On Deck For The Cure

Mike and I went on our third Princess Cruise the week before Christmas.  I have a big ol’ cruise recap post coming soon, but I knew the first thing I wanted to tell you all about was On Deck For The Cure.  Princess Cruises, in addition to several other cruise lines have joined forces with the Susan G. Komen Foundation and gives guests an opportunity to not only donate to the cause, but to participate in a 5K around the ship decks.

I had never really paid attention to it on our past cruises, but this time, with my newfound determination to get healthier, it was something I was eager to take part in!  Plus it is for an amazing cause, and one I believe in … I knew it was something I needed to do.  Besides, how many people can say that they did their first 5k in the middle of the ocean? Not many I’d bet!

Mike and I participated, and it  ended up becoming one of the highlights of the cruise for me.

I had never participated in s 5K before … I knew I wouldn’t be running it, hell, I knew I’d be lucky if I finished it …   I was nervous but determined to finish.  The 5K was 8 laps around the ship between decks 7 &8.  It was an amazing experience, one I know I will never ever forget … there was something so amazing about walking around the outskirts of the deck (parts of the boat I know I wouldn’t of otherwise visited) with nothing but a crystal blue ocean  as a backdrop to my 5k walk …

Mike and I stopped once, at the halfway point to grab a drink of water, and then went right back out to finish.  Soon after our water-break we stopped for another minute because there were dolphins in the water! Dolphins! I love dolphins … and I kept telling Mike all trip that I wanted to see dolphin before I went home! And lo’ and behold, here they were, on the second to last day on ship, swmming and jumping right in front of me!   It was like they were cheering us on! Seriously made me so super happy!!! I tried to snap a picture of them but they swam away soooo fast!

Mike admitted to me after the fact the didn’t think I was going to go back out.  He thought I was going to quit at that half-way mark when we stopped for water.  He said I surprised him that I went right back out there and that he was proud of me for finishing.  Ya know what? I was proud of me too.  Seriously …  It was one of my proudest moments! I was on a natural high for hours … I felt like I could accomplish anything!  I’ve already told Mike that I want to participate in the On Deck For The Cure 5k each cruise we go on!

*Disclaimer: I was not compensated in anyway for this post