I was very brave today!

I have 2 runs left on my plan this week.  A 4 mile easy run and a 12 mile LSR. I still have no intention of attempting a LSR in this heat so as I have 3 running days left I have decided to add the miles together of my two remaining runs and divide by 3 so I end up doing 3 runs of a similar distance.  If my maths is correct that means today's target (and the next 2 days!) Is approximately 5:34 miles trying to keep at a 9:20 to 9:40 minute mile pace.

I didn't have a good night's sleep so was pleased when the clock eventually made it round to 6 O'clock which meant I could get up and get dressed, ready to hit the pavements!

The plan was to run to the golf course, do 2 loops round and run back.  I felt fairly confident as I headed that way as I didn't have a problem with guards yesterday! 

However, my bubble was soon burst as the gate was shut again with a non too friendly looking guard guarding it! Avoiding any eye contact or conversation I made a swift turnabout cursing him under my breath and headed back towards the complex trying to figure out an alternative route as I ran!

I ended up just looping around the roads and paths in the complex several times until I had hit my target distance!  I managed to run 5:68 miles at an average 9:36 minute mile pace but found it extremely hard going.  

I sweated more than I have during any other run this holiday and although I hadn't run through any sprinklers I looked like I had!  In actual fact it looked like I'd been in the pool. It seemed much more humid than previous mornings or I just had that "too much" morning after feeling!

Once I had stretched I stood under a cold shower for quite sometime trying to cool my boiling blood!

After a nap and breakfast we headed out to the hotel lobby 1/2 a mile away as we were going on a trip and the bus was picking us up there.  

We had a 30 minute journey by a open sided bus to get to the beach from where we boarded a pirate ship which then took us to "Stingwray Bay". We were given buoyancy jackets and a snorkel and a mask on arrival, and asked to sign a disclaimer! (This always worries me!).

Whilst sailing outward there was a "carnival dance" type of act performed to entertain us, which was actually quite entertaining to watch.

The sailing took about 45 minutes and we arrived at Stingray bay which was basically 2 large enclosures in the middle of the sea!

Our first port of call was the stingwray enclosure where we were informed all about the habits of stingray, and we were given lots of information about them etc before we actually got into the water with them to interact.

I must admit to being ever so slightly terrified but tried to hold it together, and put on a brave face.

 I was amazed to discover that the top of it was grey and rough a bit like sandpaper and underneath was white and very soft!  I squealed  like a girl when the guide held one up against my chest and it flapped on my neck and face! It send shudders right through me!

I was disappointed that we weren't allowed to take our own photo's with the stingrays beasically because they wanted to sell the professional photos they took.

I found them intriguing creatures to interact with but I remained extremely wary ... you just never know!

After we had spent about 30 minutes with the stingwray we got out of that enclosure put on our buoyancy jackets and snorkel and got into the shark enclosure. 

I expected to be terrified but strangely enough I felt very relaxed!  I think after surviving the stingwray I felt invincible and found it fascinating just to float around watching them swim underneath us!  
One of the divers dived down to get a sea anemone off a rock for us to hold.  It was really bizarre as it suckered onto my hand and needed pulled quite forcibly off! 

We spend about 30 minutes swimming with the sharks, before we boarded our pirate ship again and set sail!  There was fruit and drinks served to get rid of the salt in our mouths, and there was more dancing - this time guests were dragged up to dance too (including me!).  There was no saying no! 

We sailed for about 40 minutes before anchoring in the middle of the sea to do some more snorkelling.  I initially got in with my buoyancy aid on so I could be lazy and just float around, but after a while the temptation to dive down to get a closer look at the coral and fish got the better of me so I took it off!

We had been given some fish food (bread balls I think!) to attract the fish to us and it worked wonders!  There were swarms of different coloured fish all around us! 

We snorkelled for about an hour before getting back on board and having lunch.

After lunch there was more dancing etc whilst we headed back to shore.

Once back at our hotel, after some liquid refreshments we went for our daily walk along the beach!  Today took us left along the shore and altogether we walked 4:3 miles.

No sleeping at all today so feeling a little tired but I have had a great day! It was a fantastic experience to swim with sharks and to touch stingrays! Definitely the best day of the holiday so far!