Oh I do like to be beside the seaside...

[runningnearbeirut]

Lovely morning for a run by the sea. It's a 20 minute drive down there, but the meters don't charge until 8, so my early start (not entirely planned - I'd decided to get up and go for a run whenever I woke up, and it happened to be early) meant free parking.

Anyway, it still amazes me how the sea front in Beirut is buzzing BEFORE 7 in the morning! People were playing "badminton" (with oversized table tennis size bats and shuttlecocks), fishing, swimming, strolling, power walking, jogging, running, standing in the middle of the pavement talking, roller blading, stretching, people watching, selling coffee, selling chewing gum... it's actually quite hazardous having to dodge all these people! Less than a kilometre away from all this action is a new path that has opened for walkers/runners/cyclists which is nowhere near as popular, and my route today included both parts (the new path is a bit short to keep running up and down!)

This morning I did 3 x 17 minutes with a minute's walk between. Didn't count the warm up and down walks, but recorded 9.04 km in the 53 minutes. Looking like I'm back on track to get to 10km/1 hour of running soon

[suzybenj Graduate]

Very well done you - i very respectable time and distance.

Just off out myself - dressing for the cold has been quite challenging - but hoping to do 10k.

have a good day

[runningnearbeirut Graduate in reply to suzybenj]

Thanks. Hope you have a great run! Can't quite imagine dressing for running in the cold - it was about 20 degrees down there before 7 this morning!

[Rollertoaster Graduate]

are you talking about the corniche? i was in Beirut last week and walked along there on Sunday afternoon. I wished I had my running gear with me as it's a lovely running spot, but not sure about that heat though

[runningnearbeirut Graduate]

Yes, the corniche is a great place for running :). It's my weekend treat, but I'm usually finished by 8 in the morning to be done before it gets too hot (and before you have to start paying for the parking meters).

If you continue along past the end where McDonalds is, you get to a marina with lots of restaurants, and just past that there's a fairly new walking/cycling path right along the sea which is free of people playing "badminton" and fishing.

And it has to be said that November was unusually hot (and rain free).

[Rollertoaster Graduate in reply to runningnearbeirut]

Ooh yes I went to that marina too, it's pretty classy round there, some lovely cafes/restaurants. Happy running