High Seas Running

New Years on the high seas

My wife and I decided that instead of gifts this year, we would give the family a cruise. Our girls are in college, with one graduating this spring. Once they graduate it will be a challenge to coordinate a vacation like this. If not now, when?

Treadmill Running at 21 knots

Being a runner, I had to run while I was on vacation. It wasn’t the most important thing on my mind, but I knew I had to get in a few miles.

The Disney Magic has a large spa area that I had to walk through to get to the gym. The gym looked a quarter of the space of the spa. Gym was free, spa was not.

The treadmills were in front with large windows over looking the decks below and out to sea. This would seem like an ideal way to run on a treadmill: the open sea before you.

Unfortunately I was too tall and could not see far. I did have a good view of the deck, which was rather boring.

When we were leaving the pier in Jamaica, I decided to go work out. What an experience.

As the ship changed directions my body weight shifted as well. With the side thrusters I shifted one way. When the ship moved forward, I shifted again.

Running at cruising speed

It may have been my imagination, but my weight shifted as the ship went “full ahead.” It felt like the bow dipped down and then came up again as the ship settled at cruising speed. For a few minutes it felt like I was running downhill and then a few minutes later there was a small incline.

As the ship turned to make its way out to sea, I continued to feel the fluctuations of my body weight.

I think it takes more than a few days to get your “sea legs.” I never really got my treadmill “sea legs.”

Fun with Garmin

On our last day at sea I decided to have some fun with my Garmin watch. One deck had low traffic and was set up for runners and walkers. I was told a lap was about 1/3 of a mile.

My watch quickly locked onto satellites and I was off for my sea jog.

1 knot equals 1.15078 miles/hour. Assuming the ship was cruising at 21 knots, we were moving at 24.166 mph.

I wanted to see how my running pace would look on my Garmin. I only ran around the ship twice, which should have been about 0.66 miles.

Garmin had me running 2.77 miles in 5:48 minutes! My pace was a blistering 2:05! My average moving speed was 28.8 mph. Take that Usain Bolt!

It was pretty hilarious when I looked at my watch.

I was probably running at a 9 minute pace, maybe less. I was on a cruise after all!

 

None of these numbers mean anything; the USOC wont be calling anytime soon, but it was a fun experiment.

Check out the two maps below. The first is a close of of the course I ran.

The wobbles are probably from when I was turning around on the ship.

The second map shows where we were in the Caribbean.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Castaway Cay 5K

Our last stop was Disney’s Castaway Cay in The Bahamas. I heard rumors that they had a 5K there for guests.

With the booming popularity of running it only made sense. The gym on the ship was much larger and had a lot more cardio equipment than our last cruise also.

On our first night out I went to Guest Services and signed up. Fantastic!

The morning we arrived in port they gathered the runners in one of the lounges. There were lots of families and people who did not look like runners.

There were about 80 people and it was easy to spot the runners. All week I had been looking at people’s shoes. Not everyone wears Brooks or Mizuno running shoes on vacation.

I struck up a conversation with a few guys who were runners. We were looking for water before the race. Disney had none! It was 85° and there wasn’t any stinking water! Mufasa would never let that happen. 😉

Pre-Race

They had everyone check in, get a bib and make sure they had their ship’s pass. When the time came they assembled us. At the exit we had our own lane to check out and disembark.

The race started about a mile from the ship and it was 85º. I thought they would use one of those trams to get us to the start. Nope. We walked a mile in 85º temps.

This was a cruise. I didn’t have a water bottle or power bar. You couldn’t fall down on the ship with out finding a place to get a drink of some sort. Who needed a water bottle?

I tried to eat a higher carb breakfast that morning. But who can resist breakfast sausage? I may have had an extra pastry for good measure.

At the start they lined us up. We only hung around for a few minutes before they let us go. Me and a few other guys tried to do some warm up jogging, but we didn’t have much time.

And they’re off!

I ran Boston in 2012 when it was 85º. This 5K came in at 3.03 miles, but they were the hottest 3.03 miles I have ever run! The humidity must have been 100%.

About 20 of us took the lead immediately. We wound down the bike path to the air strip. As we crossed the airstrip to the bike path on the other side, I could tell I was going to lose the lead pack. They looked too good and I felt too hot to keep up.

It was just a fun run.

I managed a respectable 7:11 pace for the first mile. At the entrance to the bike path loop they had their water stop set up. They said they had two water stops, but it was the same one twice. I never use a water stop for a 5K. It’s a 5K!

As I came out of the bike path loop I stopped for a cup of water, chatted with the Activities Director and had another cup. I then proceeded down the runway.

On the way back down the runway I made a second water stop. I grabbed a cup, joked with the Activities Director and had another cup. Then I ran the second loop of the bike path, but I ran it in the wrong direction! Oops!

Did I mention that it was freakin hot?

There were runners of all abilities and lack of abilities. When I was running down the runway some poor kid was hollering out like he was going to die. “Why am I doing this”, I hate running.”

I was concerned and amused all at the same time. No one dies at Disney! I could just imagine this kid’s dad telling him he was going to run a 5K. The kid may have even thought it was a good idea.

Running your first 5K in 85º is not a good idea. The kid probably had not trained and probably did not have the right clothes and shoes. I wasn’t properly prepared and I know what I’m doing!

My mile 2 and 3 splits are not bad when you consider that I stopped for drinks and a quick chat with the Activities Director twice.

 

I was impressed to see that they had a real timing clock for the race. The bibs didn’t have a timing chip and they didn’t have any awards. it was a fun run.

Everyone did receive a Disney “medal” and a nice bib.

My wife joked that it was the most expensive 5K I ever ran, but it did come with a free cruise!

Running on a cruise is a challenge. When you are in port you usually want to do things. Quite often these activities can involve walking, climbing or swimming. Sometimes you don’t really know how strenuous the next day may be.

While there is the urge to get in a few miles there is also the realization that the next day will be active. It’s a balancing act, kind of like walking on the ship itself.

Run well my friends!

Andy