Plodding along in Parcul Titan

It was another tame week of running in Bucharest. I managed to get in two 4 mile runs on Mon and Thurs in between Dana and Maria's return (Yahoooo!). The heat dropped down due to some cool fronts that came through and there was some rain also. Some areas in the Romanian countryside received some nasty weather in the past two weeks with heavy rain, wind and even a tornado.

Steve's goal is creeping up...

It finally hit me on Friday that my first half-marathon is only 2 months away. Although running a half-marathon (13.1 miles) is not nearly as difficult as a full (26.2) marathon, it really helps to get some longer runs done to prepare you body for these distances. From what I've read, if you don't get those longs runs done, you may be able to finish a half-marathon, but you'll be miserable doing it. I want to enjoy the sights and sounds of my first HM in a European city and not feel like death during the whole thing.

Long run Saturday

So on Saturday morning, I got a up at 6:00 am for a nice long morning run in Parcul Titan. Overnight temperatures in Bucharest are usually nice and cool, even in the middle of summer. It may reach 90+ degrees during the day, but it will usually drop into the low 60's overnight, which is nice. I'd gladly trade Romanian summer for the Carolina summer (winter is another story!). It was a very peaceful (and dog-free - whoo whooo!) 7.2 miles in the park. I've been running really slow lately due to my recent form change. I guess I'm just paranoid of injury after reading so many stress fracture stories on the internet.

So how slow am I running? This pic should give you an idea: