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Who: Lisa and open
When: Sunday, Dec. 27, shortly after noon
Where: Starts in Lisa's room, then moves to the fitness center, then the jogging track.
Lisa tied the laces on her sneakers, an old pair of Reebok Freestyles she had worn as a cheerleader in college. After fastening the velcro straps, she stood and looked at herself in one of the multitude of mirrors at her disposal. She was wearing a pair of red jogging shorts trimmed with white, and a white t-shirt with the word "LOUISVILLE" in red letters arching over a picture of a cardinal's head, its beak inexplicably filled with gritted teeth. Leaving her room for the first time since dinner last night, she jogged down the hall towards the first set of elevators and stairs.
It felt wonderful to be exercising her muscles again. The last week had been a particularly hectic time in her life, and working out was a luxury she'd had to do without. She hadn't gotten much sleep during that week either, though not for lack of trying. The stress and her worries had kept her awake at night, and she had been exhausted when she had boarded the ship. After she had unpacked, she had spent most of the first day relaxing in her room, watching some TV, and listening to some music. She had gone out at dinner and met a nice young woman there, and afterwards she had returned to her room, kicked off her shoes, and collapsed on the bed, not even bothering to undress first. She had been asleep in seconds, and had slept until noon this morning.
Lisa was on the I deck now, running up a series of stairs leading up to the fitness center on the Arete deck. That was still two floors up; the trip up there was turning out to be quite a workout in itself. She had not wanted to wait for the elevators, so she had taken the stairs. After all, getting exercise was the whole point of this, right? As she approached the J deck, her mind drifted back to the last night. Why was she finally able to sleep so soundly? Maybe it was the gentle motion of the ship, rocking her to sleep. Maybe it was the good meal she had had at dinner, the best she had eaten in a week. Or maybe it was just the surroundings in general. But she thought the most likely explanation was that, here on the ship, she was isolated from the rest of the world for a while. She had left all her worries, her anxieties, and her fears back on shore, and she wouldn't have to deal with them for the next week or so.
Now that she was on the Arete deck, Lisa decided to take a brief break from the running and have a look around. The fitness center was well equipped, with treadmills, free weights, stationary bicycles, ellipticals, rowing machines, and just about any other kind of exercise equipment you could think of. There was also a swimming pool and an area for aerobics. Lisa took a moment to make some smalltalk with some of the other passengers who were working out here. Then she took a moment to check out the shower facilities and the lockers; they were nice too. Lisa decided she would exercise every day of the cruise, but alternate between running and using the fitness center. Today was for running. She took note of the salon as she jogged out of the area towards the stern, thinking she might stop by there that afternoon for a massage.
Soon Lisa was running up another flight of stairs to the Helios deck. She ran onto the jogging track and began the first of several laps. The view from up here was incredible; the ocean was such a beautiful blue, and it stretched to the horizon in all directions. There was no land in sight. Several seagulls hovered overhead, hoping to be fed by some generous passenger. A couple of times Lisa caught sight of the backs of dolphins, playfully swimming along with the ship. The sun was so warm, it was hard to believe this was late December. Back in Cincinnati where she'd grown up, there was likely to be snow on the ground at this time of year. But that didn't matter right now, because she was here, and for the first time in a week, she could enjoy herself and forget the rest of the world.
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