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How not to go overboard on a cruise ship
You hear it all the time. I put on 10 pounds plus, while on the cruise
ship, and now it will take me a month to get back into those jeans that I
love.
The other misgiving of the typical cruise ship experience is the
many hours of just sitting or laying around. At the dinner table, during
the many off Broadway type shows, in the lounge chairs, deck side, at
the casino and being rocked to sleep in your 2X4 cabin.
John, the Penguin, Bingham and Jenny, The Coach, Hadfi eld have the
answer for you. The idea that these two life coaches came up with
,
10
years ago
,
is to combine all the benefi ts of cruising and staying fi t into a
7-
10
day adventure that you will write home about. My running mate,
life partner and 75 marathoner, Catherine Popp and I met up with J and
J, John and Jenny back in 2011. This will be our 6th outing with them,
which has taken us to different parts of the Caribbean, 3 times, and
Alaska once. The other two trips were a bit more far flung
. One was
a
land base tour with Florence Italy as the hub with places like Pisa, Sitka
and Luka as the spokes. The other very unique destination, was a river
cruise along the Danube starting in Budapest.
They will launch
a similar
river cruise in the Southern France region, beginning near Marseille, this
coming October.
The gist of the program is to bring a manageable group of like minded
runners/walkers to venture in the different regions to do a staged
Marathon or half Marathon over 7-
10
days. The great part
,
it is not done
all at once
.
W
hen it is all said and done each individual has completed
either 26.2 or 13.1 miles. If you are the traditional competitor
some
adjustments to your attitude is just what you need
. Each race has a fi rst
place winner for both male and female but how that is actually
calculated if left up to J and J. We are briefed each
morning over
breakfast. Our group has
the extra benefi t of being the fi rst off the ship,
and we are then given the opportunity to strategist how to get the
coveted yellow hat.
My understanding of the premise of the yellow hat
is to mimic the Tour De France yellow jersey but with the one
distinct
exception, that being, you get to keep the hat.
One is given out to the
winners of each event and overall winners.
It might be the absolute fastest, both male and female, on a short
distance, 1 mile to 5/10k, or something as random as who gets the King
of Hearts out of the deck of cards as they are handed out, when you
cross the fi nish. You have to hear John tell the hilarious background
story, as only he can, during one of his inspirational talks.
The last race on the trip is the one we all
really
look forward to
. It
is
classifi ed as the Amazing Race. Similar theme but with an added twist
when done on a Caribbean cruise. That being, we all dress up in a pirate
theme. Just image 100 plus pirates running/walking around
places such
as
San Juan
, Puerto Rico. All while
trying to follow the clues and get all
required pictures taken in order along the way. So groups of 2-4 are
crisscrossing the major tourist attractions, be it church, fountain, etc
,
just
so they are the fi rst ones across the fi nish with a picture of the group in
front of the object, in order. One year, a boy genius, put in all the GPS
coordinates, after google search, and ended up going thru a hospital to
get fi rst place for the group.
The overall winner is pretty cut and dry. In the fi rst briefi ng we are all
given a rough outline of races for the week and the approximate, ISH, a
term coined by Jenny, example, 5 mile-ish course that is somewhat hilly-
ish. Depending on which distance you select for each day for the
marathon of half course you then have to calculate your exact time. I
forgot to mention that most, if not all, of these races are done without
any time keeping device. It is the classic tortoise and the hare with the
slow and steady usually coming out on top.
Both Catherine and I already have our autographed yellow hats so for us
it is the ability to enjoy the company of like minded individuals in the
most picturesque of settings while keeping a reasonable exercise routine
going, that brings us
coming
back. That surely comes in handy when
trying to counter balance the endless opportunities to eat, lounge and
sleep.
This particular venture started in
the end of January in
Tampa with an
8
day itinerary consisting of the following.
TAMPA, FLORIDA
KEY WEST, FLORIDA
CRUISING AT SEA
BELIZE CITY, BELIZE
PUERTO COSTA MAYA, MEXICO
COZUMEL, MEXICO
CRUISING AT SEA
TAMPA, FLORIDA
A very important quality each participant most possess is flexibility.
You are on and off an cruise ship for 7-8 days so if you are one of those
that insists on the race start at 8
am sharp you might want to keep
collecting states or continents. The most memorable upside was another
Caribbean excursion a few years back
.
