Goooood Morning Titan!!!

Yes folks, another lame intro - oh well. After nearly a week of freezing temperatures, 4-5" of snow, wind and ice, this morning was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. Last Monday, we got about 4" of snow, and it stayed around most of the week. The highs all week hovered at around 32 F. The snow would start to melt, but then quickly refreeze making the footing too treacherous to risk.

Warming Trend!

On Friday, the weather took a turn for the better, shooting up to nearly 50 with lots of sun. The snow and ice finally melted from the sidewalks making running possible once again. Due to our 11th wedding anniversary celebration (its actually today, but we arranged a sitter and celebrated last night) Friday, I couldn't squeeze in a run. Today (Saturday) we also had some family activities planned including a trip to the mall and dinner with our landlady's family. So, my only chance to run was this morning. Fortunately, the 8:00 am temp was pretty good at 37 F, so I headed out for a 4.5 miler at 8:20.

After a week of cold, I was happy to just be-out-there and get the legs moving. I didn't push the pace, staying in the middle 8's per mile. Due to the melted snow and ice, mud and muck was everywhere, so I stayed on the upper lake path and avoided the 1/4 mile unpaved path along the lower lake. Running on half the lake is fun, especially when you add the stairs in to cross the lake at the junction, and avoid running the whole lake.

The Birds!

The early Saturday morning in Titan Park is a different running experience. The young children and teenage couples (showing much affection usually) were nowhere to be found. They were replaced mainly by a few adults walking their dogs and some park maintenance workers trimming bushes and trees. One thing I also noticed today was the large number of birds in and around Lacul Titan (Titan Lake). Lots of Ducks (mallards and some others I didn't recognize), seagulls and other shore birds, and of course, the crows. Bucharest has some of the biggest crows I've ever seen. They are about the size of medium sized hawks back home. Like something out of a Hitchcock horror film.

Stray away

One great thing about Parcul Titan has been the lack of stray dogs. After the infamous biting incident near my old apartment, this has been a big bonus. I've also noticed that most people who own dogs keep them well trained. Many people were walking dogs (leashed and unleashed) today and I had no trouble. The pooches seemed to be much too happy enjoying a nice morning of free running in the park. I guess after a long week of cramped apartment living, they had much more important things to do than chase a goofy looking American running in the park with shorts.

It turned out to be a good thing getting this run in this morning. We had about 3-4 hours of non-stop eating ahead of us at our landlady's house. Check out our family blog soon for the details on that. Later!