Week 10 & 11 Update: Off The Wagon


Be forewarned that this post has more to do with my adventures in the Mediterranean than it does with running. So if you tune in every week just for the training tips you will be disappointed.

August 6th: Almost missed the boat...true story

I would like to first Thank God for giving me this vacation. I have a new appreciation for Job 1:21 "the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away" because that was almost my story last Friday. I would also like to say shout out to American Airlines, Delta was a hot mess in both directions of this trip. I'm generally a loyal American flyer (due to all the free trips I get through their miles program). Delta can learn a few things from their airline brethren over at American. Now on to the story.

After sitting in an insane amount of traffic on the BQE and Van Wyck I finally made it to JFK to board a plane to Venice for my vacation. I was due to go on a Mediterranean cruise traveling to Dubrovnik (Croatia), Athens, Ephesus (Turkey), and Nafplion (Greece). My flight was due to Leave at 7:15, I got to the airport at 5:30 super excited. I had my slippers, scarf, and sweater in my carry on to get cozy for the nearly 9 hour flight. I was ready to pop my Tylenol PM and wake up refreshed in Venice. Oh yeah I said it , I'm not ashamed, I pop OTC medicine to fall asleep on flights...and don't act like you don't do it too!

Well the plan was completely derailed when our flight was delayed until 11pm. I started to do the math, we needed to board the ship 2 hours prior to the 5pm departure. If we were originally due to get in to Venice at 10am that meant with the delay we would not get in until 3pm. crap we might not make the ship! Wait it gets worse....the Delta crew then announced that they are checking the planes engine and would let use know at midnight if the flight is cancelled!!...Wait it gets worse, I didn't put insurance on my trip so if I missed this flight and the ship I would not only miss out the vacation i would also lose all the money I paid!!!! Suffice to say I was sitting at the gate feeling sick! Listen I ususally frown upon excessive use of exclamation marks but I really want to convey the stress of this situation.....Anyway about 20 minutes later they made the boarding announcement and we were on our way! Granted i'm not sure the speed at which the pilot flew was entirely legal because we made it to Venice in 7 hours. But whatever, we were the last people to get on the ship but we made it!

Whew that was a close one. After volcanic ash ended my first attempt for a vacation in Amsterdam this year I just couldn't take another disappointment. Lesson learned Lord, don't brag about your fabulous vacation to every person you come into contact with. Got it, I am officially an understated traveler!


August 7-14th: Black and Fat

Once we were settled on the cruise the good times began! The ship was like heaven, but with a sun deck and piña coladas. I have to say I had every intention of training whole time I was there. I woke up bright and early on the first day and hit gym. I used the treadmill for the first time during my training, I'll tell you up front I'm not a fan. First of all there's a window right in front of the treadmill looking out at the Sea. Awww sounds pretty right? Wrong! I had to look away to avoid getting sea sick. I'm so spoiled from running outside. It much more challenging and obviously better scenery. Not to mention the fact that running on the treadmill is boring I wanted to shoot myself after mile 2. So once I got to 3 miles I declared it a 5K and called it a day.

I felt good after my workout and fully intended to go back the next day....but sadly friends that was the first and last time I worked out on the cruise. Wait, I mean that was the last time I worked out in the gym. Surely I burned some calories while I was laying out in the sun. I was sweating, doesn't that mean I was burning calories?

Well if laying out wasn't enough I definitely burned some calories walking the city wall around Dubrovnik. The stairs to get up the wall were crazy steep and once we got up there it wasn't like strolling down Broadway. It was blazin hot and the wall had all kinds of dips and turns.

Ok still not convinced I worked out? Try this one, climbing to the top of the Acropolis. Oh you didn't know? Yes, you have to climb to the top. Once again you're not walking up a flight of modern stairs, these are ancient stones that are super slippery. I have no idea how the ancient Greeks got up and down that hill in just their little gladiator sandals.

Ok still don't believe I exercised? How about touring the ancient city of Ephesus in Turkey for and hour and a half? When we got to the port in Turkey, no lie it was 101 in the shade at 8am. I had sweat dripping from my brow as soon as I set foot on the dock. Once we actually got to the site of the ancient city there was no shade. I kept telling my friend "this desert is killing me!" She would reply everytime "Marlena, we're not in the desert it's just really hot."

The bottom line is I did get some exercise in. But truth be told anytime that we were on the boat I was either laying out, eating, or sleeping. I was living the cruise credo of getting black and fat. I would love to tell you all my fun stories about the ports but that would take too long, thought I'd give you a snap shot at some of the high class problems I had while I was away. Tune in next week for our regularly scheduled program. What happens after you've taken a week off from training!?! don't know let's find out together!


What Did I Learn About Running that week?

1) Running on a treadmill is no substitute for running outside, not even close!

2) When training for a marathon it's probably best to take a vacation after the race because it's hard to motivate yourself to get back into it.

3) the next time I have to fly somewhere to take a cruise I will a) get there the day before and b) insure my trip