N
ot only were we the fi rst ones
off the ship, but
in Aruba, we
also
enjoyed
a police escort, to the race
start
,
where the roads were closed for our 10K-ish race along coast. The
local running group but the race together
,
for us
,
including an offi cial
clock at the beach fi nish with a coolers full of beer and soft drinks,
barbecue type items to eat, as we cooled down our legs in the water.
I will
caution,
if you are one of those types that
calculates
all of your
marathons
expenses
down to the penny, since you are doing 30-50 a
year, you will need to take a chill pill, before signing up. They say
money can’t buy happiness
,
but this comes pretty darn close. The pricing
is not outrageous but as I look at life
,
in my 60’s, as long as I get what I
pay for, I am a happy man. If the fact that I am planning my 7th trip
with them in Oct and signed up for another Caribbean cruise while on
board, is any indication, then I am sure you will agree this is a very cost
effective way to enjoy the benefi ts of Cruising and living an active
lifestyle.
There is a y
e
ng and yang when it comes to team of J and J
,
with
the Cruise and Vacation Authority
,
doing a bit of the heavy lifting on the
logistic end. John and Jenny, are the proverbial who’s who when it
comes to running. John has brought millions off their couches to the
sport of running/walking and Jenny coaches just as many to reach their
goals from just completing their fi rst marathon to qualifying for the
pr
estigious
, Boston Marathon. Here are their bios for your reading
pleasure.
John “The Penguin” Bingham
is a featured columnist for
Competitor Magazine, spokesman for the Leukemia & Lymphoma
Society’s “Team in Training” program, and race announcer of the Rock
‘n’ Roll Marathon and Half-Marathon Series. His popular column, The
Penguin Chronicles, ran for 14 years in Runner’s World Magazine.
Known by fans as “The Penguin” for his back-of-the-pack speed, John is
the unlikely hero of the modern running boom. A best selling author and
magazine columnist, he writes and speaks about his childhood dreams of
athletic glory, sedentary years of unhealthy excess, and a life-changing
transformation from couch potato to “adult-onset athlete”.
Once overweight, uninspired and saddled with a pack-and-a-half-a-day
smoking habit, Bingham found himself fi rmly wedged into a middle-age
slump. Then he discovered the active lifestyle and it all changed.
He is the author of The Courage to Start and No Need for Speed and co-
author with Coach Jenny Hadfi eld of
Marathoning for Mortals and
Running for Mortals. His most recent book, An Accidental Athlete: A
Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Middle Age, was released
September 1, 2011.
In turns inspiring, poignant, hilarious and heartbreaking, John is a warm
and engaging speaker. In his books and columns, Bingham shares stories
of the joys of running, such as, the pride of the fi nisher’s medal, a
bureau-busting t-shirt collection, and intense back-of-the-pack
strategizing. John’s story is about one man’s discovery that middle age
was not the fi nish line after all; it was only the beginning.
Jenny, The Coach, Hadfi eld
i
s the co-author of the best-selling
Running for Mortals and Marathoning for Mortals book series as well as
a columnist for Women's Running Magazine and RunnersWorld.com.
She is a certifi ed personal trainer and coach, who has earned a
Bachelor’s Degree in Education and Health Promotion and a Masters
Degree in Exercise Science.
Jenny began her running journey overweight and unable to make it to
the end of the block. Her unique approach to coaching draws from her
struggles to get started, lose over 30 pounds, reach the fi nish line of a her
fi rst 5K and go on to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
Jenny practices what she preaches and is an accomplished endurance
athlete, having competed in over forty marathons all over the world
including the Boston Marathon, the Antarctica Marathon and three of
Mark Burnett’s Eco-Challenge Expeditions (Survivor Producer). She
recently broke the women’s ElliptiGO One-Day World Distance Record
by riding 152 miles. Her curiosity to fi nd out what is around the next
corner continues to fuel her adventurous spirit and desire to explore the
world under her own power.
Running changed Jenny's life. She fell in love with the process of
training, quit her job in corporate fi tness, and dedicated the rest of her
life to coaching, writing, competing, and inventing active vacations. She
loves to learn and teach but, perhaps, derives the most gratifi cation from
helping people accomplish goals they never thought possible. Consider
Jenny your personal coach for the week; please feel free to ask her
plenty of questions at any time.
