Gear Roundup: Orange Mud Transition Wrap 2.0

Disclaimer: I received an  Orange Mud Transition Wrap 2.0  to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!

As I trained for my first triathlon last summer, more than once I found myself in a public area and in need of an outfit change. I know, I know – they make plenty of clothing for triathletes that you can wear from swim to bike to run, but as a newbie to the sport, my wardrobe was more limited. I owned heavy padded bike shorts, that were no good for running and a bathing suit that needed to be changed out of after a swim, which lead to me searching for a public restroom or climbing into my car and trying to be discrete as I swapped outfits.

As the seasons changed to fall and my swims moved inside, I was trekking to the public pool armed with ratty old pool towels, that were hand-me-downs from my mother in law. They got the job done, but were a bit more bare bones with each use.

I had heard other triathletes talk about using a transition towel, and even seen a few put them to use. So when the BibRave team presented an opportunity to work with Orange mud and their new transition wrap 2.0, I applied to be a tester.

When I received my Orange Mud Transition wrap 2.0 from the folks at Orange Mud, it was all neatly packaged up in its bag. I got a purple one, and happily plopped it into my gym bag so it could come along for my next swim. I was surprised at how much softer it was than a standard towel

Now, the orange mud transition wrap 2.0 is more than just a standard pool towel. It is billed as a towel with three uses

1. It has a zipper on one end that enables you to hook it onto your car seat, so that when you are sweaty after a workout you can protect your car seat

2. It has an integrated adjustable belt so that you can wear it around your body while you change under it

3. Of course, it has the standard feature every towel comes with – it can dry you off when you are wet

The next time I headed to the pool, I tried out the belt feature that the towel has. To give myself a little added privacy in the locker room I clipped the towel around me. I found that it worked better for me when I clipped it around my shoulders instead of around my waist, since it has to wrap around itself for me to securely clip it to my waist – which would work if I was just changing my pants, but made getting a one piece bathing suit on more complicated than it needed to be.

But it checked the box of having a private place to change – so it was onto the next, and most basic test: How would it perform as a towel?

I got my laps in, and wrapped the towel around my body once I finished my swim. Once again, I was surprised at how soft the towel was. It felt smooth on my skin, rather than abrasive as old pool towels sometimes seem. I headed to the locker room and used the towel to dry off before changing. It did the job faster than a normal towel, and didn’t feel sopping wet as I tucked it back into my gym bag. When I got home I hung it out to dry, even though it seemed to have mostly dried off already.

There was only one thing left to check – how was it on a car seat? I headed for a run with mt friend Mike, and he offered to drive us to a local path. I packed my towel in my running bag, figuring I could save his seat from my sweat on the ride home.

After the run the towel easily zipped up and attached to the seat’s head rest. Mike pointed out that I we had taken his car to hot yoga in the past, and that I had already gotten his seat all sweaty once – but hey, thanks to orange mud I can now be a more considerate friend, and leave my stink behind a little less often!

All in all, this towel has quickly become my new favorite. It has already become a staple in my gym bag, and I am sure next summer it will come along for many open water swims and bike rides. If you are in the market for a towel that does more than just dries you off – the Orange Mud transition wrap 2.0 is just what you are looking for.

Chicago marathon training: End of the Line

If you follow me on Instagram, you know where this post is going: I finally bit the bullet and deferred my entry to the 2019 Chicago Marathon. 

After what was feeling like a great training cycle, I managed to aggravate my knee. After a week of pain I headed to the doctor, and after an x-ray an an orthopedist visit, the doctor told me that my knee cap wasn’t tracking directly - patellar tracking disorder. They told me which brace I needed, and handed me a prescription for physical therapy. 

“Great!” I thought. There was no major damage, just an inflammation that could be resolved. I had almost two months before race day, which would hopefully be more than enough time to bounce back. I didn’t run at all for two weeks, instead swimming and biking to keep my cardio up. I went to PT like the doctor recommended. When I started running again, I listened to the physical therapists advice and took it slow. 

