It's been a while since I have written a blog on here.  I was going through a rough time for a while right after I qualified for regionals.  I got sick the Sunday after the race and was sick for like 2 straight weeks which affected my conference race significantly and brought down my confidence.  So after my race I sat down and just let out a big sigh and tried to look at the positives.  I knew I still had one race left and I needed to make the best of that.  I was tired, my body had never been pushed this long.  Usually I didn't start track workouts until February and we started in December.  I knew that if my Regional race was going to go well then I would have to get healthy and get my confidence back.  So the next 2 weeks that is what I worked on.

I was able to run decent workouts the first few days of the week after conference which let me know that I hadn't lost a whole lot, but I still did not feel like I had.  I didn't have all my strength back yet.  Well the next week came along and my workouts improved and I started getting more and more confident all the while getting better physically as well.  Then the day before we left for Regionals we had a workout and I had a very rough time.  This made me nervous but I was still able to finish it even with the breathing troubles I was having so I didn't dwell on it too much.

Now that I'm here in Nebraska I get to see just how healthy I am.  We did a very light workout yesterday and I have to say that I felt great, I had no troubles at all.  So now here I am the day before my race trying to convince myself that I am in the greatest shape I have been in all year, and I truly think I am. 

Tomorrows outcome doesn't matter to me.  Whether I get first or last as long as I compete I will be happy.  In all the big races I have gone to this year I have worried too much about placing that I lost focus on competing.  The races that I have done the best in were the ones I was just competing just trying to beat the guy next to me.  Thats how I'm going into this race, just beat the man next to you.

I think this will be easier as well because there are 2 heats of the steeplechase.  1 heat has 14 runners in it and the other has 5 in it.  I'm in the one with 5.  Most people would be disappointed by this but I think this is the way God set it up because it gives me the best chance to compete.  I can see all of my competition and it will be a much tighter race this time, I won't get lost or overwhelmed in a pack because there really will be no pack.  I am just going to stay focused on the leader and go after him the entire race and take a look at the time when I cross the finish line.  

God has interesting ways of doing things.  Things are not going to be perfect all the time.  For a while it seemed like everything was perfect and I was trusting God just like I should.  Then when things went bad I turned to myself to try to accomplish things, and that didn't work out so well.  He has a great way of humbling us and he knows our hearts.  I have realized this and I have came back to the right place.  I just hope that whatever happens this weekend I give god Glory.  I want another race just like my 1500 last year at the state meet.  That was the first race that I truly let God work in me.  I felt terrible before the race and didn't believe that I could win but I was going to go out and try, and I honestly felt him guide my moves in that race.  My move with 600 to go was completely inspired by God and he held off the competition just enough to allow me the win.  

There will be good times and bad times, but a true athlete will endure through both, and a true athlete will take the best out of his defeats.  I'm not saying I'm the best but I do believe that I am an athlete and I have a competative heart, and the lows in my sport are hard to take and brush off, but I know that if I am to get better I can't dwell on the past.  I have to look forward and do what I need to to get better and be the best that I can be.

-Jake Keyser