Week 6

When we left Madison for Aruba a little over two weeks ago it was still winter. The day we got on the plane it was 6 degrees at 5:30 a.m. When we arrived home from our trip the weather had changed from winter to pre-Spring. The temperatures this week have been in the 40s and it's been raining but what a joyful shift from below freezing.

This morning I ran 13 miles, which is the farthest I have ever run or even imagined I might run in my life. I only began running two years ago and it still blows my mind how many miles I've put on since then and how good I feel about what I'm doing. It's amazing what can change in two year!

Since I began this marathon training program on the first of February I have run in just about every possible weather situation. In February I did 4 miles in a snowstorm - one of those blustery, cold and dry storms with high winds and tiny sharp flakes of snow. "This is good," I thought, "once I make it through this I can make it through anything." "Nothing can stop me now."

Last week in Aruba I ran in very hot temperatures with some humidity. I sweat like I've never sweat before in my life. I reminded myself that it's entirely possible for the day of the race at the end of May to be incredibly hot, in fact three years ago they had to call off the Madison Marathon because of the heat. So, I decided that it was good that I had at least one week of runs in hot temperatures to remember the importance of keeping hydrated and to remember the feeling of running in the heat. (This is easy to forget in Wisconsin in the winter!)

This morning I conquered yet another weather challenge - it was a chilly 40 degree morning with wind and rain! Again, it's entirely possible for May 30th to dawn and for this to be the forecast for the day. You never know what Spring will bring in Wisconsin.

So, I think I've run in every possible weather condition and I know that no matter what I can keep going. It's good to know that the weather, although it may make the race less pleasant, will not stop me from running and doing my very best. In fact, there is a greater sense of accomplishment for me in gutting it out in the cold or the heat or the rain than running only when it's sunny and warm.

I am learning through this process to take the weather as it comes, to not let it keep me from doing what I want to do. I am also challenging myself to find the good in every weather situation even if that good is that it tested me and I was up to the test.

There were good elements to the run this morning besides just finishing it. The earth smells fresh and clean, the birds are singing away and there are so many more of them, and it's very clear that spring is on its way. After three months of cold and dark this is good news no matter how hard it rains or how cold the spring winds blow.

Speaking of the cold and rain, I have noticed this week that all of the global community's and the Haitian government's efforts to shelter the people of Haiti before the coming rainy season have largely been in vain. Too many people are still living in makeshift tents in camps without adequate sanitation. I fear a second disaster, this time one of disease and flooding. What is the holdup? Why aren't people at least getting tents or temporary houses?

And so this too puts my running into a different perspective. I choose to go out, with adequate clothing and gear, to run in the cold and the rain. When I finish that run I know I have a warm and comfortable home to return to, plumbing, a hot shower, dry clothes. No matter how uncomfortable I get on the run, that discomfort ends easily as soon as I head for home. But people who are living under blankets strung up with pieces of rope and tied to who knows what don't have anywhere to go to get dry and warm when it rains. This is wrong. It's a tragedy. It's why I'm so glad I am Running for Haiti.

Please pray for the Haitian people, for their government, for all who are trying to do the right thing. Let us cry out to God for justice on their behalf. And let us each do what we can for them and for all the other people in need in our city, in our country and around the world. God expects nothing less from us, we should expect nothing less from ourselves.