Weekly Admin

I had a easy morning, taking care of my weekly chores — writing up the weekly blog post, updating my finances, cleaning my room, and doing some laundry. Now that I’m all caught up on daily posts, it took way less time than last week. I spent the rest of the morning sketching out ideas for the coming days and finalizing plans with Katherine for our theme park trip on Sunday.

Bridge-to-Bridge Run

After a light breakfast, it was time for my weekly run. Instead of following the Cheonggyecheon Stream like usual, I decided to do a Bridge-to-Bridge run — from 양화대교 (Yanghwa Bridge) to 마포대교 (Mapo Bridge). The route passes the National Assembly and goes through Hangang Park, which meant I could get a workout and some sightseeing in at the same time. Talk about efficiency!

To get there, I took the metro to 합정역 (Hapjeong) — about 30 minutes, including one one transfer. I already had my running gear on, which earned me a few curious looks. I also brought a small backpack with a spare shirt, deodorant, a bottle of water, and a protein bar — all set for the trip.

The run started off great! The weather was perfect, and the views from Yanghwa Bridge were amazing, with the skyline and crossing trains in the distance.

After crossing the bridge, I reached 여의도 (Yeouido), home of the National Assembly. I ran through the park, weaving between pedestrians and cyclists. At one point, I recognized a small bridge from when I was here three years ago — I remembered it led straight toward the political headquarters. It was lunchtime, so the area was quite busy, but I still managed to get a great view of the National Assembly building.

On the way back, I crossed 마포대교 (Mapo Bridge) — one of Seoul’s most famous bridges, known for its size and heavy daily traffic. At the end of the bridge, I found a small outdoor gym packed with 아저씨들 (middle-aged men) working out, so of course I joined in for a quick bench set before continuing on.

The return leg was tougher than expected. I’d planned for a 10 km run, but it ended up being 11.5 km. Carrying that backpack got annoying fast — I had to keep holding it down as I ran. Still, I managed to keep a sub-6:00 pace on average, even with the photo breaks!

At the metro station, I changed into a fresh shirt, sprayed some deodorant, and headed back to my hotel.

Back Behind My Desk

Once I got back, it was time to clock in a few more hours of work. I finally fixed a bug that had haunted me all day yesterday, wrote up some more review notes, and had a few good architectural discussions with my colleagues. I ended up working a bit longer than planned, but I managed to wrap things up nicely.

For dinner, I went back to the restaurant across the street — they still have plenty of dishes I want to try, so I didn’t feel bad about returning.

I’d originally planned to go out in the evening, but the run drained more energy than I expected. By the time I finished work, had dinner, and scrolled through social media for a bit, I just didn’t have it in me to go back out — especially with another 30-minute train ride (one way). So instead, I stayed in, played some more Hollow Knight, and went to bed on time.

It was really fun combining a workout with sightseeing and still managing to get some solid work done. If only I’d paced myself a bit better, I might’ve had some energy left to go out too — but hey, that’s what tomorrow’s for.