Its been almost 2 weeks since i have run/jogged/shuffled/gimped. this time off has been extremely painful. my Psoas-and-Gluteus-Medius-pain has traveled around to the (not sure of the proper names) side of my hip, Sartorius (i am guessing here, i have Wiki open and am studying legs...) and i have a constant limp. the pain has changed, become fierce and sharp. the past 2 weeks have seen numerous trips to the gym, with no cardio, and an interesting 'forgetting' to lift with the lower body parts. the shoulders and back are feeling great but i really wanted to get some legs in. so, today, i went. alone. no headphones. i concentrated. i treadmilled. i warmed up for 2 minutes then BOOSTED my speed to a whopping 4.8 mph. i jogged for 10 minutes and i thought my leg was going to fall off at 8 minutes. i wanted to cry. i could barely lift my right leg up for every-other-stride. at 10 minutes i went back down to my 3.3 walk. i lingered. i was disappointed. i wanted to go farther, or just longer. i hopped off and stretched the quads - and HOLY MOLY: i could actually stretch my WHOLE right leg. first time in 2 months. again, i wanted to cry. it felt sooooooo good. my quad felt alive, not that it had felt dead... i hopped back on - at 3.3 mph and quickly BOOSTED back up to 4.8. 2 minutes jog on flat treadmill. 2 minutes jog at 5 incline. 2 minutes walk. stretch. repeat on 5.8 mph. i was able to do this for 30 minutes. again (again) i wanted to cry. my heart was pounding. every time i picked the pace back up i got a little 'runners hi.' after each stretch i was actually able to stride without a gimp limp. it felt soooo good. i guess intervals (including the stretch) was the key!! when i was done i immediately ran upstairs to my own private stretching room. more stretching. then i began the lower body workout. the first in prolly 2 years. squats on the wall, with the ball. lunges around the room. numerous sets. and that was it. nothing more nothing less. the whole time all i could think was "just DONT over do it, lisa." i even found a foam roller in the corner of the room and was able to massage out some of the knots in my hip. unreal. then something caught my eye. it also caught my breath. a jump rope dangled in the corner. i was already worried that i had 'done too much,' but i picked it up anyhow. and i tried to jump with it. i have forgotten how extremely difficult it is to jump rope - especially when wearing running shoes. for the first time in 3.5 years i skipped for about 20 seconds. i used to skip so often and for so long. i promptly called it quits. i can train for a half marathon but there is no way i can jump rope for a few minutes. another item added to my fitness list :)

Day 2: Spent the whole day at sea. Sea days ended up being some of the best days on the ship! Woke up early and took a stretch class at the gym and completed my speed interval training on the treadmill. Tried to run out on the track on the upper deck but it was SOOO windy that I could barely run in a straight line! Spent the rest of the day exploring the ship, eating, laying in the sun, enjoying fruity drinks with little umbrellas, eating, laughing during trivia, eating, and did I mention eating? Stopped by the Flow Rider for a little bit to see how it was going. Tried it towards the end of the week and had the best time!! Our first formal night was tonight too. Fun times! :)