We were recipients of the Miami version of a Fall cold front this week. I came outside to a 48-degree morning, with a formidably-distanced run ahead of me. Though I has the familiarity of being set to run a well-known route, at a distance I knew I could handle, I reminded myself that this run was a road game for me.

The road games of life are any situations in which:
Settings are not custom-fit to your liking (who likes running outside in the cold? Not me)
The setup may favor your opponents (such as facing an opponent on his/her home turf, where they’re more comfortable than you)
No one may be expecting much of anything from you (this is the athlete who tries out for the team where the coach, allegedly, already knows who (s)he wants on the roster, rendering the tryout a mere formality with no real implications)
People are actively hoping that you lose (the traditional road game that sports teams play every season)

I finished the run (silver lining: I sweat a lot less when it’s colder outside) and looked forward to thawing my numbed hands.
To be a champion in anything, you’re gonna have to win on the road.