When the physical therapist evaluated me, he felt that it wasn’t patellar tracking disorder, but an injury that was acting like it. He thought that I must have side stepped at some point, and my knee cap displaced and caused the lingering irritation. 

As race day grew closer, the deferment deadline approached and I was faced with a tough decision. My running was still minimal, and the PT had told me I should only run distances that didn’t cause pain - which was capping me at about 4 miles by deferment day. 

So, I made the difficult decision and deferred my registration to 2020. I was too nervous about hurting myself if I pushed to up my mileage in preparation for race day, and it just didn’t feel like the smart choice. Plus, I want to be healthy for the Dopey challenge in January. 

Now, almost two months after the initial pain in my knee I have some good days where it feels normal-ish, and some bad days where it is achey all day and hurts if I even think about running.

Thankfully, I was able to refund both my flight and hotel, so that was a silver lining. At least the only “cost” was the race entry, and by deferring I will have a spot waiting for me next fall, and I can hope that the next go around, I will be ready to take this race on. 

To those of you heading to Chicago this weekend to take on 26.2, I wish you the best of luck, and remind you to trust your training!

Video Recap: Seawheeze Half Marathon

Hi guys! Today I’m sharing the footage that I shot on my GoPro during the Seawheeze Half marathon.

It was a good course, that the humidity made a bit challenging at times. Overall, it was a fun racing experience.

Have you ever ran the Seawheeze Half? Comment on my video and share your experience if you have!

Race Recap: Nassau County Police Department Memorial 5k

This is the second time I was participating in the NCPD Memorial 5K, as excited to get out for a good cause. The race fundraisers for the families of the fallen officers from the Nassau County Police Department. Coming from a family of cops, I think that the families of fallen officers should always receive support from the community.

Plus, the last time I did this race it was a great time! It’s an easy and quick course through Eisenhower Park that is entirely flat, and they don’t even make you run over the grass which sometimes happens with races in that park. I had originally asked my cousin Ryan to run this race with me, but he was under the weather tonight. I texted Mike to see if he still had plans, for the last time we had discuss the race he was busy. But lucky for me – his other plans fell through and he was able to come run with me.

The race happened on a Monday night, so after work I headed home and change into the shirt that I wore for the New York City Marathon in 2017, which featured the NYPD running club. I swung by Mike’s house and picked him up, and we head to the park together. It’s a local race for us so it only took about 10 minutes to get there.

The parking lot closest to the race were already filled up, and I didn’t want to park on the grass this time around us so I opted for a slightly further out parking lot. We’re already going to be running a 5K, so with a little extra walking really matter. We got over to the race area just as people are starting to head to the start line, and fell into the massive group of people waiting to get going. Soon after there was announcement at the start was going to be delayed by 10 minutes. I looked around us and waited in the starting corral knowing that a lot of the tri team was going to be doing this race and spotted a few of the jerseys ahead of us. We weaved through the group of waiting runners and I spotted Tara. 

She asked me what my plan for this race was, and honestly I didn’t really have one. I just plan on sticking with Mike and letting whatever piece happened it just happened. But when she greeted me she had told me that she was hoping to see me, so I could pace her for this race. I asked her what time she wanted to run, and she said something in the eights. I knew that Mike had been able to hold pieces that fast as he had been coming with me lately to do a few miles during my tempo runs, so I figured we may as well go for it. 

The national anthem was saying, and the race finally begin just a few minutes delayed. At first it was very crowded, with over 700 runners doing this event and no real seeding system runners of all different paces were starting at the same time. Made for a congested start, but with a little bit of weaving we were able to break into a less congested area of the race. The 1st mile including out and back portion where we ran towards the aquatic center in the park, and then we ran back towards the start area and spotted other members of the Tri team among the spectators. A lot of people that I knew spectating the race, and it was exciting do you hear them shout out my name as I ran by. At one point we ran through so many people that I knew, that Mike joked he would pay someone a dollar just to cheer for him. My watch buzzed to indicate that we had ran a mile just as we passed the 1st mile marker, an 8:29 pace. Before starting we had said we would try to stay between 830 and 845, so I tried to slow the pace down a little bit going into mile two that way there wouldn’t be any burnouts. But so far Mike and Tara were both sticking with me and looking strong.

