down for the count

post on alaska to come soon...with pictures. but first, a note about my latest runnings. ran on the cruise ship. yes, dedication i know. had the option of treadmill or running track. i went with the treadmill since the track meant

• 10laps = 1 mile... 100laps = 10 miles
  
• lots of overweight people walking (strolling... not power walking by any means) side by side taking up the whole track and giving dirty looks if you tried to go around them
• contending with the rocking motion of the boat and the wind while trying to stay upright, meaning half the time it was really hard to run and the other half it was really easy and the whole time you were just trying to stay on two feet

anyhoo...at least on the treadmill i had a nice view of the waters and lands we were passing. and i didn't have to contend with other runners (or worse, walkers...there were 3 other runners on the whole boat) . and i could play all sorts of crazy math/mind tricks with myself (only 5/8ths more to go!) except, the gym on the boat was clearly not designed by anyone who'd ever used a gym before.

the treadmills all faced starboard which is an interesting experience when running. first off, you're running in one direction (forward) and even though you're not actually going anywhere, your mind only seems to recognize this in part. the other part of your mind knows your body is moving with the ship. so you're moving in perpendicular directions at the same time. does that make sense? it's a weird sensation of moving in multiple directions at once. anyhoo... the other little fun bit about facing starboard is that every time the boat rocks side to side (which it did a lot at open sea) you're faced with what feels like a mini hill. except you have no idea when this hill might end or go up/down. net-net, it's weird. not fun. and all you can do is your damnedest to find your happy place and get the run over with.

nonetheless, over the week cruise i logged 35 miles. not too shabby if i say so myself. and i lost about a pound or two while on the cruise. who does that?!

of course, went out today for long run. 12 miles. starting about 3-miles in my left hip muscle starts "popping" if you will. not good. finish out 6-some miles before finally giving up and walking a bit and then giving that up and grabbing a cab home. feels like a typical overuse injury so i suppose i just need a small break. rest, ice and aspirin to follow.