Ship...

We're back on the ship.

My running was great in Chicago, even though the weather was terrible. It rained almost every day we were there. I did a 14 miler and a couple of 8 milers along with my normal 6 mile runs.

On the ship, running hasn't been easy. I caught a cold and it's hindered my running quite a bit.

Also, we're on a 2 week repositioning cruise. We're going from Miami to L.A. From L.A., we'll slide up to Seattle, which will be our home port until July.

The average age of the passengers on this cruise is 67 years old. That means, if there's a 2 year old, there's a 129 year old person on board to average the age out.

These are professional cruisers. A great many of them are staying on all the way through our first trip through Alaska. That means they'll be on for 28 straight days.

These people have been on cruise ships so often that they have their routines down pat. They all get up at 6am. Eat breakfast. Go to the gym. Walk on the treadmill (at a 1.0 pace) for 30 minutes. Head out to the pool. Eat lunch. Then head to the card room to play bridge. If they don't play bridge, they go to the library to nap.

It's tough finding an open treadmill. There's a constant rotation of passengers doing their mall walking in the gym.

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Home...

We're back in Chicago for 2 weeks.

The ship has gone into "Dry Dock". It's a procedure that happens every few years to a ship where they take it out of the water and do a complete maintenance on all aspects of the ship. They'll do a thorough cleaning and put down some new carpet and fix any nicks or blemishes that have come through the natural wear and tear that comes from shuffling 3,000 people on and off the ship every 7 days.

The ship we're on is fairly new and in really good shape so there's not a lot that needs to be done. It's more like a spring cleaning for them this time around.

It gives us 2 weeks off, which is fantastic.

I hit the running path yesterday and it was colder and gloomier than the sunny, hot runs I've been running the past few weeks.


And, I wouldn't have traded it for anything.

Running on that path is like putting on an old sweatshirt that you've owned for years. It feels soft, warm and comfortable and you never want to take it off.

I ran 6 miles at a 9:01 clip. I was sad when it was over.
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2 a days...

On Friday, I did something I've never done before. I ran twice in one day.

Now, I've worked out twice in a day before. When you work on a ship, you get bored.

There are only 5 or 6 TV channels and there's only so much MSNBC, FOX NEWS, and BBC World America you can watch. We do get ESPN, but it's the international version so there are a lot of Cricket and Rugby matches on.

So, you get bored and end up going to the gym twice in a day.

On Friday, I woke up early and ran 6 miles. After I showered, we got off the ship and had a great day wandering around Cozumel.


Here's our friend Kelsey, my wife Jeannie and I at one or our favorite restaurants. They had a crucifix made of cutlery!



After we got back on the ship, I got antsy and decided I would go back up to the gym to workout. The plan was to do some cross training and lift some weights, but when I got up there, I took a quick inventory of my body and my legs felt good. The energy in the rest of my body felt high so I wandered over to the treadmill. On the TV, one of the movie channels was showing Annie Hall. That'll keep my entertained for an hour, I thought.

I plugged in my headphones and ran 6 more miles.

Running twice in a day is something I've read about in magazines. Trainers encourage you to do that from time to time to build up strength in your legs. Usually, they say, you should break up your workout and do half your run in the morning and half your run in the evening.

In the five years I've been running, I've never done it. My legs feel pretty spent after a full 6 mile run, so doing any more mileage at night seems pretty crazy.

This felt pretty good though. I was very pleased with both runs and my recovery was routine. The next day I felt great.

The only downside?

Running twice in a day means, an extra shower in a day. Also means, twice as much dirty clothes. Workout clothes in the morning. Regular clothes throughout the day. Workout clothes in the evening. Regular clothes in the evening. Pajama's.

Excessive laundry aside, it was a great set of runs and I'm going to try to work in additional "2 a Days" throughout my marathon training.

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Beach Birthday...

Yesterday was my birthday and we went to the beach.  It was a blast.

I've never been to the beach on my birthday and since we were in Grand Cayman, it seemed like the perfect time to go.  

We got lots of sun and had lots of fun.

Now, here's the odd thing about our beach visit that relates to running.  

A few months ago I went to Fleet Feet and did a running test to make sure I was wearing the proper shoes.  The test proved that I'm a severe over-pronater when I run.  "You twist your ankle a lot when you walk and run, don't you?" the sales man asked.  He was absolutely right and I told him that was the reason I'd bought the Ravenna shoes I had purchased.  The Brooks shoes that I buy really help stabilize my feet and ankles when I run.  

Well, when we were on the beach, I ran in the sand to jump on the water and 5 steps in, completely twisted my ankle.  It's pretty tender today, but I still woke up, put a sleeve on it and ran 6 miles.  

Seriously, I'm used to twisting my ankle.  I'll put some ice on it tonight and run through it again tomorrow.  By Sunday, we'll be back home in Chicago and my ankle will be close to normal.