I’m back from a really fun girls’ weekend with a friend to celebrate her 40th birthday. We went to Miami and stayed in South Beach – it was fantastic! I’ve traveled a lot of the US and the world, but had never been to Miami. Not even when I lived in Florida, if you can believe that. We stayed right on Ocean Drive where the heart of the nightlife was, with the beach right across the street.

To keep up with training, I went out for a run on Sunday, intending to do about 6 miles. I only made it 5 miles since I stopped to soak up the scenery and take some pictures.

But that’s really the point of running while traveling, right? Experiencing the new place in a different way than being a typical tourist, along with keeping up with fitness while on the road.

I headed out from my hotel and crossed over to the sidewalk along the beach. It was evening, so there were people everywhere. Coming off the beach to wrap up their fun day of swimming and sunning, taking walks, biking, hanging out. I love this time of the evening when people finish their day and start their evening.

I decided to head south, and it was a great decision. I ran along the path and at times had to run through sand to find a new path, but it was all part of the experience.

I passed a lot of people on bikes – cycling slowly and leisurely – and it was funny to think I was running faster than a bike was going. I’m not used to that since I mostly experience people on road bikes! There were other runners out too, which was great.

I saw a pretty sunset along the way, and enjoyed walking around the beach for a bit.

It was hot and humid, but I didn’t mind because the scenery was incredible.

Ahh, so relaxing.

I reached the South Pointe Pier and hoped to go out on the pier to take a picture, but they were just closing.

It was so pretty down there!

I turned right and explored the Marina area.

I decided it was time to turn around when I encountered police activity – someone was being arrested and I heard they hit a police officer in the process. Not running through that action, so it was time to turn back!

It was a good thing I did, because it got really dark on my way back and I didn’t want to be running after dark in an unfamiliar area. Plus, the bikes were hard to see approaching me as I ran along the beach path, so I figured for safety I’d cut the run short at 5 miles.

Running when the evening nightlife was getting going was a cool experience!

It was jam packed with cars and people already.

I felt like I was in another world from the serene beach sunset just minutes earlier.

I loved spending time at the beach this weekend, and running by it was a great way to wrap up the weekend.

Running is such a great way to see more of the area than just walking.

And later, my friend and I went to a club I ran by that was right on the beach and looked fun – and we had an absolute blast! I never would have found that place if i hadn’t gone for my run!

What’s the most interesting place you’ve run while traveling?

The post Running in South Beach, Miami appeared first on You Signed Up For WHAT?!.