Our Joy Filled Journey: A Quick Run

In front of the Zhongshan Monument

One of the things I like to do when traveling is to explore an area by running. Up to this point, I haven't done a proper run in China. We walked a lot, but the opportunity to sneak away for a quick run hadn't presented itself. With today being the day we leave, I was either going to run this morning or miss the opportunity. I've found that now that I'm adjusted to the different time zone, my body has returned to being a morning person. I'm normally up first, usually by or before sunrise. So today, when I woke up just before sunrise, I decided to give the run a try. I quietly left the hotel just before 6 am and hopped the subway to Yuexiu Park. My plan was to run for 25-30 minutes and be back at the hotel by 7:15 am or earlier since we were planning to meet the Frankes for breakfast around 7:30 or 7:45am.

Subway is less crowded at 6am

At 6am, the subway corridors are very empty and I had to wait a few minutes for a train. I got to the park a little before 6:30 am and started my run. I ran a bunch of steps and saw a lot of sites that we didn't see the first time through. Along the way, I encountered many senior aged Chinese that were out exercising and workers who were sweeping the pathways to keep the park looking great About 20 minutes into my run, I got to the Zhongshan Monument. At that point, I figured I should turn back. Unfortunately, I had zig-zagged my way to this point and didn't remember exactly where I was. So I ran in the direction I thought I had to go. After a few more minutes, I felt like I was in a new area and not going in the correct direction so I stopped to look at the map which was all in Chinese, but it did have some pictures. But in my rush, I mistook a circle on the map as the "you are here" marker and set off in the wrong direction. After several wrong turns and a few more stops at the map, I found my way back to the metro station although by then it was 7:20 am and my 30 minute run was over 50 minutes. The station was busier, but the trains were more frequent so I made it back shortly after 7:30 am before anyone got too worried. Not the best way to start a travel day, being behind schedule before you even have breakfast, but we should have enough time to eat, finish packing and get to the train station for a noon departure.