Namsan at night

I left for Namsan at 8:49PM. Cool night, post-rain. Almost nobody on the steps. The rain and wind had blown down plenty of petals. It was still windy, but the wind and cool air didn't keep me from sweating buckets as I puffed my way upward.

My cold retreated into the background as I made my way up Namsan. Hit the top in 44 minutes again; I noted that the stairs took me 14 of those minutes.

The way back down was chillier; going downhill was easier, so I didn't sweat as much and therefore felt the breeze more acutely. The stairs were also treacherous: wet flower petals covered them, so I walked down the steps instead of bounding down them two or three at a time.

Got a message from Big Bad Wooj about tomorrow's gathering, which has now moved to a different location. Also got a phone call from a semi-drunk Korean buddy of mine who was kickin' it in Itaewon with his wife, knocking back a few cold ones. Said buddy was delighted to hear that I've kept up with the Namsan regimen. "You're becoming a real athlete!" he shouted exuberantly into the phone. I looked at my gut and inwardly begged to differ, but he was on a roll and I didn't want to be a buzzkill, so I said nothing.

Now I'm home, having decided against doing laundry tonight. My nose is still stuffy, but the cold seems to be departing.

As for my rolling gut... we'll beat it into submission eventually.


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