Alaska Run

------- Aboard Sapphire Princess Cruise Ship

May 22 to May 29, 2011

First Run - Along The Coast of Vancouver Island.  At 5:30AM, went to the upper deck and ran around. It was cold, windy, wet and the ship was rocking from side to side. The cruise crew thought, I was crazy. A lap is about  third of a mile. Its a good distance considering all the obstacles, I had to go thru. I ran 2 miles.
I had to run/train because for the next 6 days, I will be eating a lot and I will run on June 5 in Ventura, CA.



Second Run - Toward Kitchican.  This time, I got smart. I ran around the aisle of the staterooms. Don't have to worry about being thrown overboard.  So as not to disturb the other passengers, I ran with no shoes(minimalist runner). After 3 miles, I felt pain on my calves.



Third Run -  After a tour/shopping at Kitchican downtown, a friend mentioned about the promenade deck. I scouted the deck and it's indeed a nice place to walk and run. There is a light traffic and a favorite deck for smokers. At around 3:00PM, I decided to run in spite of having just run in the morning and the pain on my calves. After 2 miles, I stopped running.  The pain is now unbearable and got worried as it might not heal before June 5.  

Fourth Run - Towards Victoria/Canada. After resting (no running) for 2 days, I ran 5 miles at about 6:30AM  at the promenade deck. Felt stronger and ran at faster pace with no pain.

Fifth Run - Along the Coast of Vancouver Island en route to Victoria. At 6:00AM, I decided to run on  a treadmill at the fitness center.  With music and TV, I ran 6 miles.  With the ship swaying from side to side, it's like running on rolling hills.

Final Run/Walk - This is the most challenging part of the run. Disembarkation,  immigration, TSA, transfer  and  boarding lines completed my work out/training while on cruise to Alaska.  Despite of  the running and walking, I gained 5 lbs. I have 5 days to get to my running weight of 132 lbs.