I raise my hands

To praise You…”