It was a nice night out despite being August in New York, and Even the humidity was tolerable. I was surprised with how little I was sweating, and overall just felt really good. The week before this race I had totaled 50 miles, so I really didn’t expect these pieces to be coming without a high level of effort even the humidity was tolerable. I was surprised with how little I was sweating, and how overall i felt really good. The week before this race I had totaled 50 miles, so I really didn’t expect these paces to be coming without a high level of effort. There was a water stop in the 2nd mile, but I didn’t manage to get over in time. Sorry Mike and Tarah, if you guys had really wanted water at that point. I figured it was only a 5K, so we would survive to the end even if it sucked a little bit. The true torture came when we ran by an ice cream truck shortly after, and I didn’t even have any change to get something. We finished mile 2 with an 8:40 pace, as we weaved through a more wooded area of the park. At this point I kept a little bit of a closer eye on the pace - I wanted to make sure that we all would be able to stay together to the finish line.

I tried to cheer on my fellow runners as Mike, Tara and I pushed to keep the pace. We looped through the back side of Eisenhower park, and were soon nearing the area that we started the race in, and closing in on our third mile. Mike fell behind a little bit during the last mile, so as we approached the finish line I told Tara to go on without me, and slowed a little so Mike and I could be reunited, and finish the race together. When he caught up to me he was practically sprinting, and I met his pace as we raced for the finish line together. - we finished the race in 26:38, a new PR for Mike!

There were volunteers handing out cool towels and water bottles at the finish line, and those towels were amazing. We caught our breath, and then walked around the post-race area until we found the BBQ. They had catering from Texas roadhouse, and each runner was able to select two hot foods, a side, and a drink. I got a hot dog, a chicken slider, a oatmeal cookie, and a seltzer. They were also handing out draft beer to the runners, so Mike and I each got a pint, and I passed mine along to him once we found a seat to eat, since beer isn’t really my thing. The beer was unlimited for each runner, you just had to being back your cup to get more.

Mike and I enjoyed our tiny feast, watching other runners finish their race as the sun set in the park. Once we were finished eating we chatted with some of my friends from the tri team, as we waited for the raffles to be drawn - each runner had been given a raffle ticket, and there were additional tickets available for purchases, with some great prizes. We didn’t wind up winning anything though, and headed home after the numbers had been drawn.

Overall, I love this event, from the cause it supports, to the BBQ after the race, and the T-shirt that they give out, and I hope I will be able to run it for years to come.

Gear roundup: AfterShokz Xtrainerz

Disclaimer: I received a pair of AfterShokz Xtrainerz to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!

As a newly minted BibRave pro, I was excited to see what kind of products I would get to test out - I already knew the community was great, and full of supportive runners, but I was looking forward to testing out some new products!

Shortly after joining, it was announced that there would be an opportunity to test a new product that AfterShokz was releasing, targeted at swimmers and triathletes. Since I had just finished my first triathlon over the summer, and needed some motivation to get back in the pool, I signed up, hoping to be selected. 

Just after being told to take two weeks off from running, I got an email that boosted my mood a little- I was selected to review the new AfterShokz product, called Xtrainerz (pronounced “cross trainers”), which are water proof headphones! I would get so much use out of them, as I planned to focus on swimming while I couldn’t run. Plus, I had heard so many good things about AfterShokz (Kasey runs with their headphones) but had never tried them myself, so I was excited to get my first pair!

