Onboard the Disney Treasure (Week 9)
Vol 4. No.15
Don’t let the following pictures and accounts fool you. I’m not a huge Disney fan, however I am a huge fan of my wife and she loves Disney. I also really enjoy going on a good cruise ship and so far, of the dozen or more cruises I’ve done in my life, Disney Cruise Lines (DCL) have been the best for all kinds of reasons.
Don’t worry, this post is still about running and not a cruise review.
Going on vacation always feels good. It felt good to disconnect from the stressors of life for a week and to keep the T.V. off and separated from the latest news propaganda. I always enjoy traveling with my wife, she’s much more than just my bride. She’s my best friend and travel companion. Her passion for travel and adventure is contagious and intoxicating. After nearly 21 years of marriage and multiple travel adventures, it’s still an exciting time to get to travel the world with her.
I had some concerns going into this cruise.
Would I be able to continue running on a daily basis?
How would I be able to keep my Type 2 Diabetes in control with all the food?
I didn’t want to offset the gains and improvements I’ve made since December 5th.
As you’ll read in this weeks post, I took on each of these concerns with discipline and found adjustments and ways to enjoy all aspects of this vacation. From the food to the fitness and alcohol.
The running highlight of this vacation was completing my second Castaway Cay 5K! The weather turned for the absolute best with temperatures in the mid 70’s and the ocean acceptable for a post-run swim. This was my last run of February and helped me close out the month with 108 total running miles.
I hope you enjoy this weeks post and the key takeaway during Week 9 is that you can enjoy being on vacation with food and friends while still maintaining your fitness!
*Hint* - Scroll to the bottom for some food porn.
Monday 2.24.2025 (JD55): 3 Miles on the Treadmill
My first disappointment with this ship is the fact there was no outdoor track and thus all runners were regulated to using the indoor treadmills. My first run onboard the ship was actually on Sunday morning, in the gym and on a treadmill. The only upside to running on the treadmills was the view out of the portholes and the amazing sunrises. Other than that, the treadmills weren’t that enjoyable.
The gym opened at 6am and as I approached the doors at 5:55am there was already a small group of people waiting to get in. Once the doors swung open, the group dispersed into small gym and took up positions on the weight machines and treadmills. Let me tell you now, at 6am there is not much happening onboard a cruise ship, just us crazy people still working out even on vacation.
The treadmills all faced the side of the ship, so as the shipped rocked side to side you could feel those tiny movements while running. At first I was having a hard time adjusting to these continuous micro movements yet found myself fully acclimated by day five.
I completed my first two miles on a standard flat treadmill at a 1% incline and things were going well until natured called. After handling the call I made my way back to the gym only to find all the treadmills were taken except for the curved Assault Runner. With another mile to go, I figured what better time than now to give it a go.
The curvature took a bit to get accustomed to during my initial 0.25mi warmup jog before I started my 0.25mi sprints. I completed two sprints and with another 0.25 mile jog/walk in between to round out the full mile.
This was much more difficult than anticipated! The sprinting felt natural and I felt fast! Too bad I could see my reflection in the port-hole window and what I saw in the reflection was nothing as to what I was feeling. I felt nearly as fast as The Flash! Surely my legs were a blur, yet the reflection just showed a grey haired dad trying to sprint. I actually laughed out loud at myself and remembered to always be humble!
3.0 miles | Avg Pace: 9’45” | Avg HR: 117 | Best Mile: 9’33”
Tuesday: 2.25.2025 (JD56): 1 Mile on the Treadmill
My water to beer ratio in the last 24 hours was not sufficient enough to allow athletic performance. I purchased the 22oz Beer Stein and took full advantage of the 22oz pours for the price of a 16oz, especially with the Flapin’ Fish Gose!
While I kept the rest of my nutrition aligned to control my T2DM, my beer intake increased significantly. Funny enough, this helped keep my blood glucose levels down while also catching a nice buzz.
The next morning I made my way down to the gym for the 6am open and saw the same people as the morning before. I’m seeing a trend here.
I got on the first available treadmill and realized within the first 1/4 mile that this would not be a good time, at least it would be short. By the half-mile mark I was hurting. My legs were tired, lungs didn’t want to work, lips were dry and nothing felt right.
It was a ONE & DONE kind of morning.
Following the run I swore off of alcohol for the next 24hrs and just started drinking water. With tomorrow being Wednesday, I know I had to get the 5K done before we took to shore in Jamaica.
1.0 miles | Avg Pace: 11’06” | Avg HR: 111 | Best Mile: 11’06”
Wednesday: 2.26.2025 (JD57): Wednesday 5K before mudding in Jamaica.
Wednesday was my friend Rob’s birthday and the day we were heading to shore in Jamaica! I made my way back to the gym at 6am and once again, the same eight people were standing there waiting for the doors to open.
Working out is a habit. A good one.
I got on the treadmill and started my Wednesday 5K before a day of swimming, mudding and drinking. The run itself was a complete 180 difference from yesterday! Amazing what no beer and a lot of water can do for the muscles and mind. The run was easy and it felt great to be able to continue this weekly habit even while onboard.
The day was incredible with an early morning run, followed by a day on the Island with swimming at the Secret River and then hitting the trails in side-by-sides! After a quick washdown in some outdoor showers it was a relaxing Jerk Chicken lunch washed down with Red Stripe. As the evening rolled around we celebrated my friends birthday with a dinner at Palo Steakhouse.
I’ve got to say, that having running as a habit really makes me feel good. I knew I had a busy day and evening coming up and it felt great to start the day with a 5K run and watching the sunrise behind the Island.
