Steve J in Cairo!

Hey all,

Just letting my massive blog audience know we arrived safely at 2:00 AM this morning. We spent the day doing a little recon of downtown Cairo either on foot or in a taxi.

I think its safe to say that this is the most NOT-run-friendly area I've ever seen. The traffic is so bad, it makes Bucharest look tame. Crosswalks are ignored by traffic. Cars will not slow down until you 2-3 meters into the street.

So, I don't want to make any promises. If I can get up early (and I feel lucky) I may do a short jog near the Nile, but we'll see.

Steve's winter weekday running haunt

Herestrau Park

With the shorter days of winter, it's now impossible to get my medium length (1 hr) weekday runs done before dark. Depending on the traffic, I usually get home with only 30-40 minutes of daylight left - and it's getting worse. So on Tuesday and Wednesday this past week, I drove directly from work to nearby Herestrau Park.

The international hood

Herestrau is one of the largest parks in the city. If it's not the largest, it is most likely the most well known. The park is located to the north of the city center. Situated around the park are some of the most expensive neighborhoods of the city and where you will also find a large group of international residents. My current parking location is just a few hundred yards from the Chinese embassy. Other embassies are nearby, so it is not uncommon to hear other languages besides Romanian - something I'm not used to hearing in my regular running spot, Titan Park, which is nearly all Romanian.

Activities galore

I visited the park earlier this year with Dana and Maria when we visited the Romanian Peasant Village which adjoins the park, but this is the first time I've run here. The park has a large lake which has a path that follows the shoreline and that's where I planned to do my running. The path is not just for walking and running. It allows access to the many restaurants, boat rentals, and other businesses at the water's edge. You can see a couple of them in photo #2 on the right.

In addition to being a cultural center, the park is also a bit of a sports mecca also. The picture on the left below shows domes for indoor tennis, while on the right you will see the Diplomat Club, which in includes the city's only golf course and an olympic sized swimming pool. It has 9 holes and is one of the few courses in all of Romania. I think the sport will be slow to catch on though. At about $20-$25 for eighteen holes, the cost is about 1/3 of the average Romanian's weekly take home pay.

As for the running, I was quite pleased. The pavement of the path is good by Bucharest standards. The park itself is pretty scenic and surprisingly quiet despite the crowded streets nearby. The fair weather crowds are nearly gone now in late November, with only the dedicated young-couples-in-love remaining; and they are usually are too busy to notice me, ha ha ha.

The other big plus was the lack of dogs. I'm guessing this place gets more attention from the dogcatchers due to the important people living around it. There are a couple of nice bridges over the small bays around the lake. One lap around the lake is 3.75 miles. I did 2 laps on Tuesday and 1 lap on Wednesday (a much nicer day) with the camera.

Of course, it wouldn't be a running post for Bucharest without the usual risk of serious injury. In order to get completely around the lake, you have to cross this really old railroad bridge. Ok, when I say really old, I was being generous. It's actually falling apart and they are building a new bridge next to it, but it isn't done:

The first thing I had to do was climb up this muddy embankment. Then I had to cross the old bridge, doing this little balance beam type running that they don't tell you about in the running books. Amazingly, before I crossed I saw an actual warning sign, which is an unusual sight at Romanian construction sites. Of course, as a true Bucharest resident, I promptly ignored it and crossed anyway. Don't worry, right before I ran across I performed a detailed structural analysis of the bridge. I stepped on the edge of the first plank and jumped up and down a few times. After that, I pronounced it "structurally sound".

Coming up...Steve runs Egypt!

No Way!.......Way, we are off to Cairo on Tuesday for 5 days. Stay tuned.

The Contest: And the winner is....

I'll let Falco make the announcement:
Chuck R was able to "correctly-enough" guess the event. He had a little mistake, but he saved his guess by providing the winner of last years race (Clue #1) - that way I knew he had the right one. I think Chuck is going to pick prize #1 (Lemon-Lime) unless he waffles in the next 24 hours.

Runner-up Ashley was 2 minutes late, but he'll get a prize as well.

Note of Thanks

Good job fellas, and thanks to all of my loyal readers for participating!!! Comments to my blog are always welcome, even if there isn't a contest going on...Hearing from different people is fun and gives this slightly homesick runner something to look forward too....

Clue Wrap-up

Clue #6 was the Austrian Singer Falco, singing "Rock Me Amadeus", his rap tribute to Mozart (Clue #2). Falco also is the orginal singer of "Der Kommisar", which was done in German, the language of Austria. Falco, like Marie Antoinette (Clue #5), was born in Vienna, the race city. Mozart was born in Saltzburg, but lived and died in Vienna.