Before I go into my experience with the Xtrainerz, let me get into product specs a little -

The Xtrainerz are waterproof in up to six feet of salt or fresh water, and even went through a 72 hour salt spray test with no corrosion - As a former test engineer, who used to perform this kind of testing on a regular basis, I can tell you salt spray testing is no joke! I have seen products come out of salt spray testing in totally unsafe conditions, so it is no small feat that these little headphones were impervious to the corrosion it can cause. The headphones have 4GB of MP3 storage, ready and waiting to be filled with your favorite tunes, podcasts, or audio books. The controls on the headphones can turn power on and off, set the music to shuffle, repeat, or play in order, and navigate between folders, so you can selectively listen to whatever you’re feeling on a given day. They also have an option to toggle between “swim” mode and “normal” mode

When my package finally arrived in the mail, it had AfterShokz branding on the outside, and I excitedly opened them up. They were nicely packaged, and even had some BibRave orange tissue paper in the box. After opening them up I popped them on, excited to try out bone conduction technology for the first time. To my surprise, they had a charge, and were even loaded with a few sample songs. 

I mostly stream my music, so I had to track down some MP3s to load onto the headphones built in storage. There isn’t a Bluetooth connection for the Xtrainerz, so streaming isn’t an option. Bluetooth can’t travel through water, so it makes sense that the headphones would just rely on their built in storage. 

After going through my iTunes library, I was able to convert some of my songs to MP3s, which are compatible with the headphones. I placed the headphones into their USB dock, and connected to my computer. No software was necessary to load up the music to my headphones, as they acted like a usb drive when I connected. So I was able to just drag and drop the music onto the headphones, and they were ready to go. I tried them out a little as I hung out at home, and was excited for my next swim. 

When I got to the pool a few days later, I turned up the volume as I stepped onto the pool deck, since there was a lot of ambient noise. I jumped into the pool, and started my first lap. The sound seemed a little garbled at first, and I wondered if I should go back to the lockers and grab the ear plugs that came with the headphones. But a moment later my ears had adjusted to the water, and I realized the issue was my ears, not the headphones, as the music was playing loud and clear - I even had to turn the volume down a little, as it was quieter under water than it had been on the pool deck. 

It was almost a surreal experience to have water while swimming, as I’m used to silence as I count my laps to pass the time. I was able to settle into a groove as a swam along to the music, the laps slipping away. Much more entertaining than doing mental math as I swim, which I have resorted to in the past.

The next time I swam with them, I decided to try the ear plugs that the came with. I had never swam with ear plugs in before, but as someone who often has to play the “shake your head at odd angles” game after swimming, I figured it was something worth trying. 

My first thought: why did I not try this sooner!? The ear plugs made me so much more comfortable, and made me feel like I was the only one in the pool as I listened to my music. After only a few swims, I’m already spoiled by these headphones. 

Tonight, I’m loading up an audio book (Harry Potter of course - what can I say, I’m predictable) and I’m looking forward to listening to it on my next swim. When I connect my headphones to the computer, the files look like they’re on any USB drive, and by putting the audiobook in its own folder, I can select just the book and not wind up listening to music between chapters. 

The only downside to these headphones? They don’t have any bluetooth connection, so I can’t stream to them using my cell phone, when I want to use them while I’m not swimming. Since most of the music I listen to I stream, it took me a few days to track down MP3s to load up the headphones. 

All in all, I have thoroughly enjoyed my new AfterShokz Xtrainerz. They’ve been my first experience with bone conduction technology, and have surpassed all of my expectations. I love that they have storage built in, so I can go phone free, and that the buttons on the headset give me control over what I’m listening to. 

If you want to get your hands on a pair of Xtrainerz? If you visit www.bibrave.aftershokz.com you can save $50 on the endurance bundle of your choice when you use the coupon code BRBUNDLE.

Chicago marathon: Week 14

This week had a slow start- coming back from the Alaskan cruise, Monday was an all day travel day for Den and I, and it felt like we were taking every mode of transportation to get home. The boat made it into the dock at Vancouver before we woke up, so we grabbed breakfast on the ship while we waited for our bags to clear customs. 

