Vitamin D

After a year in the great white north it's time for some natural Vitamin D. And not the kind that comes in a bottle!  The signals have grown louder in recent weeks: pale and pasty. That's not a good look for me.  It was a great summer in Toronto with lots of heat and sunshine but nothing beats the sunshine, white sand and warm Caribbean in Negil.  Now thay'd real Vitam D and it begins this Thursday.

Rondel Village on the beach in Negril is home base for Reggae Marathon.  It's about a mile and a half from the start/finish area at Long Bay Beach Park.  That makes for a comfortable pre-race warm up walk Saturday morning.  Rondel Village is an intimate resort made up of a number of 3 story buildings nestled on a gorgeous stretch of white sand beach.  The place is lush with tropical vegitation and the walk along the paths to the beach is like walking through a jungle.

Getting settled in at Rondel Village takes no time:  Quick check in, bag dropped off in my room, change into swimming trunks then down to the beach.  That's day one. For the rest of the time it's early morning running, breakfast in the beachside restaurant then sun, sun, sun... Premium Grade Vitamin D!

Breakfast, lunch and dinner taken in leisure at the outdoor restaurant just steps from the beach. They have a great breakfast menu at the restaurant but it's the same every morning:  Blue Mountain Coffee and Ackee and Saltfish.

We talk and talk and talk...and not just about running.  With active families and lifestyles, it takes time to catch up on all the goings on over the past year.  Yeah we have social media but it's better face-to-face.  And what makes Rondel Village even better?   No shoes no problem...bathing suit morning till night.

Gotta go now...back to the Vitamin D.

Until next time...
ThatRunninGuy

Hot sauce and running

I love hot sauce.  I love running.  Hot sauce + running = Pain!

A few weeks back as we were leaving the hall after Navin and Daivati's wedding, I stopped at a vendor and impulse bought some Guyanese hot sauce.  It had the magic words, 'Scotch Bonet' on the lable...I was sure it would be flavourful.  Sally shook her head with a smile and a shrug...she knew better than to talk me out of it.

We 'Jamaican born's' know a thing or two about hot sauce.  Scotch Bonet is our specialty.  There's even a Jerk place in Jamaica called Scotchies!  In the past I've made my own hot sauce by grinding up some Scotch Bonet's with vinegar and oil.  Not too flavourful I confess, but packed the heat!  I love my hot sauce!

As I've gotten older, become 'Seasoned' as my friend, Dan notes about aging, I've become less tolerant of hot sauce.  Say it ain't so!  Alas it's true.  My taste buds love a little hot sauce with just about everything...drives Sally crazy!  My stomach however not so much.  And my lower digestive tract is positively 'anti hot sauce'.  And that's where hot sauce meets running.  And the hot sauce is winning!

So I tried a little...OK a lot...of this hot sauce from hell on some rice and chicken.  I should have exercised caution immediately.  While it was flavourful, there was a nasty little bite of heat that I ignored.  How bad could it be?  The next morning on what was to be a long slow run (in preparation for Reggae Marathon of course) Jan's Hot Pepper rose up and bit down hard.  Actually, and without being too gross, it had slid down and announced that it wanted out.  I cut my run short and made a hasty retreat home cursing every step...and every drop of hot sauce I had so eagerly slathered on the day before.

Since then I've been much more ginerly in using this hot sauce.  And more strategic:  No hot sauce the day before a long run.  No need to tempt the running gods a second time...they may not allow me enough time to find refuge.  I still like my hot sauce but I love running!

Until next time...
ThatRunninGuy

Nothing to say

I've got nothing to say about running this week. Nada.  I'm all talked out about telling running stories and recounting personal bests.  My personal best in the 10K happened nearly 25 years ago!  I'm not tired of running...just talking about it.  I can hear Sally rejoicing!

But it's hard not to talk about running.  Every run brings new challenges and experiences.  How was my breathing?  Will that twinge I felt in my knee develop into something serious?  Can I really enjoy a run when I've got a chest cold? Those are important questions that my running friends deal with regularly and that matter to runners.  Do I retire these comfortable but well past their prime running shoes for a new pair.  It seems silly to my non-running friends because the answer is obvious:  Yes!

I've got nothing more to say, so for now I'll say...nothing!  Enjoy!

Until next time...
ThatRunninGuy

Navin, Larry, Chris, Dan

Navin, Larry, Dan and I meet up again at Reggae Marathon in just over 4 Mondays from now.  After a couple of years where I wasn't sure I'd even make it, the annual trek to Negril, Jamaica, is now firmly on my calendar.  This year makes it 8 consecutive!

That's us from Reggae Marathon 2015 boasting of a total of 22 Reggae Marathons under our collective belts.  If you're doing the math, Reggae Marathon 2016 will take the total up to 26!  So in just over a month, all we have to do it run.  Looking forward to it!

Until next time...
ThatRunninGuy