In 2017, days before our departure through the Panama Canal, I fell on my ass. I was out for a run and slipped on a freshly powerwashed section of Hollywood Boulevard. I bruised my tail bone and yet still decided to run the Ventura Marathon that weekend as I had already paid for it and well, I’m stubborn like that. Alas, my jackass stubbornness could only carry my bruised ass so far. So when my Mom and I finally embarked onto the Disney Wonder the following week, I had decided I would have to abandon my planned palindrome run on the ship’s decks… this despite having made a custom shirt celebrating my “A Man, A Plan, A Canal, PANAMA!” race series.
But 2018 marked a redemption year. Sure, sure. I’m still dragging my ass but at least that’s just the cumulative years and mileage and not SPECIFIC injury related. It’s more chronic and perpetual and moving – so long as the pain floats round the body I assume it’s just part and parcel of the process of growing old. If it lingers in one place, that’s when I start to worry… that’s when it gets to be a pain in the ass.
So here I am, having just disembarked the Disney Wonder which was part of the annual adventures I try and take my Mom on. This year was a repeat of the Panama Canal transit; I think next year she may join me in Hong Kong for a race and a visit to one of the last Disney Parks she’s yet to see in person. Did I convince her to sail once more with Disney to avenge my failings last year? I’ll never tell.
What’s it like to run a 5K, a 10K, a half, a full, a half, a 10K, and a 5K in sequence during a 14-day cruise? In a word: loopy. It requires multiple loops of Deck 4’s running circuit, wherein each lap is 0.33 miles. Ergo, on the day I ran my marathon, it was 79 loops of the same wooden planked deck. If I were to use two words, it might be best described as “mind numbing”… or perhaps “mind melting” given the heat.
Speaking of the heat, this year’s running ship misadventures included a new experience, a true first for me. I’ve run from one end of the earth to another and I’ve never had this happen to me. After finishing a long series of laps on deck 4, I gingerly waddled through the automatic doors into the ship’s air conditioned corridors… and as the heat and cold fronts met, I created a cloud. Steam rose from my body like vaporish vectors, as if I was a second cousin thrice removed from Queen Elsa in “Frozen.”
Anyhoo, here’s a summary of the various palindrome times and a smattering of at times blurry pics documenting this journey of… aw, hell. I was hoping to concoct a pithy saying that read forwards and backwards the same way. Run Kevin Run… nur nivenK nur… taco cat. Phooey.
5K – The First Time — Time: 26:39:29.
10K – The First Time — Time: 52:12:39
Half Marathon – We were moored somewhere and thus part of Deck 4 near the anchor was off limits. This required the only thing more mind-numbing than a series of loops. The treadmill. I hate treadmills. All that work and you don’t even go anywhere. And to complicate matters, though I had punched in 13.1 miles as my target distance, the machine shut down after an hour, a safety feature and/or means to ensure I didn’t deny another cruiser access to the infernal contraption. So I had to reset and go some more. That second start? Brutal. I really, really, REALLY hated that treadmill that day, my friends.
Time: 106:41 or 1:46:41.
THE FULL MARATHON – 79 Loops of Steamy Insanity. Time: 4:28:52
Mom cheered me on in the closing loops. But by then no cheers could reach my ears — I was just desperate to be finished.
On the plus side, I ran early enough that I got to be the MAYOR of the Hot Tub:
Half Marathon – On the Downward Slope — Time: 2:03:27. Yes, yes. I was faster on the treadmill but it was infinitely more enjoyable doing those loops.
The 10K – On the Downward Slope — Time: 56:55:61.
The Final 5K – Run THROUGH the Panama Canal — and because of the logistical necessities involved in navigating the locks, part of Deck 4 was once again closed meaning it was one final spin on the treadmill. Time: 22:51
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Kevin’s Note – A Captain’s Log Supplemental Notation
This is my fourth draft on this section. Try as I might, words fail me in summarizing the cast and crew of the Disney Wonder. They failed me onboard when I tried to tell people directly and they fail me now as I seek to write a definitive Panama Canal 2018 post. But that doesn’t mean I won’t try.
From the deck hands to housekeeping to dining to entertainment to officers and all levels above and below, the men and women of Disney Cruise Line made magic each and every day, without a weekend or day off and barely it seemed a power nap or two between day and night. They have no weekends and no full day’s of rest. And yet they were smiling, positive, and worked tirelessly to ensure people had not only a great experience but a series of great experiences. To say they made the world a better place sounds hyperbolic but it is true. For those of us aboard they truly did the impossible – they brought shining joy to a world seemingly overrun with dark anxieties.
Mom and I always love snapping photos with the world famous Disney characters (TM) and this cruise was no exception. The 14 days provided a chance to get to know a bit more about the crew and the friends of Mickey and Co.
I think the best way to sum up that crew and the Disney Wonder is to tell you that they made my Mom and me feel like V.I.I.Ps… and that’s not a typo. Mom and I always felt like Very Important and Individual Persons. And while at times I jealously watched as a favorite crew member made some magic for another cruiser, a penny would also proverbially drop: these folks are ridiculously good at their jobs. They not only effortlessly help make memories for me and my mom, or should I say deceptively effortlessly as they work really really hard, but they do so for so many people. They are simply amazing.
A few cast and crew even kindly asked about my “run Kevin run” jacket. If they happen to find their way to this page, ahoy! Send me a private message via the contact details and maybe I can buy you a caffeinated or adult beverage sometime in real life; I’d love to swap stories and tell tales. I hear it been said that it’s a small world after all, so hopefully our paths may cross again.
I have to run… literally… as I’m headed to Raleigh to run their marathon this Sunday. Thus after landing it’s a quick nap and then an 8+ hour drive to North Carolina. But I’ll try and post a few photos from the cruise over the next few days — visual snapshots of what I’ve once again failed to convey.
Mom and I made a whole new set of memories at sea and that’s due in no small measure to the good people of Disney Cruise Line. My thanks to them be it on this cruise or any of the others we’ve been lucky enough to do together. We’ve met great people on the ships of the Disney Fleet; some we’ve seen on more than one voyage or occasion. Wherever the winds may have taken you before or since, I hope that all your journeys are good journeys.
And now… gotta run.