Are you afraid to fail?

Well friends, my marathon didn't quite turn out as planned. I finished the race, but missed my goal by about 45 minutes...

Was I disappointed? Yep, especially in the pain locker around mile 24...

Are there factors I could look to blame? Of course...

Could I look to shut this down and say never again? All too tempting...

However, I am glad I failed. I am glad that I put in the effort during a 6 month training block and learned about my body and what I was capable of. I am grateful for the struggle to learn about how my body responds to heat, humidity and cramping. I am honored that friends and family came out to cheer me on, and that two little Millers could have cared less about my time and were proud that their dad finished a Marathon. I pushed myself to grow, get uncomfortable and seek a challenge at a "busy" time in life when it would be easy to say "I don't have time for this." I am a better man for failing to hit my marathon PR.

Failure is our greatest teacher and life rewards those who step forward bravely. I may have "failed" in this instance, but I won in so many other ways. By the way, the next marathon is already scheduled for March of 2023. Time to apply the lessons and improve for the next race!