3.11 miles | Avg Pace: 9’58” | Avg HR: 118 | Best Mile: 9’47”
Thursday: 2.27.2025 (JD58): 5-miles on the Treadmill
We didn’t get to bed until early Thursday morning! Thankfully it was a Day-at-Sea and there was no need to be at the gym doors at 6am for my morning run.
In a rare instance in my life, I slept in past 7am! I suppose that’s a great thing as I was on vacation and isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?
This pushed me getting to the gym around 8:00am and it was FULL. Every piece of equipment and every treadmill was occupied. The only thing open was the rower. Getting on a treadmill was a Gladiator sport! As soon as it appeared one runner was stepping off, spears appears from nowhere and two or more people were elbowing each other for the hamster wheel. I watched this happen three or four times and decided I’d just wait them all out. I had nothing else to do.
The rower had a direct line of sight to all of the treadmills so my gameplan shifted and I’d just row to warmup until something opened up. It only took four minutes, but a few machines opened up and without having to slash anyone, I walked right onto a treadmill.
It was a predetermined distance. I was doing five miles. No matter how bad it felt or uncomfortable it’d get, I was going for five!
After I got started it all just flowed together easy. Mile after mile ticked away, more people left the gym and when I was done there were only three of us left on belt fed fitness machines. Tomorrow was the Castaway Cay 5K and after five days of running on a treadmill I was ready to get back on the ground.
5.0 miles | Avg Pace: 9’37” | Avg HR: 133 | Best Mile: 9’11”
Friday: 2.28.2025 (JD 59): Castaway Cay 5K!
The day turned out to be incredible! Temperatures were warming up to the mid 70’s and the sea temperature was acceptable for a post-run swim! We had blue sky the entire day with little to no wind and people were smiling everywhere.
The Castaway Cay 5K is a very informal event that is 100% based on the honor system. All you’ve got to do is run or walk the 5K marked course then let the staff know and you get a rubber medal. There’s no signups, no bibs, no chips no official start or finish. This is absolutely a fun run and I had no intentions of making this a “race” or going for a Personal Record.
I took the Go-Pro and took a lot of video of this years run. Once I get that edited and going I’ll be sure to post it to The Long Run.
There were a lot of people on trail! Much more than I saw in March of 2024 and everyone looked to be enjoying themselves. My pace was easy and I often slowed down to get video and more. It was a relaxing pace and it felt incredible to be on hard ground and not on the treadmill. This is one of my all time favorite 5K’s and I look forward to doing it again on another sailing.
3.11 miles | Avg Pace: 8’34” | Avg HR: 142 | Best Mile: 8’08”
Saturday: 3.1.2025 (JD 60): Travel Day
We lucked out and got a same-day change for a direct flight from Orlando to Raleigh! This got us home at 3pm instead of 8pm! It was great to be home and even better that temperatures were near 70F instead of the 28F when we left just a week ago.
To keep my running going, I laced up and got in a very slow and easy 1-mile run around the neighborhood. The sun was just barely up over the trees and spring was in surround sound with birds chirping all around me in a natural symphony of growth.
It felt great to log a total of 19.22 miles while on vacation and to close it out with another 1-mile at home evening me out to 20-miles.
1.01 miles | Avg Pace: 11’15” | Avg HR: 113 | Best Mile: 11’15”
Sunday: 3.2.2025 (JD 61): Weekend Long Run (10 miles)
As you’re reading this, I am out on a 10-mile run with friends in this incredible March weather! Once complete I will come back and update this post.
**UPDATE**
This morning I linked up with the best Run Club in The South, the Clayton Area runners. A group of 11 of us met up for a late morning run starting at 10am under almost ideal running conditions. Albeit, the first mile was a bit “crisp”, the latter miles were easy and flowed along nicely. It was a good morning to run.
The group had miles ranging from a 5K to 10-miles and paces ranging from 9’30” - 12’30”. These events are always a “your pace-your distance” run that is inclusive of as many people as possible. Even if we don’t run together as a whole, it’s great to start together and pass each other on the trail during the runs.
I had the most mileage on the morning with 10 and decided I’d get the first 3 miles in with Mike, Max, Carlos and Robert before they turned around for an even 6. However, at the turn around my good friend Robert decided to stick it out and get 10-miles done with me!
The weather was incredible and warmed up to the 40’s just as we were hitting the last 5 miles. Humidity was low, the sun was bright and the sky was blue. Honestly I could not have asked for better conditions.
With great weather and even better friends running with me, this 10-mile run was easy and comfortable. I hit my weekly goal of 25-miles for the week and felt like I could have gone more had it not been for the mandatory porta-john break.
Easy days like this aren’t just given, they are earned. With that hard work comes an appreciation for the easy days under ideal conditions with good friends.
If you haven’t had one of those days yet, just keep showing up, it’s bound to happen and it’s unavoidable.
Food Porn
Enjoy these photos of many, not all of the meals that I ate while onboard the Treasure. I really do think that Disney Cruise Lines has the best food on the seas! They had smoked salmon everyday at breakfast, grilled salmon, chicken and more for lunch and dinner everyday not to mention the peel and eat shrimp and crab legs!
I ate little to zero breads and pastas and only had a two mini-mickey waffles. All of my desserts were Sugar Free or No Sugar Added. I did take a few bites and spoonful’s of my wife’s deserts, many of which are pictured below as well.
What’s missing below is all the grilled salmon I ate, some cheeseburgers and hotdogs along with the smokehouse BBQ.
Lastly, not pictured are the approximatley 5 gallons of beer I drank. Had I not had any beer, I probably would have lost weight on this cruise!
Cappuccinos
Breakfast Dishes
Brunch Dishes
Lunch Dishes
Dinner Dishes.
Dessert Dishes.
