Runners in Paradise

We earned this medal by the end of the trip

Glenda and I are recently back from a well-timed vacation to the Western Caribbean (we missed the worst of the polar vortex).  It was a running cruise (more on that below) and while I felt like I might  need a vacation from my vacation when it was over,  it was a great trip and I want to share (even if I'm about a month late in getting it posted)!

First about running cruises....Marathon Expeditions (https://www.runningcruise.com/) does a variety of cruises every year. The regular yearly destinations are Alaska, the Caribbean and Hawaii. The cruises offer not only a great cruise experience and runs in every port, but also great camaraderie and just plain fun.  They are hosted by Coach Jenny Hadfield and her husband John "The Penguin" Bingham (one of my running heroes...but I digress).  This was our third cruise with John and Jenny...First Alaska in 2017 to celebrate our 20th anniversary (after which we were hooked) and then 2018 Hawaii and 2019 Caribbean.  We have already signed up for 2020 Caribbean and have talked about Alaska again at some point in the future. 

Arrival Day...Miami

We arrived in Fort Lauderdale on Friday morning. After collecting our luggage and finding lunch, we headed to Miami.  I had not managed to get my swim in on Thursday, so we started poking around and found the Flamingo Park Pool...a perfect lap swimming venue.  It was so nice to swim outside. 

Swimming in the Flamingo Park Pool

We were able to sign in with the group that afternoon, get our bibs for the weeks' races...and probably best of all reconnect with Cathy and Pam from Cruise and Vacation Authority (truly amazing folks with the all the answers and a sense of fun), and of course Coach Jenny Hadfield and John "the penguin" Bingham.  John and Jenny are the best hosts ever!  Once we were signed in...we felt like we were "home" among friends and looking forward to a great week. 

That evening we had a cocktail party kick-off and the next morning a run in the Tropical 5k (part of the Miami Marathon Festivities)  These pre-cruise events were optional...but very well attended. Naturally we had themed skirts for the race.  Our 2019 Caribbean Cruise shirts showed the beach, so we added the ocean with our fish-covered skirts. 

Race morning in our themed outfits

Race morning was cool and rainy, which doesn't sound ideal, but is better than warm and humid.  I followed my race plan and tried to enjoy the views of the cruise ships as we ran across the causeway. I was happy with my finish.  It was a great start to a week of running shenanigans.

This is my finish picture with the classic..."look my antiperspirant worked!" pose. :)

Later that day we boarded our ship, the Symphony of the Seas and were able to explore and have lunch.  The Symphony is the newest ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet and the largest cruise ship on the ocean.  It is massive!  Besides all the usual amenities it has a rock climbing wall, an ice rink, a "central park" and a carousel...just to name a few.  And everything was almost brand new. We were thoroughly impressed with the ship and the service.

Here we are in front of the BIG ship

To give you some idea of how big this ship is.  The first sea day we did a 5k (actually more like 3.3 miles)...it was only 8 circuits around the ship track.  So approximately 2.5 loops to the mile.  Because there were 200+ of us in the group we had to do this event in waves.  We drew what for us was the short straw, as we were in the 6 a.m. wave.  John seemed to agree as he walked the 6 a.m. group to the start he asked,"What's wrong with you people...you could be sleeping?"  

We were dressed in very simple ships officer costumes, and when asked our rank, we responded "amateur".  These may have been the most popular of our costumes on this trip...I think because they were unexpected.  BTW, there is no requirement, or even encouragement, to run in costume except for the adventure race day.  It is just something Glenda and I love to do.  And after the first 2 cruises we were pretty well known for it. 

Ship's officers on the 5k...rank:amateur

The next day we landed in Roatan, Honduras...a beautiful and mountainous island.  Our race that day was called Extreme Roatan and it was the trail run for our trip.  Extreme, was not overstating the case!  We had been told in no uncertain terms that it was hilly, and that there might be mud.  Also that some of the hills had ropes to assist with the up and down.  This was a prediction race...you predicted your time and whoever was closest won. I didn't finish and Glenda wasn't close.  We were told that we might want to wear older clothes and shoes.  So we did, but still managed to make a costume of it.

We called these costumes "Indiana Adams and the Trail Run of Doom" (we were not wrong)

I definitely struggled on the first hill which went straight up 180 feet over maybe a third of a mile (like 15+flights of stairs) and then down with ropes, which was actually harder on my knees and hips.  I bailed at the first bailout point...but making it up and down that one hill still made me feel like a winner. 

Up....

...and down 

And a gang of "first hill and done"  winners!

Since I didn't go the whole race...I ended my workout day swimming back and forth in a very short pool. 

That's a lot of back and forth!

Costa Maya was on tap for the following day.  On tap? A 5.5K or 5 mile race...and a beach party! Part of the purpose of this cruise was to celebrate John "the Penguin" Bingham's 70th birthday...so dressed in penguin costumes for the race! Winning on this day was by luck of the draw, literally.  There are many ways to win on the cruise, so that the fast people are celebrated, but they don't get ALL the glory.

Penguins with the man himself

The party beach in Costa Maya

Party is in progress!

Looking sassy in the Caribbean

Official Birthday Party Day, Cozumel

Cozumel was our second Mexican port and it was here that the official celebration of John's Birthday was to take place.  The day began with a pirate themed adventure  run....sort of a running scavenger hunt in pirate dress.  We had determined that we would do only part of the run then stop and catch pictures of our fellow runners as they came back.  We were pretty tired from the other runs and it was our vacation after all.

Decked out in our pirate togs, ready to take photos of our fellow runners

This was one of our views running along the sea wall...lots of pelicans!

Then was party time at Margaritaville with a live band, dancing, good cheer and the best chicken fajitas I have ever eaten

An awesome party, with our ship in the background

Sea Day

That evening we left Cozumel for a day at sea en route to our final port.  We found plenty to do aboard the ship, from just loafing around and recovering to checking out the amenities.  We began that evening by having dinner and hanging out with our Madison friends.  One of the fun things about this trip was that without planning we ended up on the same trip with Fleet Feet Running friends Heather, Barb, Amanda and Jared. This was their first running cruise and it was fun for us to see a group of friend discovering the experience.

After dinner, we enjoyed a Caribbean sunset

And a ride on the carousel

The next morning we thoroughly enjoyed sleeping in and hanging out on the balcony of our cabin.  But we couldn't leave out workouts altogether...so later we hit the gym

Sweating rainbows on the bike

Nassau, The Bahamas

Our final destination was Nassau in the Bahamas where we had a 5 or 10k (I did the 5, Glenda the 10).  The day started with a one mile-ish (emphasis on the ISH) hike to the start. But when we arrived...what a greeting! This was the day that the fast people got to win, Glenda was running well on the 10k, but when the heat and humidity got to her, she decided to finish with me.  I was delighted.  And we wore one of our favorites...the mermaid costume.  Those may appear again somewhere (just saying')

We were greeted with amazing music and Junkanoo dancers

And what's a better fit for a tropical island than a couple of mermaids?

Coming home

The next day it was back to reality, but not before one last swim in the pool in Miami. Unfortunately we came back to one of the coldest and snowiest Februaries in recent history in Wisconsin...but at least we had some sunshine and good memories to sustain us...until next year.  And yes, we've really already signed up for next year!