It was bittersweet having our last meal on the cruise, but it had been such a great trip. Once our bags cleared customs we disembarked the ship for the last time, and headed to the terminal to collect our stuff. From there we headed to the buses, as we had pre-booked airport transportation through the cruise line. It was about a 40 minute ride to the airport, and we had a bus driver who gave us color commentary throughout the drive. 

When we got to the airport we had to sit in a holding lot until the bus was cleared to drive in, and then it was the slow walk through customs. By the time our bags were checked and we were through security, we had about 45 minutes before our flight would start boarding. Since we would be landing at 9 pm NY time, I wanted to find food so I wouldn’t be starving. Once we boarded the flight it was smooth sailing for the most part, the biggest battle being trying to stay awake for the whole flight, so I could easily sleep when we got home.

My brother Kevin was nice enough to collect us from Newark, which is a hike from Long Island, and I was really happy we didn’t have to deal with the air train. When we finally got home it took me a while to settle in before heading to bed, and I knew the morning wake up was going to be harder than usual, with my body still functioning on west coast time. 

My fist run of the week didn’t happen until Wednesday night, since I took it easy on Tuesday to recover from the traveling, and to try to get my body to adjust back to my normal schedule. Plus, my knee was still bothering me, and I wanted to give it another day to see if there was any improvement. 

That night I headed out solo after work, even though I did a bit of procrastinating before I got moving. But when I did get out, I felt okay at first. The miles felt really slow, and were more effort than usual, but I kept slogging forward. Eventually my knee hurt enough that I decided to stop for my knee brace, right around mile four. Immediately I was more comfortable, but the run was still far from easy. I had come that far though, and wanted to get in the seven miles that my schedule called for- I’m stubborn and I know it. I felt fine once the run was over. Tired, but fine. 

Well, remember when I said last week would have the least amount of running content? It turns out that was a lie. Because those seven miles were all I managed to run this week. I was so excited to get back into training and continue to build for Chicago, so this was a disappointing turn, to say the least.

When I got up Thursday morning I planned to run with Kasey. I got dressed, pulled on my shoes, and headed out the door. But it quickly became clear, based off of the pain level in my leg, that running was not an option. Since I knew Kasey was already headed my way, I hopped on my bike and biked with Dad while Kasey ran. I like my bike and all, but this was not what I wanted to be doing. My brain was quickly spiraling, as it tried to figure out what had happened with my knee.

The level of pain in my knee was severe enough that morning that I called my doctor that day and made an appointment for Friday. Race anxiety quickly settled in - what would happen to my marathon? Was I going to be able to run it still? 

My doctor sent me for an x-ray, and after looking at my knee was worried that I had a “lateral knee injury.” Great. It was a less than reassuring appointment, as I was hoping it was just tendinitis or something like that, which could be healed with rest. She banned me not only from running, but from biking as well. So, swim was all I had left. 

So on Saturday and Sunday that was what I did: I swam. Lucky for me, it was the last weekend that our public pools were open for the season, so I got in the water on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday I took it easy, and swam at a low effort level for about 50 minutes- 2,000 yards. Dennis came along to the pool with me, and honestly the company was the push that I needed to get my butt in the water.

Since my knee didn’t hurt any more after swimming, I challenged myself on Sunday. Instead of just churning out laps, I alternated sets of “hard” pace laps and recovery laps, to get my heart rate up in hopes of not loosing too much cardio. I wanted to get in 2,000 laps again, but the lifeguards started blowing the whistle to indicate the pool was closing just before I hit my goal.

At this point, my marathon is still in limbo. When I got the x-ray done it was the Friday of Labor Day weekend, so I wasn’t anticipating getting results any sooner than Tuesday. I tried to keep myself busy, rearranging the apartment (with Dennis doing the bulk of actually moving stuff, and me more so pointing), and spending time with family and friends to distract from my worries.

So, here’s hoping that all my training doesn’t add up to nothing. 

