Spring Fever!

Well, even if I don't run tomorrow (Sunday), this has been my best week running here in Bucharest. With today's run factored in, I now have 15 miles for the week ending tomorrow. Today I also passed 100 miles for 2006! Looking back at my arrival here in Bucharest on Jan 10, I am pretty pleased I've logged as many miles as I have.

Week Recap

The week started with two fantastic running days on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, I did my standard mid-range run of 2 full lake laps (about 5.7 miles) at good pace. The run was interrupted (a good interruption) when I acutally passed Anca, Flavius and Georgia as they were heading to one of the playgrounds in Parcul Titan. Anca and Flavius are the Romanian couple that provided a ton of help in getting me settled here. It was Anca who helped me find our apartment.

Tuesday's weather was even better with temps in the low 6o's. I decided to challenge myself a bit for a fast 3.6 miler (2 laps of the north lake). With distractions such as people, bad pavement, and the stairs - I was pretty proud of the 7:25/mile pace I held on this one. On Wednesday, the temperature actually hit 70; but I needed a rest day from the previous 2 runs. The un-even surfaces here seem to create alot of fatigue in the ankles.

"Fun" (or more precisely "Food") Distractions

After Tuesday, I was unable to run until Today. We had a busy week, featuring 2 after work dinner dates. Wednesday's dinner was German fare at Die Deutche Kniepe with my coworkers. This great little place features chicken, sausages and various snitzels in large portions. On Friday, we took Anca, Flavius, and Georgia out to an italian place. It was a "thank you" dinner for all their help. I paid the bill for the 6 of us, and it cost about 40 bucks (generous tip included). Eating out here rocks!, especially with my American salary.

Spring is in the air

Today's run was an enjoyable 5.7 miler at noon time. Although it was not as warm today as it was earlier in the week, there was plenty of Sun and only a light wind. The park was very active and I saw the most runners today since I've been out here at Parcul Titan. I guess the other runners figured it was now Spring, the end of March, the Sun is out, and they decided to get out there. There was actually a warmer weekend in February that had far less runners than today. It seems like the date has as much influence as the weather for the people here...well not quite, but you get the point.