Back to the Grind

After completing Tough Mudder last November, I started slacking on going to the gym – ending the year with only a couple more workouts over two months. Once I completed the Beat the Heat Sprint Triathlon, I seriously reduced my swimming and biking. And once I finished running the Space Coast Marathon and OUC Half Marathon, I didn’t run again the rest of the year. I also pigged out on cookies, pies, and holiday feasts over the final month of the year. But now it’s 2014.

I started the year committed to doing squats and increasing my leg strength – something I put off while I was training for my marathon due to my knee issues. I’ve now reached eighty squats and am doing them with relative ease – sets of twenty with less than a minute’s rest between sets. I’ve already been to the gym three times this year, though one day was only a few quick workouts after my shoulder gave out during the bench press. I have yet to do a swim yet this year, unless you include scuba diving, and I haven’t completed a bike ride this year, which I really do need to work on.

I did my first run of the year yesterday – a five mile run at lunch, which I immediately followed with my squats before my legs tightened up. I plan on going hard and fast on the running and am targeting a 20-22 miler this weekend. If I complete that, I can shoot for a 26+ miler in two weeks, then take two weeks to rest and do a 50K Ultramarathon (31 miles). I’ve been looking at ultramarathons for a few weeks now, for a new challenge, but it also presented itself as a chance to visit other parts of the country… like Los Angeles… where there’s a girl I’d like to spend a little more time with. Hopefully that motivation will be enough to get me through 20+ miles this weekend, especially after playing soccer for two hours tomorrow.

No pain, no gain. I hope.

Bahamas Cruise

Last September I decided to go on a cruise on my week off from work. I found a cheap deal for a five-night Carnival cruise leaving from Port Canaveral and making three stops in the Bahamas. On Monday I hit the gym near where I live before heading off to Port Canaveral and boarding the ship. It was a couple hours before we could access our rooms, so I had to lug around my backpack for a while and decided to get something to eat at the buffet.

Once I had access to the room, I dropped off my stuff and started to tour the ship. We had to meet up before debarking for our safety drills, so I went to that once called. On leaving the area we were meeting in, I found myself at the front of the ship, so I stood there and watched as we left Port Canaveral. I was joined by many other cruisers wanting to watch the debarkation. As Port Canaveral faded off in the distance, everyone else left, but I hung around for a couple more hours just watching the sea and the sky embracing each other on the horizon as the sun sank in the sky.

The second day of the cruise was a day at sea, which I spent lying around in the sun and reading some books that I brought along with me. Although I had lathered myself with suntan lotion, the heat caused me to sweat most of it away and by the end of the day I was majorly sunburned. I spent most of the afternoon bouncing from shady spot to indoor activities such as the sauna and steamroom or the gym.

The third day we anchored at sea and they ferried people to Half Moon Cay. It was a beautiful location, but due to being sunburned I stayed on the boat, spending most of the day in the shade of the hot tub and lounge area reserved for adults only. The fourth day was a stop in Nassau, which looked okay from the ship, but since I’m not a huge fan of cities, I decided to relax on the ship again. I was still majorly sunburned and didn’t feel like worsening it for Nassau. That night I decided to go to karaoke and enjoy the singing of non-professionals. I didn’t partake on this day, but I enjoyed watching as others did.

On the fifth day, the ship stopped at Freeport, which was even less impressive than Nassau. Again, I spent my time on the boat lounging in the shade reading books or partaking in indoor activities. That night, once again, I went to karaoke and this time I got in on the action early and often. I started off with an Eagles song – Take it Easy – and then started going through songs of many genres – It’ll Be Me by N*Sync, Size Matters by Joe Nichols, and Jailhouse Rock by Elvis. I chatted with one lady most of the night and we left karaoke and toured the ship together, from the upper deck to the closed adults-only area at the rear of the ship.

Eventually we ended the night as we had to be up early the next morning to disembark back at Port Canaveral. No hanky-panky for me. I disembarked and drove home on Saturday morning, a little disappointed that I came so close to getting some and the cruise was over, though I did have a lot of fun while I was out there. I was more disappointed by the lack of singles on the cruise; I only came across two the whole time I was out there. I was also disappointed that I got sunburned and had to spend most of the trip making sure not to make it worse.