Chicago marathon: week 13

Ok guys, ready for the blog post with the least amount of running content of this training cycle? Well, welcome to the training recap for week 13, where I spent the week on vacation, cruising to Alaska from Vancouver with my husband Dennis. 

We had left New York on Friday, and spent the weekend in Vancouver. While we were there I got to run the Seawheeze half marathon, we went to the Vancouver aquarium, ate lots of yummy food, explored Stanley park, and checked out the Capilano suspension bridge, which was amazing. Come Monday, we checked out of our hotel and headed towards the cruise terminal, where we would set sail from.

It was my 5th Disney Cruise, but my first time aboard the Wonder, which is one of the fleets original ships. It is significantly smaller than the ships I had been on previously, the Fantasy and the Dream, and throughout the week I found myself comparing the experiences. Even though it here were less passengers on this ship, it felt much more crowded. 

We boarded the ship on Monday, after a fun weekend in Vancouver that included the Seawheeze half marathon, the capilano suspension bridge, and exploring Stanley Park. We were both so excited to get on the ship, and headed for the terminal around the 10:30 am. We had the hotel we were staying at, the Ramada by Wyndham in downtown Vancouver call us a taxi, since there is no Uber or lyft in Vancouver, and we had a ton of luggage. This may have been the best choice I made all week, as it only cost us $8, and was so much easier than taking the train with all our stuff, as we had done when we first got to Vancouver. The train system was simple, but it was hard to not be in the way of other passengers with all of our luggage. When the taxi dropped us off at the cruise terminal, Disney had people collecting our bags, so we handed the bulk of our luggage over at this point. 

The port officially started accepting passengers at 11 am that morning, so we were pleased when we got there at 10:50 and they were already allowing people to start the check in process. 

Disney has a loyalty program called the “castaway club” on their cruise ships, and the more cruises you have been on the higher your level. My 5 cruises puts me in the “Gold” category, but my husbands 12 or so cruises lands him in “Platinum,” the highest section at present. The big perk of this? We get a free meal at palos, the premium dining on the ship, and dedicated lines at check in - which meant no line at all on this particular morning. The cruise staff were all so welcoming, and quickly got us through the terminal. We had to bring our carry on bags through security, and clear customs since we were heading from Canada back into America, on our journey to Alaska. 

Once we had our “key to the world” cards, the cards that you use for rooms and any purchases that you make on the ship, we waited in the terminal for the ship to be ready for passengers. The schedule told us that the ship would start boarding at 1:30 pm, so we hopped on line to snag a photo with Minnie Mouse while we waited. We settled into the lobby after, trying to catch a glimpse of the boat as we waited. 

Lucky for us, they were ready for passengers a little earlier than planned, and started letting us on board around noon. We were in boarding group one, so we were among the first group of passengers to load onto the ship. We spent some time wandering around the decks while they were still empty, and checking out the kids club and teen areas, which are open to the public on the first day, so that we could see what they looked like while we had the chance - they always have fun Disney touches, and they vary from ship to ship, so I was excited to get a look at them. 

After we had toured around the ship for a while, we headed to Cabanas, the buffet, for lunch. We relaxed in there until our room was ready, and then headed down to deck two to drop off the bags that we had opted to carry on to the ship, which we had been lugging around since boarding. 

The ship was slated to leave at 4 pm, so around then we headed to a top deck, to get a view of Vancouver as we left. As we explored Vancouver we noticed a big pile of sulfur that was visible at an industrial park across from the port, and Dennis kept joking that he was super excited to see the pile of sulfur up close at last as we sailed away. 

Through the course of our weeklong cruise we headed to Dawes Glacier, Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagaway. 

Since we were spending the first day of our cruise at sea, and my body was still running on NY time (three hours ahead of our actual time zone at that point), I headed to the gym for a yoga class they were offering, and to get in some treadmill miles while I had the time. 

