The Top 10 Running Songs from my mis-spent Youth

Overnight camping on the hike up
Blue Mountain Peak, Jamaica

Or should I call this post, 'Songs that have running in the lyrics that I can remember from my mis-spent youth'.

To be clear, I was not a runner back in university, college, high school or grade school.  In Jamaica I went on a number of hikes with my classmates while at Campion College.  At high school in Canada I tried Cross Country running for a fall semester at Clarkson Secondary School.  I loved the hiking...didn't like the cross country running so much. I remember one miserable run through muddy fields just north and west of Highway #10 and Dundas Street...it was a cold, drizzly fall afternoon:  "I moved to Canada from warm Jamaica to do this?"

I loved music though.  Hard rock which of course might seem odd since I grew up in Jamaica and was exposed to Reggae early on.  Even though I wasn't into running back then, I'm amazed with the 'running' references.  Check out my top 10 running songs:

1. 'Running back to Saskatoon', The Guess Who.  While on vacation in Canada in 1967 I found a 45 RPM disc lying in a mall parking lot.  I picked it up and despite the scratches it was the Guess Who!  True story.  I already knew 'American Woman' but this song was catchy and oh so exotic.
2. 'Running on Empty', Jackson Brown.  Just a catchy tune.  I really don't know any other Jackson Brown songs and am not a fan.  I just loved this sone.
3. 'Ramble On', Led Zeppelin.  I'm still a huge Led Zeppelin fan.  Which is incongrous given the fact that I grew up in Jamaica and was exposed to Reggae early on.  For some reason I loved heavy metal and Led Zeppelin was the best at it.  For me this is the best ever Led Zeppelin song...it helps that it refers to Lord of the Rings as well.
4. 'Race with Devil on Spanish Highway', Al di Mineola.  Fusion-Jazz;  Jazz-Rock...no matter what you called it, Al di Mineola was and still is a master of the guitar.  This is one of his best.
5. 'Magic Carpet Ride', Stepenwolf.  OK, this really isn't a song about running but what would a Top 10 list without Stepenwolf.
6. 'Long Distance Runaround', Yes.  I saw Yes live at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.  Floor seats to boot!  They played 6 songs in 3 hours.  This was one of the highlights.  
7. 'Downpressor Man', Peter Tosh.  Busted!  As I grew out of my teen years...and after living in Canada for a number of years...I 'discovered' Reggae.  This is one of my favourites.
8. 'Born to Run', Bruce Springsteen.  I'm not a Springsteen fan.  This is a masterpiece.  Period!
9. 'It Keeps you Running', Doobie Brothers.  I still am a big Doobie Brothers fan (and no it has nothing to do with the alternative meaning of 'Doobie'.  I love a ton of Doobie Brothers songs...this one because it has running in its title.
10. 'Run Like Hell', Pink Floyd. Ahhh...by the time this track came on the 'LP', we were usually quite mellow...running was the last thing on our minds.

True confession:  I really didn't have a mis-spent youth.  I stayed out of serious trouble for the most part...my Grand Mother called me 'Mischevious'.  And I met and made friends with guys who are now my best friends.  Must have been the music.

That's my list.  What's yours?

Until next time...

ThatRunninGuy

Training for Reggae Marathon December 7 in Jamaica

It started with a 10K.

30 years ago the goal was to finish a 10K run.   It was called the Speedy Baycrest 10K and it was flat rectangular route in Toronto's North West.  By the time I ran this race, my first ever, I'd been running consistently for about 6 months.  I'd never run the distance.  I figured I could tough it out.  I was wrong.  Not only did I start too fast, I had the wrong clothes (cotton shorts and t shirt) and running shoes that were way past their best-before-date.  I finished.  Well over an hour.  But I finished!  And I was hooked on racing.

Fast forward a few years:  racing through the streets of Toronto nearly every second weekend in 10K races that were the rage back then.  Finishing medals were not popular then, T Shirts were.  I amassed quite the collection of Q107/Coors Light branded shirts...thankfully that have long ago been re-cycled.

A few years later I ran into (pardon the pun) longer distance races the first of which was the Bread & Honey 15 Miler in Streetsville.  Back then we ran along roads north and east of Streetsville Highschool (where the event started and finished) that were farmland. A few weeks ago I drove through the neighbourhood...when did all those houses get built?

I ran a few Half Marathons after that but was fearful of the full Marathon convinced that I could never finish the distance.  That proved correct in my first attempt through the streets of Toronto.  Not until Reggae Marathon in 2009 did I finish my one and only full Marathon.  Reggae Marathon 10K in Negril, Jamaica on December 7.

Waiting and waiting...then waiting some more for
my big Finish at Reggae Marathon 2009.