My personal take on this duo is that John is the inspiration and Jenny is
the brain's of the pair. Many a debrief was had
,
with Jenny quizzing us
over a beverage
,
in the crows nest
,
on where else we could possibly go
and from those intense back and forth blossomed the Florence, Danube
and soon to be Southern France adventures. John keeps us inspired, in
between bouts of sheer laughter along the way. For the Caribbean
Cruise they utilize Royal Caribbean and AMA waterways is the river
cruise line of chose.
Our particular adventure had plenty of twists and turns along the way to
keep the dynamic duo on their toes. It started out very calm with the
evening welcome event at the Embassy Suites hotel where the hotel
offered drinks and snacks to loosen up those of us that came in a day
early. Little did we know that the Gasparilla festival was going on that
weekend and we got our fi ll of much needed pirate outfi ts ideas.
The next morning we were off to stretch out the old legs along the water
for a slow 2-ish run. The Vision of the seas cruise ship and our home for
the next 7 days was a short walk away. Transportation
,
by bus
,
was
provided which was great since we were dragging 3, 50 pound bags with
us.
After the mandatory safety drill we, all 142 of us, met in our new
meeting
/briefi ng
spot, Some Enchanted Evening
L
ounge. There we got
an overview of the upcoming week's events and races. After dinner
many assembled in the Viking Crown Lounge
, aka, crow’s nest
.
The next day i
n Key West Florida we were met by the local running
club
, ?
and ran either a 5K or 10K with the winner being the fastest male
and female in each race.
We had time to tour the area before
we were
back on board for a day at sea and a 5K race on the deck
.
The ship
was
pitching, but we have seen worst during the
Alaskan
cruise. This was a
predicted race time so some might say the winner was somewhat random
but it was a lot of fun.
The next
morning we arrived
in Belize City. It turns out we made
history by being the fi rst to ever hold a race of any type at the Mayan
Ruins of Altun Ha. There it was a 4 mile relay race with Catherine and I
doing 2 miles each at half a mile at a time. It was a bit hot and the folks
there gave us a great tour after or before the race, depending on which
group you were with.
Back at
the cruise thermal
t
here w
ere
a couple of watering holes with
music to choose from and anything and everything you could every want
to buy on hand. My favorite phrase was "I have all the junk you don't
need at half the price."
Back to the ship for another great dinner where many have learned, by
now, you can order two of each appetizer, entree, and dessert. Dinner
seating is on an assigned rotation basis so that we could spend time with
the most of the group
.
John and Jenny have their own separate tables
where others rotate to their tables
each night.
The next day the seas won and we were unable to make land
at
Costa
Maya or as we now called it Costa Maybe. This was a fi rst for J and J
but the
y
seemed to audible well and put on a couple of deck events. The
ship supplied champagne and we all race/walked a few laps around the
top deck on the ship while drinking a glass of champagne in between
laps.
The other “race” was a mini, egg carry with a spoon relay.
I
t was decided that for the Caribbean
cruises
it was no longer feasible to
have people out running or walking
a full marathon of half marathon
distance
in the heat and humidity. No complaints here, but for those
that need to accomplish more mileage in a week
,
do as some
did, and
just kep
t
running or walking.
T
here were
others
that simply found a
nearby race when
they
got back on land on Sunday.
T
he fi nal race of the week, the Amazing race
was
in Cozumel.
E
veryone
took off in one direction each clutching their maps and clues.
Most had
very elaborate costumes and some even had stuffed birds on their
shoulders.
We all fi nished up at Margrett
a
ville
for our much deserved
medals and celebration party.
The last leg was a sea day for
the trek back to Tampa and the boat
rocked and rolled the whole way back. It did make it interesting for the
awards ceremony, the last night, in the Majestic Theater,
which was
located in
the front of the ship.
Besides the
best costume, joke off and
overall winner presentation J and J also select their Inspiration,
Dedication and Perspiration awards. It was a very pleasant surprise for
Catherine and I to be awarded the Inspiration award for our cutting edge
approach to Running all over the world.
We sold our house over a year ago and have been on the road ever since.
I blog of our exploits called, Run All Over the World, at
tonycp.blogspot.com
. Between us we have run over 150 marathons, one
50 mile ultra marathon and are both Iron Man Triathletes. During the
last 20 years we have run races in over 17 different countries and 47
states across the USA. We have no intention of every settling down and
already have every day in 2016 planned with many destinations
revolving around some type of road race.