The yoga class was more guided stretching, but it was nice to get moving. The views were pretty from the top deck of the ship, where we could spot some islands to both sides of the boat as we sailed along. Having previously only done tropical cruises, it was strange to be able to see land throughout most of the cruise. When the yoga class ended I spent another 15 minutes stretching out my hamstrings and hips before heading inside to hop on the treadmill. 

The treadmill had a TV attached to it, and a handful of channels that played various Disney movies. I settled on the end of Big Hero 6, and eventually swapped over to Tarzan when it ended. I got in 6 miles before my stomach was really shouting for breakfast, and I headed back down to the room to see if Den was awake, and ready for food - my breakfast of choice for day one? Mickey waffles, of course.

The second day of our trip was largely spent sightseeing, as we sailed down the Tracy arm passage towards the Dawes glacier. Den and I attended a talk given by a former park ranger about the nature and history of Alaska, and then bundled up to head our for our first excursion - we were boarding a smaller boat, which would be able to sail up to the glacier, while the Disney wonder had to keep its distance, as it was too large to make a close approach. 

Leading up to the cruise Den and I went back and fourth a lot, trying to decide if this excursion was worth the cost, but ultimately felt like we didn’t know how long glaciers would be around, and I wanted to see one up close while I had the chance. I have to say- if you ever get this opportunity, take it. This was by far my favorite experience of the cruise, from sailing along outside in the crisp Alaskan air, taking in waterfalls and mountains as we got closer to the glacier. When we finally approached the glacier, the boat spent about an hour going in circles, and Dennis and I stayed on deck the whole time. I wanted to take in the sights as much as possible, regardless of the temperature. 

Eventually our time at the glacier came to a close, and I was happy to get back into the heated ship, and to find some hot chocolate. 

We were supposed to go on a bike tour when we stopped in Ketchikan the next day, but it was unfortunately cancelled, as not enough people had signed up for it. We considered trying to hike on out own, but were warned of bears, and didn’t have access to bear spray. The other option was a bus tour or the white pass rail road, which looked beautiful, but I was concerned about sitting for such a long period of time, as my hip flexor has been causing issues for me any time I sit for more than an hour or two. Ultimately we decided to just explore the port area at Ketchikan, which was tiny and unlike any other port I have been to before. 

The town was tiny, and had multiple national park sites scattered through it. We could see mountains in every direction  as we wandered through town. We went into little shops, and even found a yarn store with Alaskan yarn. I was excited to pick out some vacation yarn that was hand dyed in the state, and am planning to knit up some socks with it. We went to each of the national park sites, and found two museums in town that we enjoyed checking out. Eventually we headed into a brewery, where Dennis tried some local beer and I wrote out postcards to mail home. 

As people finished their excursions the town got more crowded, but by that time Dennis and I had wandered through most of the shops. So, we decided to get back on the ship and grab a bite to eat. We sat so that we had a view of the town from above as we ate lunch. 

Once we were finished eating, we went back to the room to relax for a bit. Once I was digested I decided to head to the gym to get a few miles in before dinner. Since we had excursions planned for the next two days, I wasn’t sure I would have the time or energy to get out after either, so I wanted to get in a few miles while I could. 

So, I headed to the gym and hopped on a treadmill again, which gave me a view of the town. This time I watched ratatouille as I ran. I wanted to get in at least 6 miles again, but my knee started to feel off around two miles into the run. I had to stop and stretch it a few times, and after each stretch it would feel ok for a few minutes, and then start hurting again. It was unusual, but I figured I had just overdone it at seawheeze or my shoes needed to be replaced. So I called the run after 5 miles, knowing that I had a hike planned for the next day. 

When the ship docked in Juneau the next day, we were lead off of the boat and to a an that was waiting for us in the port. It was rainy that day, but I was prepared with a baseball cap and my hydrophobic running jacket. There were two other families on the excursion with us, during which a tour guide would lead us through a 4 mile hike through the rainforest that surrounds the mendenhall glacier. We drove up “the road” as our tour guide called it, as it is the only highway in Juneau. He told us about the town as we headed towards the glacier, and handed out snacks to bring along when we got to the parking area. He offered hiking sticks as well, but I wanted to be able to have my  hands free for photos, so I passed. Dennis grabbed one though, and was happy to have it during the hike. 