So while I'm a long-time runner or 'Seasoned' as my friend Dan Cumming often reminds me, I prefer the shorter distance race events such as the 10K. And after running the Sporting Life 10K this past spring, my first race after the broken foot, I've found my running sweet spot once again.  And that brings me to my training for the

I'm obsessed about speed.  Finishing time actually.  I blame that on Dan Cumming who said a good goal would be to finish the Reggae Marathon 10K in the same time as my age:  I'm 55 so that would translate to 55 minutes.  I don't like that one bit so I've been training...hard!  Speedwork and hills the past few weeks with increased weekly frequency in the upcoming 2 weeks before the taper.  So far I've been injury-free so 'touch wood', I should burn up the course in Negril.  I've got a few more pounds to loose as well so the combination of intense workout and lower weight should 'git er dun'.  Plus, I'll need to look good on the beach in my bathing suit.

So if you see me on the streets of Etobicoke racing early morning, don't honk...it'l break my focus.

Until next time...

I missed running in the Fall this year

Walking/Running/Cycling Tree Covered Trail along the
Humber River taken by Sally on her walk last Sunday

Where did Fall go?

I look forward to the transition from summer running to fall running every year. It seems I missed it this year.  Only last week I was running in short sleeves and short tights.  Then overnight it turned to Fall!  

Where we live in Central Etobicoke we enjoyed greenish leaves on the trees until last week.  But with recent daily highs in the single digits Celsius and early morning lows hovering around zero, the leaves have changed colour and fallen! Almost time to start looking out for black ice! And north of Toronto last week there was snow!  Negril and Reggae Marathon December 7 can't come soon enough!

But that's still the future.  There are things I like about running in the fall and I'm sorry to have missed them this year:

• I'm not wearing a toque yet.  That I save for the below freezing temperatures that are coming.  
• Frosty breath!  I love seeing my breath in the cool morning air.  This must have something to do with growing up in a warm climate...winter seemed so exotic.
• Light fleece.  I know the heavier fleece is coming but for temperatures above freezing the lighter weight gear makes me feel like a Gazelle when I'm running.
• Running in the dark.  I love it!  Maybe this goes back to my early running days when at 240 lbs running in the dark so no one would see me was the reason I went out early.
• Watching the leaves fall.  After the leaves change colour, there is a period when they are still on the branches and haven't fallen yet.  I especially love running then.

Soon winter running will be here along with that the icy sidewalks encrusted with salt. Yuck!  Then the sadness of missing fall running this year will really sink in.

Until next time...

ThatRunninGuy

Anatomy of a Run

4:30 am comes early in my house.

That's the time I get up most week-day mornings to go running.  For some crazy reason, I love running in the dark (Sally says I'm 'in the dark' most days but I digress).  I like the quite and almost total lack of traffic early morning. I should clarify though:  I get up at 4:30 am...I don't go running until nearly 6 am.  That's one of the things about growing older:  it takes me nearly an hour to 'go running':

• I don't like to run on a full stomach.  Unless I'm going for a long run, I don't eat anything before heading out.  I drink water though...I sweat a lot even in the winter so having to stop for a 'bio break' isn't a problem for me.
• The first thing after I get up is to check the weather.  Unless there's been an ice storm overnight, I'm going running.  I am sensitive to temperature though so I check that via my handy Smartphone App (The Weather Network).
• Once geared up:  In the summer, short tights and a technical T shirt;  in colder conditions long tights and layered tops, I walk down the four flights of stairs from our apartment.  That's it for pre-run limbering up.  I have never liked stretching before a run:  something about straining cold muscles.  
• With a nod to my age, I walk the first 100 metres before breaking into a jog.  Most mornings it's only a few minutes before my breathing normalizes and I pick up the pace.  That's a good running day...some days it's 20 minutes in before things settle down.  On those mornings I ask myself, "This is fun?"
• I run about 40 minutes 5 days a week now with a couple of days off.  My 'long run' is usually a Saturday or Sunday up around 75 minutes.  After running and racing and training for events most of the past 30 years, I really only have one 'race' that matters:  the annual pilgramage to Negril each December for Reggae Marathon. 
• I don't run with music.  I like my 'alone time' while running and when all goes well just enjoy an easy pace.  I do solve all the problems of the world while running though...unfortunately I never seem to remember the solutions after.  I know my head is clear though...that's all that matters.
• I sprint for the final 500 metres.  OK, an exaggeration but I do pick up the pace as I near the finish.  Old habit...I like to finish in a flat-out sprint. I'll never be Usain Bolt but it feels good trying.
• Post-race I walk for about 10 minutes to cool down.  I don't stretch after running either...the walk seems to be enough.
• Since I run early in the morning and don't eat before I run I come back famished. Lots of water plus hot cereal does the trick.  That's the plan anyway...I usually end up with a cereal bar.

That's the anatomy of my typical daily running routine.  Well, it's exciting to me!

Until next time...

ThatRunninGuy