Training for the Reggae Marathon in Negril

I met Mike McCluskey last week to talk about our common passion of running. I came away inspired and motivated. Inspired by his dream of starting the Wasaga Beach Road Runners club (here is the current link: http://sites.google.com/site/wasagabeachroadrunners/) and motivated to begin training in earnest to finish my goal of finishing the Reggae Marathon in Negril December 5 (http://reggaemarathon.com/index.php). Mike's best piece of advice was that I didn't have to run the entire 42 km distance in training. He suggested a 30-something week training program that peaked with five-32 km runs and ended 3 weeks before the event. I know I don't have it absolutely correct yet, but, "I can do that"!

With all that positive energy, I went out for my first Long Slow Distance run on Sunday morning. It was NOT a morning that I wanted to climb out of my warm bed at 6:00 am to go for a long run. After a couple of warm days here in Wasaga Beach, Sunday morning dawned clear and COLD. Around 3 degrees Celsius.

Oh, and did I mention the wind? A stiff, cold wind was blowing from the north off the lake. That proved to be a bonus on the outbound leg, but I knew the return 6 km leg was going to be hell. It was.

So with my mind firmly set on the vision of crossing the finish line in Negril on December 5, I set out. I even met another person crazy enough to be out in the 'not-so-nice conditions'. Runners sure are nuts!

And as all long-time runners know from experience, highlights happen at any time. That morning I had two. First, I got to see a fabulous sunrise over Simcoe county. Wish I had my camera with me. Second, on my way back, running into the cold headwind, three young white-tale deer scampered across the road about 50 metres ahead of me. After that the final 2 km home was a breeze (bad pun I know).

Thanks for helping me with the motivation, Mike.

Some additional plugs:

• The Wasaga Beach Road Runners can also be found on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=62008668184. Cool logo. That is going to look great in Jamaica in December!
• And you can also follow me on facebook at the group, 'Run the Reggae Marathon' http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=62008668184#/group.php?gid=42928009310 (The image was designed by my very good friend, Tim Tobias http://www.timothyt.com/resume.htm