As we wrap up March here in Bucharest, the weather has gone from ugly to nearly perfect in the last 2 weeks. This week has seen highs in the 60's and 70's all week! Without having to worry about snow, ice and the Siberian wind, I'm getting back to my regular running routine as it was in the states.
Carb Loading Monday, Romanian style - yeah!
Monday's run in Titan was the warmest yet. The temp was about 75. It was a nice 1 lap of Lacul Titan and back for 3.6 miles. I would have gone longer, but we were invited to Anca-n-Flavius' apartment for dinner. Anca prepared a traditional Romanian dish called "mamaliga" (I reserve the right to fix the spelling later). It is a kind of casserole made from yellow corn meal (like yellow grits) with layers of different cheeses in between the corn meal. It is served with sour cream and usually with some kind of meat. In our case, it was a type of sausage (there are literally hundreds of varieties here). You basically cut up the sausage links and mixed it in. I think you can eat vegetarian in Bucharest, but why would anyone want too??? Anyway, we ate about 1 hour after my run, and I just devoured the stuff.
The Need for Speed...Training
I slept poorly Tuesday night for some reason, so I wasn't really in the mood to run long or run fast Wednesday. So I decided to take it easy and explore a bit. I'm hoping to start some speed workouts soon, but first I have to find a good route to get to Parcul National. If you remember, I ran to Parcul National back in January from my temporary apartment and discovered a 400 m track next to the National Stadium. I had not attempted to get back there since I moved to the permanent place.
It turned out to be about 1.4 miles to the track at Parcul National. I cut through Parcul Titan on a trail and then basically heading down 1 street to get to the Parcul National entrance. I initially passed the track and made 1 complete lap around the National Stadium just to get the lay of the land. Well, Parcul National was filled with activity - and that activity was soccer. There were youth practices, league games and pick-up games wherever I looked. They love soccer here in Romania, and they will play on any surface. I saw games on grass, on this clay surface, and of course, on the streets that wind around the National Stadium.
Finally, I decided to enter the area with the track. There was at least one kids team practicing and a couple of pickup "half-court" games going on, but nobody had a problem with me running on the track. The track was once a high-quality all-weather surface in its day, but it has seen a lot of winters. Although the surface is deteriorating, it's still plenty smooth for sprints. Heck, if it was good enough for the commies, it should be ok for me! My first Romanian speed workout awaits!
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3 comments:
Ok, I confess! I'm the reason for the poor night sleep on Tuesday. My sinuses have gone haywire and evidentally I passed the night alternating between coughing and snoring like a buffalo (do buffalo actually snore?) My loving husband didn't have the heart to ask me to move to the sofa!
Sounds like an adventurous speed workout. Weaving through pick-up game soccer players while maintaining sub 7 minute pace...hmmm you might have to do your speed workouts at your once familiar 5:30 am timeslot huh? Let us know how it goes!
Dana it is OK! You have to live with Steve from day to day so I think you are OK with one night of snoring like a Buffalo. Yes Buffalo do snore especially those with a deviated septum! Steve good luck with the track workout and I am sure we will have a story about you being hit in the head with a soccer ball!
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