A few weeks ago we went on a last minute cruise! Sometimes you just need an impulsive break from it all! Nothing better than a husband with the same Gypsy genes as me who likes to read travel websites! He found a good deal and I had a few days off from work! Voila! Sounds like a #roadtrip to me! We boarded the Royal Caribbean Enchantment of the Seas on Friday afternoon right in the middle of our marathon training schedule! We packed our running gear along with our fancy dinner dress up clothes! No problemo!
Shortly after we boarded we settled into our stateroom easily! At the Captain's announcement we headed promptly to Deck 5 Muster Station 7 for the mandatory life jacket safety drill! For the record we are old pros at that! We spotted the running track with a big sign that said NO JOGGING on this deck! What??? Why not? We went thru the motions of life jacket training, returned our life jackets to our stateroom & headed out to find our Saturday morning 10 mile running route! Deck 10 around the pools looked like the place to be! We took a casual stroll as the ship set sail! Ahhhhh. Stress be gone!
I set the alarm for 6:45am! I know. Crazy. Who gives up the most peaceful drifting at sea slumber to run around in circles on a cruise ship for 10 miles? Well we do some crazy stuff sometimes! That's how we roll!
Saturday morning up & at 'em! We were ready! The sun was just beginning to rise. The breeze from the ocean was perfect! Of course we were not the only runners so apparently we aren't that crazy! Good to know.
My Math lovin husband counted out the mileage equation. 4 laps equals 1 mile. 40 laps equals 10 miles. I already felt like a hamster running on that little squeaky wheel! But the scenery was bliss so I voted we should run every long run on a cruise ship from now on! And I voted by proxy for Johnny too just in case he didn't vote! He's such a procrastinator! Seriously it was an absolutely perfect morning!
Good Morning Enchanment of the Seas!
We kept a really good run/walk pace for the first 4 miles. The Windjammer Cafe suddenly came alive with the smell of coffee and bacon! Time for the sunrise breakfast cruisers! We headed to the Park Cafe on Deck 9 for a 'water stop' & an energy snack. Fresh fruit was plentiful! Nice!
Miles 5. Halfway there! The Windjammer filled the ocean air with the sweet aroma of maple syrup! The waffle lovers were awake! Mmmmmmm. Nothing like waffles as incentive to get it done!
By mile 6 we had a fan club! The pool chairs were out & the early sunbathers & book worms were beginning to stake a claim on their spots for the day! As we made our way around the track we heard Good Morning! Way to go! You guys are looking good! A cheer squad at sea! We also had several people ask us why were we running so many times around? The usual folks that think runners are nuts! It was fun to tell them we were training to run a marathon 26.2 miles! They never really understand that!
Miles 8 , 9 & 10 were tough. We were really feeling our sea legs! The wind had picked up & we were running against the gusts. The waves were getting bigger too! The sun was full force & hot. Deck 10 was the place to be! The pools were open and the fun party music was blaring! It was hard to run & not give in to the Electric Slide & Cupid Shuffle! To the right to the right to the left to the left. Now kick now kick! You can't do it when you are running! We had fun singing along! Good good times!
We celebrated our imaginary Finish Line with a big high five! A few people clapped & cheered for us!
Back to our spot in the cafe on Deck 9 for food! Breakfast was delicious! We had a table with an ocean view! Fresh coffee is just better at the ocean! We headed back to our stateroom to change clothes then spent the rest of the morning at the pool and hot tub! After a short recovery nap we spent the afternoon in the shopping district of Nassau Bahamas. The only money we spent was at Starbucks! It was a fun day.
We spent the evening in the same place we spent the morning. Deck 10. But this time we found a few lazy chairs propped our feet up & watched the beautiful sunset. We did it! 10 more marathon training miles in the books. 10 miles at sea! xoxo Life is good.
peace love & Grandmary
