Square peg: At Sea and in St. Maarten

Beach in Ft. Lauderdale

When last we left our intrepid explorers, they had just finished the Run Florida race and were preparing for shenanigans at sea. But before they could leave, they had to get their workouts in...

For me that meant a sweaty selfie during my...

Recovery spin

While Glenda swam many laps corner to corner in the hotel pool. She would have done an open water swim, but there were rip current warnings and warnings for man 'o war on the beach. Feeling righteously proud of ourselves for getting it done, we ate our breakfast, packed up our suitcases and headed for the buses to take us to the ship.

At that point, we realized that the bus people had brought slightly smaller buses and failed to figure how much luggage there would be for our group. We were clear that the bus was not happening for us, and Glenda told the staff for our group we'd just get a cab. But NO, they said, we have an option....you guys can ride in the van with John (Bingham) and Jenny (Hadfield)...not only the cruise leaders, but truth be told, two of my running idols. I didn't turn it down. Jenny and John are genuinely nice people...and if you get to hang with John for very long there is always a story or two. This was no exception and before you know it we were at the Cruise Port preparing to board the Allure of the Seas (along with a throng of humanity, as the ship holds about 5,000 passengers I believe...120 or so of them are our group).

Sampling desserts as well as other food is a popular way to pass the time at sea

It so happens that this particular cruise starts with 2 days at sea, and we lost little time before pursuing one of our favorite activities...buffet! Seriously though....there is SO much food on cruise ships.

We settled in and dined with fellow runners Sunday night, then on to a welcome reception where we get details on the week's activities...and learned that we were in the first wave meeting at 7:20 for Monday morning's 5k at sea. After the reception we were off to our cabin.

The 5k at Sea is just what it sounds like...we run or walk or whatever combination a 5k on the running deck of the ship. On this ship it takes 2.4 laps to make a mile. 8 times around is 5k-ish (actually 3.33 miles).

We dressed as honorary crew members for the 5k at Sea

Glenda did this one with me. It does get moderately crowded, and an extra level of challenge is added because you are on the open ocean...and in this case it was a bit windy. Essentially what that means is that it feels like running after a couple of glasses of wine. Jenny and the staff were at the start of each new loop to cheer us on with music, a little dancing, and cold water at the end. And Glenda kept me going in the last half lap by pulling up "In the Navy" by the Village People on her phone. And of course we sang along, and of course some of the others got in on it. That's the beauty of these cruises...even when some folks are running quite seriously...we are all a bunch of grown ups playing together. To "win" this race was luck...everyone drew a card at the end and the ace of spades was the winner. Each race is different, some by luck, some by speed, some by teamwork and some by prediction. That gives everyone a chance at the coveted yellow hat...the award for winning any race and various other awards.

The rest of Monday, my plan was to do as little as possible. This is something I rarely allow myself to do at home, even though I am retired.

Having the time and the quiet to just read is a luxury I enjoy on these trips

I spent the rest of Monday napping, reading, eating (of course), watching the ocean go by and exploring a bit of the ship. Ended the day with dinner with the group.

Tuesday was also a sea day, but we found plenty to do. Jenny had a strength and stretching workout that I originally intended to attend, but we woke up a little late and decided to listen to John's oft-stated exhortation...this is your vacation and you don't HAVE to do anything you don't want to do. So we skipped it. Besides my coach had entered a rest day on Training Peaks for that day...with the instructions "Pina Coladas for everyone!" (have I mentioned lately that I love my coach). Glenda went and did the workout prescribed by her coach (because of course she did)...and then we set about finding other things to do. On a ship this big and well-equipped that is not a problem.

Not surprisingly this is one of my favorite places

Having finished the fun book I had brought with me, and not wanting to spend all my time reading the more serious one, I meandered down to the library to find something light to read. I actually like to sit in the ship's library as it is usually quiet and comfortable.

After a relatively light lunch, Glenda and I stopped by to visit with staff members Cathy and Pam (and incidentally sign up for next year's cruise...I mean we already have figured out some of the costumes, what can you do?). While we were there another runner said she was going to go ice skate (yes, there is an ice rink on the ship!) and since Glenda has been wanting to go...we were off to the rink. I went for moral support and photo/video purposes. She says it was a win, because she didn't fall down.

Glenda has only skated once or twice before..she's brave! Added degree of difficulty ship is moving and it's pretty wavy out there

After that we went to the matinee performance of Mama Mia which we had scheduled before hand. It was a good production (we've seen it several times) and I'm always in awe of the performers singing and dancing on a big boat rocking in the ocean.

The stage, pre-show...no photos allowed during

By the time that was over, it was nearly dinner time. We chose to skip the group dinner in favor of a dip in the hot tub and dinner in an alternate restaurant on our own. But we did make it to the other group event of the evening....Karaoke!

We had free drinks to promote courage :)

We didn't take the stage, but we did sing along from the back of the room. Many others were braver (or possibly more bolstered) than us. And the singing ranged from the lovely and touching to the not so lovely but enthusiastic. All of it was great fun. Jenny, John, Cathy and Pam (our staff) led us all in a rousing rendition of YMCA..and the first hour was closed out with Sweet Caroline. For anyone reading this that doesn't know, Sweet Caroline has a special meaning for runners. So the song is played after the 8th inning of all the games in Fenway Park, and has become a bit of a good luck charm for the city of Boston. The year after the marathon bombings, the song was played as a tribute at the Boston Marathon, and several other marathons around the country pick it up and played it before their races. So it has become, to those who remember those years, a tribute to the determination and resilience of the running community. It also doesn't hurt that it is a catchy tune...I mean who can't sing "Sweet Caroline...bum, bum,bum...good times never felt so good." Though some folks stayed and sang longer, that was a brilliant end of the day for us, and we went back to our room on a high note.

Now I know I'm in the Caribbean...look at the color of that water!

On Wednesday morning we arrived at our first port Phillipsburg, St. Maarten on the Dutch side of the island. We had breakfast with the group and then disembarked to run the St. Maarten Beach 5k/10k. We were greeted by two signs that we were truly in the Caribbean...turquoise water and the sound of Steel Drums ringing through the air.

Steel drum band at the cruise port

It was humid and very warm for those of us from northern climes. If it were not for the fairly strong breeze it might have felt unbearable.

Glenda and I were dressed in sea shell skirts and t-shirts declaring "we sell sea shells". Glenda claimed that was going to be our retirement gig...selling sea shells by the sea shore.

The outfits

After a final briefing we were walked to our start line and off we went.

Looking to the left from the start...if you look closely you can see goats on the hillside.

As you might gather from the above photo, parts of the course were quite hilly, That made it harder, but it also got us what Jenny refers to as "earned views."

This is one view part way up...the island on the far horizon is St. Bart's

Me at the same point, but looking back

After struggling over a few more hills, I was toast. By the time we reached the fairly flat boardwalk I was walking. I nearly stopped at 2.25...but decided to stick it out. I had to stop a couple of times in the last mile as I could feel my heart rate climbing. Glenda came back to find me (she'd done the 10k and finished well) and after rest, a cold drink and conversation with some of the others...mostly about how hot it was....we headed back on the 10 minute walk to the ship. It took 30 minutes, between the meandering, the short rest stops and the slow pace.

My favorite rest stop on the return trip

When we got back to the ship, I collapsed in a heap, while Glenda prepared to go on a bike ride excursion to the French side of the Island and points in between.