I am an Alaskan

for today. I am in Juneau, the beautiful capital of our 50th state. It is not a very large capital, but it has everything a capital should have: some government buildings, a couple bars, and one each of Chinese, Japanese, and Mexican eateries. And, like all good capitals-on-the-water, big honkin' cruise ships. Well, at least for today. There are three cruise ships here, and I am on one of them right now making this entry. This is the last week of the cruise season. My family and I went out and looked at Mendenhall Glacier and a salmon hatchery and my mom and sister are at a salmon bake right now. I had work to do, so I came back here to finish it up.

Part of that work is my ankle weight exercises, foam rolling, stretches, and the like. I need to keep on top of this - I even packed a one-foot length of foam roller in my suitcase.

Yesterday was a little too cold and soggy on deck to get a run in, particularly with the boat rolling with the swells we had (the tail end of a storm system), but this morning was perfect. I got out on deck about 6:20 Alaskan time as the boat was making it's way up the sound towards Juneau, and put in nine laps - supposedly three miles. I'll go longer tomorrow if I can - today was something of a test. As I was doing my after-run stretching, my sister showed up and we jogged a loop of the boat together and I hope we can do more together before this cruise is over. The deck was quite easy to run on, as easy as cinder track and not nearly as dirty. Though it was wet from the langolier's** washing, traction was really quite good on the teak and it was also easy on the knees. Yes, I have to say this is one of the most pleasant running surfaces I've encountered. I didn't mind making constanct left-hand turns, either, nor dodging the few elderly walkers who were out and about. It was cold, though, and that will take some getting used to. well...that would have to happen soon anyway, right?

Next port of call is Sitka, I think, and I fully intend to get in at least twelve miles while there, just so I can say I ran IN Sitka. I mean, how cool would that be?

Having a great time, wish you were here.

**I call the deck hands and cabin crew the Langoliers after the creatures of the same name in Steven King's novel - the create the world before you live it, deconstruct it afterwards, and - in the case of a cruise ship - are constantly rebuilding and renewing when (they hope) you aren't noticing.