We headed into the forest, and the tour guide, Matt, told us facts and pointed out sights as we made our way through the forest. We chatted with him and the other families as we followed the path, getting higher up the mountain as we got deeper into the woods. 

 It was overcast, but the rain let up a bit as we kept hiking. The final uphill bit of the trek was up about 100 stairs that had been built in the woods, and we all stopped at the top to catch our breath and remove some layers when we got there. At the peak of the hike we noticed that there was some abandoned industrial equiptment, and our guide told us it was from when there was mining happening on the mountain.

On the way down we had a few scenic stops, one for a water fall and two that gave us peaks at the glacier. My knee was bothering me by the end of the hike, so I was happy when we were finished with the four miles. It had been a nice journey through nature, and I was ready for lunch as we headed back to the ship. That day we opted to not head back into the town to explore, since my knee was sore and it was still raining on and off. Instead we took it easy on the boat until dinner time, and then headed to a pin trading event before going to the show of the night - the Frozen musical. The theater was totally full by the time the show started, so I was glad we got there early to make sure we had seats. The show was great, with some amazing puppetry, costumes, and sets.

The next day was our final port of the trip - Skagway. We had another excursion, this time kayaking. Luckily, it seemed like the weather was going to be nicer, and when we got off of the ship things were looking good. We had about a half hour ride to get to the boat that would take us to the Tatooish islands, where we would board Kayaks and go on a guided tour. The dock that we left from was a part of a tour company, and there was a friendly dog running around, who I was very excited to say hello to - after a week on a boat I was so happy to see an animal.

To get to the area we would be kayaking in we boarded zodiak boat a with the tour guides and other people who were participating in the excursion. After a quick safety briefing we were allowed to climb into kayaks, and the guides pushed us into the water. About 60 seconds into the tour someone managed to flip their Kayak, something I would not call an easy thing to do, and I spent the rest of the time slightly paranoid that I was going to wind up in some very cold water. We paddled around the island formation, as the guides told us about the area. We even spotted some bald eagles, seals, and deers. It was a really nice ride, and a beautiful day out. When our time was up, we got to have cookies on the beach as we waited for the Zodiak to pick us up.

When we got back to the port we walked around the town, exploring and picking out a few souvenirs. It was a good last port visit, before we boarded the boat. out next stop would be Vancouver, but we would have one more day at sea before our vacation came to a close. Since we knew we could sleep in on our last day at sea, we hung out at one of the bars on the ship on our last night, and even played the Disney version of the newly wed game - match your mate. We didn’t win, but they did give us a free drink and a voucher for a free photo print from the shop on the ship.

On our final day of vacation we mostly relaxed, watching movies and eating lots of food. I tried to go for a run, but was forced to stop after about a mile and a half, as my knee gave out on me, and it made me feel like it wasn’t a safe running conditions for me. I was bummed, but hopeful that I just needed new shoes or a break from the treadmill. We packed our bags so they could be picked up that night, and then would be waiting for us on the other side of customs.

On Monday morning we disembarked the ship, and headed right to the airport via a Disney bus. It was bittersweet that a vacation that we had looked forward to for so long was over, but we had such an amazing time, and made so many memories.

If you are ever on the fence about a Disney cruise, this is me telling you to go for it - you won’t regret it. Even though it was an amazing trip, I was looking forward to getting home to our cats, and back into my regular routine.

Unboxing the new AfterShokz Xtrainerz

Disclaimer: I received an XYZ to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!

I was recently selected to receive a pair of AfterShokz new headphones, the Xtrainerz! I’ll be testing them out soon with a swim, so make sure to check back to hear how it went.