Stairs in Syria

Greetings! The First Few Hours post reminded me when I visited Damascus, Syria. This marked my first trip out of the U.S. I had mentally prepared to experience a world much different from Atlanta, GA. What I didn’t plan for was running. Of course, I planned to run while in Syria. I intended to go out to run very early in the morning. The one exception would be the day we arrived. To preserve The Streak, I had to exercise as soon as we arrived. Our group reached the hotel at 11:00 pm local time. I had no clue how crowded the streets would be at that time of night, with pedestrians and a sea of cars, mostly taxis.

Formal and informal driving in the city was unbelievably aggressive. Drivers constantly changed lanes with no signal other than a quick toot of the horn. Add in the dark of night, street signs I could not read and I quickly determined I needed and alternate exercise plan. This was a time before fitness centers appeared as a mainstream amenity in hotels. I found the stair well. It was a big hotel. I ran the stairs up and down with an occasional loop on the roof top for half an hour. It was mind numbing and fairly challenging on my legs.

The next day before dawn I braved the traffic, not much had changed in the few hours since we arrived. It made for a horrifying yet memorable experience. I now have a bevy of cardio and resistance exercise that can be completed in even very small hotel rooms.

Find a way. Run.

Tom

Purchase my new bedtime story for the digital age, Good Night Alexa at this link.

Thanks for your support!! ~ Tom