Image is Everything

Thanks to the Tribe James blog for this one!

The Long Haul

I did it.  I registered for the Minnesota Half Marathon, which means that I will be running 13.1 miles on August 4, 2012.  Actually, according to my training plan I will run 13 miles two times before that, so it should be a piece of cake!

The reality is I am not a very patient person.  And the sort of training plan I am following looks like 22 weeks of training in patience.  I guess that's what running the longer distance will be about for me.  Patience.  Endurance.  Perseverance.  All of that should be good for me!

I have now added an exercise ticker at the bottom of the blog, just a little lady who is chugging along to a 700 mile goal.  I can't even think about how far that seems right now, though I think it is a realistic goal for me this year, Lord-willing, if I stay healthy (and don't suddenly begin to hate running).  I'll try to keep it updated, and if you think of it you can pray for me along the way.  Patience.  Endurance.  Perserverance.  And most of all, dependence on God in this and all that I try to do!

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
(Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV)

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The Plunge: A Pictoral Review

Polar Bear Plunge: Dash & Splash

Tomorrow is the big day that Edwin, along with a team of coworkers, is taking the plunge into a hole in the ice of Lake Calhoun.  It's the Polar Bear Plunge: Dash & Splash, a fund-raising event for The Special Olympics.  There is a 5K run (which I am joining in for) - the Dash - followed by lots and lots of possibly crazy folks (not including me!) taking the plunge - the Splash - into a hole in the ice on the lake.  And if you are thinking that water will be freezing (literally!), you are exactly right!  The outdoor temperature will be somewhere between 20 and 30, the water temperature will be hovering around 32, and the trip to the warming tent afterwards will be slippery, icy, and don't-touch-your-frozen-hair-or-you-might-break-it-off-just-plain-freezing-cold!

I will post some pictures next week.  It's sure to be a spectacle, with famous, or at least locally famous, folks like Christian Ponder and Tim Mahoney, and who knows who else.  All freezin' for a reason.  Should be fun!

Oh What a Beautiful Morning...

One thing is for sure: the weather predictors around here have only a tiny advantage over the rest of us.  They are really only sure whether it will snow or rain or be sunny about five minutes before it happens.  This winter, looking out the window is about as helpful as checking the weather forecast.

That said, there are quite a few members of my family who were overjoyed to wake to the weatherman's miscalculation of the rain/snow line.  And although that meant some shovelling, we've had so little snow this winter that even on the eve of March they were happy to welcome it.

I have to say that this mild Minnesota winter has been a real blessing to me.  Last winter and its 144 days of snow cover wore me down to say the least.  This winter it hasn't been really cold (I have lived here nearly 13 years, mind you) for very many days in a row.  We've had a few below zero mornings, but we have had so many days in the 30's it's hard to believe.  And there has been hardly. any. snow.  Amazing!  It's a drought that started in the summer and has continued through the winter, which is certainly unusual in our, albeit limited, Minnesota experience. 

And I couldn't be more thankful.  Just a little rest from the pain that winter is, and I can wake up and be happy to see a big pile of snow.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
(Matthew 11:28-30 ESV)