WHO LET THE DOGS OUT....WOOF...WOOF...WOOF-WOOF
Actually, during the communist era here in Bucharest when there was no food, EVERYBODY let the dogs out. Hence, you now have a stray dog problem. It was worse years ago, until a certain Bucharest Mayor started to take care of business (Hasta La Vista Perros). Unfortunately, thanks in part to Bridget Bardeau's (and other Hollywood left wingnuts - and probably PETA too - those wackos are everywhere) protests, the task was not completed.
Which brings me to my run today....
BALMY WEATHER...
After and utterly frigid week, the temperature soared to nearly 30 F this afternoon with only a 10 mph wind (real feel up to 20). The sun was out, and I decided to avoid a shut-out this week and get out there. Running in the daylight is MUCH better here. The sidewalk pavement here is in terrible shape, making each jog the equivalent of a trail run (+ dog poopies) until you get to the parks where the pavement is better (still must watch for the poopies though).
A GOOD START...
For 1.6 miles, I easily negotiated the side streets to make my way back to Parcul National, keeping a pace in the lower 8's. This time, I made it all the way to the National Stadium. The stadium has fallen into disrepair and is currently being renovated, a huge task. However, the is a very wide access road which circles it and 1 lap around is 3/4 mile. In addition, while running around the stadium there are several athletic fields and what looks like a full size 400m track at one of the soccer fields. I will be moving to my long-term apartment Monday, and it will actually be less than 1 mile to the stadium which is really cool. I actually saw a couple of runners today in addition to kids playing soccer, and did not feel nearly as weird as I did the last time I was here.
IT'S A DOG-EAT-STEVE WORLD....
On the way back, I picked up the pace a bit until I squeezed onto a narrow sidewalk (it was narrow because people were parking on it!). Unfortunately, I unwittingly entered the territory of a stray. He backed off right away, and I figured he would keep his distance like the rest....WRONG! The little scum actually just waited for me to pass him and then lunged for my right leg. He got a good hold and clamped down, but didn't tear my tights. I turned and tried to kick him, but whiffed and he took off. When I got back, I noticed that I have a small bruise and a scratch right below the knee.
That concludes another adventure. Somehow, I am close to the 30 mile mark this month. Wish me luck as I get settled in the new apartment tomorrow on Monday and I hopefully can knock out a 4 miler before Feb 1.
Take care guys!
Steve J
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Pre-blog runs in Bucharest
----2nd Run, 1-16-2006
Yesterday, I was able to get out of work on time and get out for a run from my "new temporary" apartment. It was only 23 degrees, not an ideal day, but I just can't count on free time during daylight hours right now - so I headed out (wearing my new tights and 2 layers up top, compression long sleeve and wind jacket, doubled up on gloves, ear muffs). The good thing was the lack of wind, so I shed my top layer of gloves and unzipped the wind jacket partially within 10 minutes.
Not knowing the side streets yet, I headed down a fairly busy road on the sidewalk in the general direction of Parcul National (National Park). I got a lot of curious looks and a few old people said some words as I passed. I'm think it was the Romanian equivalent of "What the heck are you doing?", but I'm not sure. I'm not sure if I scared the girls more than the guys (its a very conservative culture - so I'm sure my tights made an impression).
The Garmin picked up the satellites within about 2 minutes, which I thought was good since I started out in an area with lots of blocs (apartment buildings).
Although I had to slow considerably when crossing the streets, I made pretty close to a 9:00 min pace towards the park. I'm learning that you actually CAN run on ice, if you go slow and careful. At around 15 min, I made it to the national park. The paths were pretty good and mostly ice-free. There is a small lake and I headed around it. Unfortunately the path doesn't go flat completely around the lake, so I had to do some stairs and some trail before I figured out how to get around it. There were a few dogs there. Only a couple actually barked and tried to follow me, but they did not come too close.
The end of the run was really cool. I'm starting to get some directional sense here, and I was able to take side streets on the way back which really cut the number of cars down to what you would typically find in any city. I still do not trust any intersection though so I'm going to have to keep the pace slow for now.
My long-term aparment is near the larger Parcul Titan, and that will hopefully allow me more room that is car-free to start some up-tempo runs.
