The good ship Oceania Regatta is sailing from LA to Singapore, and I am onboard, ready to run. Well, at least the first part of that sentence is true. The Regatta is one of Oceania's smaller ships, also known as 'R' Class Ships. That means 13 laps per mile, or perhaps somewhat fewer if I do the corridors along with the loop. It's still not a good situation. But the treadmill is worse. More on all this later.
The outdoor situation is made worse when there's wind, rain, or waves to get in the way. When it's really bad, they close the deck 10 track entirely. I don't care how cold or wet it seems to be, or that the deck-swabbers and I must do battle each day, leave the dang thing open for me. Please? (Incidentally, sometimes the Captain personally allows me up on the deck 10 track when it was otherwise closed.)
 |
| Itin |
Speaking of treadmills, on (rare) occasions, I can watch a decent movie to help me get through the otherwise boring run. One such enjoyable and appropriate movie was MacFarland, USA. Another was Zatopek. If only the rest could be that good.
Okay, now some more on the on-deck running. Since there's nothing new about running on one of these boats, I've copied this description from another voyage.
The fitness center doesn't open until 6:00 A.M., and here it is, five-something. What to do? Run in circles on deck 10, of course. Running in circles, you ask? Isn't that awful, you ask? Maybe. But not always so much. I have options, you see... I can:
a) Run the 13-laps-per-mile recommended route. Yes, that's a lot of turning. But even here, there are options within this option. You see, I can run counter-clockwise (the usual direction, though I'm not sure why) or clockwise. See? All types of variations. I do a mile in each direction, but can only run clockwise when no one else is about. Today, I'm alone up here. Regardless of direction, I can only handle so much of this, so there's option b.
b) When I get tired of all that turning, I can do something else: add the two short aft hallways to the route. When I do this, it's only about 8 laps per mile. Another advantage is that I now (assuming that I'm going the accepted counter-clockwise direction) do two left-hand turns and two right-hand turns, and I don't even upset any fellow walkers or runners. The only disadvantage is having to do 180-degree turns at the end of each hallway. When I get tired of this, I can graduate further to option c.
c) This one only works when no one else is about. I can start in one direction, say clockwise, run one aft hallway, then turn and change direction all the way around the other way, in this case, counter-clockwise. When I get to the end of the other hallway, I turn 180 degrees and reverse direction once again. Now it's only five and a half laps per mile, at least for each complete - going each way - circuit. The advantage here is that I'm constantly changing direction and my turns are completely evened out. Of course, I can only do this when I'm completely alone.
d) By the time I get a few miles sorted out as described above, it's 6:00, and (Bob's your Uncle) the gym is open. I hate that mill, but it prevents me from running in circles or U-shaped thingies (c). I can only take so much milling around, so I will often revert myself back to option a again.
I do also manage to get a few runs on dry land. Only a few miles here and there, but it sure is nice to get those in. One such run was in Ketchikan, and another was on Kodiak Island.
 |
| Minor encounter with an eagle in Ketchikan |
Then, at Dutch Harbor, I got out in Unalaska on Amaknak Island located in Alaska's Aleutian Islands. My route took me up the side of a local mountain where there were some artifacts left over from the U.S. military in World War 2. The hill was both long and steep, and the views were fantastical.
 |
| Up the mountain in Unalaska |
I manage to get some long runs in. It's tough to run around in circles for 18 or more miles, even when you break that up with some mill miles. Somehow, I do it. But not all runs are gems. Some of the runs in rough waters are really tough. It's mill miles only, but even those are whilst hanging on for dear life.
When we finally arrive in Japan, I get some more on-land running in, starting in small-town Miyako and Oarai. Then we get to big-town Yokohama. Once there, I go out to do a nine-miler (my longest land run) and enjoy the many parks and their bidet-equipped public toilets. And let me tell you, those can be quite welcome!
 |
| Yokohama |
Besides still more ship running (that's 'ship' with a 'p'), I ran on land in Kobe and (at our our last stop in Japan) Okinawa. That short run in Okinawa was with John Shively, a fellow passenger who's from Lafayette, Indiana.
And that's about it for my running on this old rust bucket. 423.8 miles. Most of it on deck, running in circles or something similar. Some on dreadmills, some on land, and some whilst hiking. 6 18-mile runs, and a whole lot of 10-ish milers. And guess what? I still gained weight. A lot of weight.
For more about the trip in general, see this travel blog post.
