Lemonade from Lemons

Lemonade from Lemons

I helped lead my men's small group this morning at 6:15. On the way to Perkins, I was thinking that it was a pretty cold morning. When I drove by a bank and the sign said it was two degrees above zero, my suspicion was confirmed. The same bank said -1 degree on my return trip home an hour and a half later. Not ideal running conditions.

I went home and threw on a pair of socks, two pairs of underwear, a pair of spandex tights, a pair of running pants, a short-sleeved Under Armor shirt, two long-sleeved performance shirts, a weather-proof outer layer, an Under Armor mask, a stocking cap, gloves, my trusty Asics Gel Nimbus--quite possibly the world's greatest running shoe, and my Garmin 305--100% more reliable than Maureen's internal GPS. By the way, that is a full load of laundry right there and I didn't even wash the shoes or the GPS. So I get to the lake and the trail is covered with two inches of fresh powder from yesterday's snow. Not ideal just turned bad.

Maureen and I planned to do our long run this morning as the weather is supposed to turn really bad. We completed our 20.25 mile journey a few hours later. God gave us lemon a lemon this morning, so we made lemonade.

I think we agreed that this was the most difficult twenty plus mile run either of us have done. The weather wasn't too bad because it wasn't windy. But, running on two inches of snow is kind of like running on a beach. It felt like we were running uphill the whole time. My thighs and buttocks are shot.

We were close to 8:00 minutes miles. A little faster at times; a little slower at times. Regardless, it was probably a 7:15 to 7:30 effort because of the snow.

I wasn't expecting much, but it was a great run.

Life is that way sometimes too. We are dealt a bad hand or a forced into a tough situation. We can't avoid such times in life. But our response seems to make all the difference. So when life throws a lemon at you--make lemonade!