We
are docked in Fort Lauderdale. Our cruise is a weird merging of three
baby cruises. Part one went to the Bahamas and Grand Turk. Part two
is about to begin, and takes us to Cozumel Mexico and back. Part
three heads is to two Bahamas stops. Each time we lose and gain a
heap of fresh passengers.
No dining room was open for breakfast, so everybody was cramming into the top-deck buffet. Most were pulling their luggage with them, and no longer looking like cruise people. They have that stressed, airport kinda glaze on their eyes.
We waited until 10:45am and then gathered in one of the dining rooms. We were then lead ashore and run through US Customs. After that we were right back on board. This will happen again in a few days.
Lunch was especially yummy. Double deserts all around.
The boat kept filling up through the afternoon. Lots of sparkly-eyed newcomers.
Decadence. I went for an on-board barber shave. If I had loads of cash, I'd get one daily. It was old-school, with waves of hot towels, and two complete shaving passes. The only concession to being on a ship was the use of a modern razor instead of a straight edge. A naked blade on a moving vessel would be a recipe for bloodletting. They did try and get me to upgrade to the shave/facial/massage package, but I held firm.
No dining room was open for breakfast, so everybody was cramming into the top-deck buffet. Most were pulling their luggage with them, and no longer looking like cruise people. They have that stressed, airport kinda glaze on their eyes.
We waited until 10:45am and then gathered in one of the dining rooms. We were then lead ashore and run through US Customs. After that we were right back on board. This will happen again in a few days.
Lunch was especially yummy. Double deserts all around.
The boat kept filling up through the afternoon. Lots of sparkly-eyed newcomers.
Decadence. I went for an on-board barber shave. If I had loads of cash, I'd get one daily. It was old-school, with waves of hot towels, and two complete shaving passes. The only concession to being on a ship was the use of a modern razor instead of a straight edge. A naked blade on a moving vessel would be a recipe for bloodletting. They did try and get me to upgrade to the shave/facial/massage package, but I held firm.
***
My knee has been really good. It still has a slightly different "feel" than it used to, or that the other one has, but it's fine. I have some exercises to try and get it as strong as its partner, but they really aren't much of a workout.
Doing Jiu-Jitsu doesn't do much for leg muscle. Karate would, but the nature of the movements involved would undo all the progress I've made.
I need something physically demanding for my legs that won't go beyond what is wise. Bike riding is something along the right line. I've been doing that, and I am certain the effect has been positive. I'd like to take this up one more notch, as biking works the gross motor muscles, but not the finer, lateral ligaments that keep knee joints lined up.
When we get home I will try running again.
Both my doctor and physiotherapist said I could, but I wanted things really stable before starting up. Things are really stable. I've also recently read articles that state that runners who develop osteoarthritis in their knees not only CAN continue running, but that they SHOULD do so to counter the effects. The only issue seems to be avoidance of high-impact surfaces.
My usual runs are a mix of road and trail. There is no concrete, and most of the asphalt has gravel or dirt shoulders. Reducing speed on any unavoidable concrete will lessen impact, especially if I can consistently shift to a sliding/shuffling movement. I might zone out and forget.
In any case, I'll start by driving to the trails and only running dirt. If that works out, I'll try going all afoot.
***
Well, I've already scrapped my own running plan. Helen and I attended a Zumba class, and then I toddled off to the gym. The treadmills looked nice and bouncy, so I hopped on, set it for 30 minutes, and proceeded to run effortlessly for half an hour. Didn't go real fast, but made 2.69 miles. That's 4.3 k for us metric folk. My knee doesn't seem to mind that I ran on it at all, which was my wish. Wish granted.
Seems that I'm a runner again, after almost eleven months off.
My knee has been really good. It still has a slightly different "feel" than it used to, or that the other one has, but it's fine. I have some exercises to try and get it as strong as its partner, but they really aren't much of a workout.
Doing Jiu-Jitsu doesn't do much for leg muscle. Karate would, but the nature of the movements involved would undo all the progress I've made.
I need something physically demanding for my legs that won't go beyond what is wise. Bike riding is something along the right line. I've been doing that, and I am certain the effect has been positive. I'd like to take this up one more notch, as biking works the gross motor muscles, but not the finer, lateral ligaments that keep knee joints lined up.
When we get home I will try running again.
Both my doctor and physiotherapist said I could, but I wanted things really stable before starting up. Things are really stable. I've also recently read articles that state that runners who develop osteoarthritis in their knees not only CAN continue running, but that they SHOULD do so to counter the effects. The only issue seems to be avoidance of high-impact surfaces.
My usual runs are a mix of road and trail. There is no concrete, and most of the asphalt has gravel or dirt shoulders. Reducing speed on any unavoidable concrete will lessen impact, especially if I can consistently shift to a sliding/shuffling movement. I might zone out and forget.
In any case, I'll start by driving to the trails and only running dirt. If that works out, I'll try going all afoot.
***
Well, I've already scrapped my own running plan. Helen and I attended a Zumba class, and then I toddled off to the gym. The treadmills looked nice and bouncy, so I hopped on, set it for 30 minutes, and proceeded to run effortlessly for half an hour. Didn't go real fast, but made 2.69 miles. That's 4.3 k for us metric folk. My knee doesn't seem to mind that I ran on it at all, which was my wish. Wish granted.
Seems that I'm a runner again, after almost eleven months off.
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