I haven’t missed a day of running, but I missed a whole bunch of days of writing.
The problem is that if I miss one day, then on my second day I have two days to write about. If I missed four entries (as is the case today) then I have five to write.
I haven’t really had an interesting run in a few days anyways. I’ll get this out of the way and just write the most basic descriptions I can.
Day 9, Sept 26
I actually managed to enter Huangxing park. I did a lap around the outside of the park and then another around the inside. It’s quite big, with all sorts of biomes, but it’s all too carefully manicured for me. It’s a place one goes to take pictures and be impressed by the beauty of nature. I’d much rather be impressed by the hideousness of nature.
Day 10, Sept 27
My first chores run. I’d completely forgotten I was supposed to run until around 9pm. I happened to be hungry for beans. So I decided I’d run over to the import grocery store and buy a can then run back. I’ve read other people on the internet talk about how whenever they have errands that are a few miles away they always run there. I’ve never done that. Running has always just been running for me. I get into running mode, then I get out of running mode. I guess I’m just worried about being sweaty inside of grocery stores. I don’t want to gross strangers out.
Day 11, Sept 28
I often do something once, then find myself doing it again repeatedly. This was another “run with a purpose”. I was supposed to meet my girlfriend Xiaoxi at an art gallery her friend had given us a ticket to (we had to split the price on the second ticket). The gallery was on Xizang road, next to the mall with the big Ferris wheel I pass every time I take lines 3 or 4 of the subway. I got out at Shanghai Rail Station, but it was a little over a mile to the gallery. I was wearing clothes that one might run in if they felt inclined to, so I figured I’d get my run for the day out of the way and run to the gallery. Even such a short distance got me covered in sweat. I had to go into the gallery bathroom and wipe myself dry. The air conditioner was turned on to maximal coldness, so I stopped sweating pretty quickly. We stared at painting by Matisse, Picasso and Klee for an hour and a half, then went into the mall to get dinner and ride the Ferris wheel.
Day 12, Sept 29
Finally we return to runs meant to explore roads, though this one wasn’t all that interesting. It was already dark. I wanted to run along Jiangsu road, since I’d encountered it many times but found it to be a mystery. So I took Yanan road to the intersection with Jiangsu road, turned left, took a right on a road whose name I forget, and ended up at Suzhou river. The river has a little path going along it, so I took that as far as I could, then ended up near the massive conglomeration of malls at Zhongshan station. From there I fought the crowds on the sidewalks to get back home.
I remember running along cornfields in 2017, stuck between the corn and the cars, imagining a future where I was running along city streets, stuck between the cars and the crowds. Of course the corn as I was running along was kind of weird. I lived in a very urban area, but if you ran a mile you found yourself in corn world. I sometimes wish Shanghai were like that. But I’d have to run a marathon to get to anywhere I could pretend is rural. So I suppose instead I will have to be content living that dream I had back in 2017.
Day 13, Sept 30
I haven’t actually done the run yet, but I know exactly what I’m going to do. I’m going to do the same loop around Huashan park I did on Monday, since that’s the closest thing I have to a relaxing run without any thinking. It’s 7pm and I just want to get this stuff over with. At midnight I have to go to a Hello Kitty party. I originally thought that tonight might be perfect for me to do nothing and go to bed early, but Hello Kitty has arisen, and I have to attend to her needs. It’s at a place I’ve never been to and know nothing about, so at least I get to satisfy my constant yearning for novelty.