Personal Bests

Ok, so the eating and drinking on this wonderful trip has been -- well, I'm going to describe it literally as calorific. I don't want to use a value laden word such as a disaster. It's been a lot more calories in than out. But I'm still feeling virtuous.

I'm just back from my second trip to the gym- a first for me on cruise ships. The other ships I've been on have a deck you can walk around, and I've walked and walked and walked. This one is too small. I am doing stairs a lot, but it's still a very small boat.

We've been to shore a couple of times but that hasn't been a great deal if exercise- a stroll where we study artifacts and flowers and wildlife every few steps. More field natural history than hiking.

I went kayaking for an hour or so. That was absolutely a thrill. But when I got back on board I went directly to the gym, because I knew it wasn't enough. I didn't do much- a little bit of walking an jogging on the treadmill. But even that little bit felt really good.

Now I'm just done with a good solid workout session. I covered two miles more quickly than ever before on the treadmill, which presumably means more quickly than ever period. I averaged 4.5 miles an hour. I stuck with the jogging pace for five minutes at a time which is more than Ive done in the past. I'm a little suspicious the settings on this brand of treadmill are a little generous compared to what I'm used to, but also this was really the optimum time to workout. Two hours after a couple of meals, plenty of sleep, ready and raring to go to get that heart beat up after several easy days in a row. I rounded out with some push ups and crunches.

There is no way this exercise bout makes up for the calories I'm consuming. But it does keep me in the pink of fitness. I wonder if my lack of sleep had me almost over training before. Often the workouts seemed to be going uphill. Walks at lunch were easy to by pass. But right now I'm strong and I'm happy.

As I finished my exercise, I looked down from the glass wall to the sun deck below. There were my friends, first in line for the outdoor beer and brats in the Arctic. It seemed the perfect finish to my lovely workout. My quota of three things is more like four or five.

I expect a good five pounds up when I get back. But as long as I'm strong and healthy, it'll be the perfect time to start a new diet and get to lower than I was before. So I'm happy.


Sherbert update

Location:Svalbard