The Garmin works great, and performed nearly perfect except for the instantaneous pace (It varies due to the occasional, but only momentary, loss of signal, and is not a necessary function anyway.
Well, that's all for now. Hope all is well.
Steve
------------------------------------------------------
---1st Run in Bucharest 1-12-2006-
Hey all,
After another death-defying drive home, my nerves were completely shot, I decided it had to be done. It was dark, below freezing, the dogs were out, I was (and still am hungry) but I didn't care!
I made 2 pieces of toast, 2 cups of coffee, and prepared to get out there!
I put on my stuff, headed outside and sat in the car while the Garmin reset itself for Romania (you must do this after moving more than 500 miles). Despite the buildings, it did find satellites, so that was good.
I headed out in the direction of a smaller park, but I must have took a wrong turn and I couldn't find it. I then headed in what I thought was the general direction of a bigger park. I did find that one, but I decided not to cross a very busy road and headed up a decent sidewalk on the other side of the street before doubling back.
The Garmin is awesome. I just went out there and adjusted my route any time I wanted to avoid cars, ice, potholes big enough to hide my rental car and whenever I heard barking dogs.
Anyway, thought I'd share my experience. I miss you guys, sniffle-sniffle.
Steve
---------------------------------------------
Yesterday, I was able to get out of work on time and get out for a run from my "new temporary" apartment. It was only 23 degrees, not an ideal day, but I just can't count on free time during daylight hours right now - so I headed out (wearing my new tights and 2 layers up top, compression long sleeve and wind jacket, doubled up on gloves, ear muffs). The good thing was the lack of wind, so I shed my top layer of gloves and unzipped the wind jacket partially within 10 minutes.
Not knowing the side streets yet, I headed down a fairly busy road on the sidewalk in the general direction of Parcul National (National Park). I got a lot of curious looks and a few old people said some words as I passed. I'm think it was the Romanian equivalent of "What the heck are you doing?", but I'm not sure. I'm not sure if I scared the girls more than the guys (its a very conservative culture - so I'm sure my tights made an impression).
The Garmin picked up the satellites within about 2 minutes, which I thought was good since I started out in an area with lots of blocs (apartment buildings).
Although I had to slow considerably when crossing the streets, I made pretty close to a 9:00 min pace towards the park. I'm learning that you actually CAN run on ice, if you go slow and careful. At around 15 min, I made it to the national park. The paths were pretty good and mostly ice-free. There is a small lake and I headed around it. Unfortunately the path doesn't go flat completely around the lake, so I had to do some stairs and some trail before I figured out how to get around it. There were a few dogs there. Only a couple actually barked and tried to follow me, but they did not come too close.
The end of the run was really cool. I'm starting to get some directional sense here, and I was able to take side streets on the way back which really cut the number of cars down to what you would typically find in any city. I still do not trust any intersection though so I'm going to have to keep the pace slow for now.
My long-term aparment is near the larger Parcul Titan, and that will hopefully allow me more room that is car-free to start some up-tempo runs.
The Garmin works great, and performed nearly perfect except for the instantaneous pace (It varies due to the occasional, but only momentary, loss of signal, and is not a necessary function anyway.
Well, that's all for now. Hope all is well.
Steve
------------------------------------------------------
---1st Run in Bucharest 1-12-2006-
Hey all,
After another death-defying drive home, my nerves were completely shot, I decided it had to be done. It was dark, below freezing, the dogs were out, I was (and still am hungry) but I didn't care!
I made 2 pieces of toast, 2 cups of coffee, and prepared to get out there!
I put on my stuff, headed outside and sat in the car while the Garmin reset itself for Romania (you must do this after moving more than 500 miles). Despite the buildings, it did find satellites, so that was good.
I headed out in the direction of a smaller park, but I must have took a wrong turn and I couldn't find it. I then headed in what I thought was the general direction of a bigger park. I did find that one, but I decided not to cross a very busy road and headed up a decent sidewalk on the other side of the street before doubling back.
The Garmin is awesome. I just went out there and adjusted my route any time I wanted to avoid cars, ice, potholes big enough to hide my rental car and whenever I heard barking dogs.
Anyway, thought I'd share my experience. I miss you guys, sniffle-sniffle.
Steve
---------------------------------------------
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