Steve's Race

The perfect answer I was looking for was "Wien-Energie Halbmarathon", which was won last year by Charles Ngolepns from Kenya with super fast time of 1:01:07 (about 10 minutes faster than the winner of the Romanian race I did this year). This is a huge event with lots going on
including 4 shorter races, one of which Maria will will get to do for her European race debut.

The City

Vienna looks like a cool city to visit. We are also planning on at least one day trip to Prague or Munich to add another city/country to the trip!

I guess that's it for The Contest, I'll let Falco wrap things up with what could be my Spring Half Marathon themesong....

Clue #6

Ok folks, here we have the original singer of the song covered in the English language by the group After the Fire in Clue #3 (He also had a video, but it is so bad, I decided not to use it - you can find it on YouTube).

Now this song, which many consider to be the first song in the"rap" genre to hit #1 on the pop charts in the mid 1980's, is a tribute to the dude pictured on Clue #2.

This singer, the guy in clue #2, and the woman in Clue #5 all have something in common - besides being dead...they all lived in Steve's race city at some point.

Clue #5

A old hottie (that's how she's played in her movie appearances anyway - you gotta love hollywood) with some help for you,

If you don't know the city after this clue, things look bleak for you...you must hope for a mistake by the leaders today.

Tomorrow's clue, if necessary, is a video clue which will help those still stumped by clues #2 and #3.

Clue #4

A monologue....

Maria is very excited about this race. She is excited because she also gets to race on the same day. She has already run a 1 mile race and a 5k in 2005, so I expect this 2k distance to be no problem. We will have to make sure we are careful with the Champion Chip, so it doesn't fall off my little running partner's shoe like it did during the 1 mile race last year.

A critical clue for those lucky enough to be farther along....

Tomorrow, another picture clue to help bring the back-of-the-pack folks closer to the front of the guessing race...

Saturday's Long Run - The Big Building

First, an update for "The Contest"

Time for a break from "The Contest". The next clue, a good one, will be posted Monday. Actually, all the clues this week will be good. I hope to have a winner by Wednesday.

OK, now for Saturdays long run..

Big time, I'm on my way-I'm making it
Big time, I've got to make it show yeah
- Peter Gabriel

Unless you ran around the Pentagon in Washington,DC or the Boeing facility in Everet, Washington or the Aerium in Germany, you won't top this run today. I ran to the People's Palace of Parliament, one of the largest buildings in the world in terms of volume and floor space. We visited the place as a family earlier this year, but this is the first time I ran in the vicinity (My runs weren't very long back then).

Here's some stats on this monstrosity from Wikipedia:

Volume: 90,052,400 cubic feet
Materials: 35,314,670 cubic feet of marble
700,000 metric tons of steel and bronze
31,783,200 cubic feet of wood
3,500 metric tons of crystal

The building was the brain child of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. It was originally called "House of the People", but the name was changed sometime after the Romanian Revolution and Ceausescu's execution. Ceausescu was known for a lot of things, mostly bad things. His sense of architecture is definitely one of those bad things, according to this reviewer:

"the combination of cultural and aesthetic illiteracy, rigid Marxist-Leninist orthodoxy and an innate taste for gigantism was… devastating"
-Edward Behr

Much of my run today traced the path of my run last week on Unirii Blvd, which runs right into the Palace. One thing I noticed while running is the hill that the palace sits on. If you're a Big guy like Ceausescu thought he was, then you're gonna build your Big office on the Big hill in the Big City, right? Never mind the historic neighborhoods that were demolished in the process, the building needed to be there - what a guy. It is also said that, due the amount of marble used in construction (Ceausescu wanted every material to be from Romania) , people had to scramble for alternate materials for tombstones.

And always they're amazed
When I show them round my house, to my bed
I had it made like a mountain range
With a snow-white pillow for my big fat head
- More Peter Gabriel

Yeah, I had that Peter Gabriel song in my head during most of the run. Once I turned onto Unirii Blvd, the Palace can be clearly seen 2 miles away as I ran towards it. I made it there 45 minutes into the run and then proceeded to do one lap around the secured perimeter. It took me over 16 minutes to get around the thing, covering 1.75 miles. It was weird going uphill after 10 months of running in this mostly flat city.

Got coke? - WWSJD? (What would Steve J do)

Ok, here's a scenario for you. You've been running for 80 minutes and you still have nearly 30 minutes to go. You're running out of gas (that pack of sports beans you ate 40 minutes ago is long gone), the wind is in your face, you nearly got ran over by a car doing 25 mph on the sidewalk and you're getting cranky. You've past several fast food joints throughout the run (including 2 McDonalds) and literally dozens of street vendors. Then... you see this place:

Well this is what Steve J would do. If Steve J had 3 Lei in his pocket (he did), he would run in that store (he did) and get himself a 1/2 liter coke (yep, he did). Yes, oh yes, coke never tasted so good. 10 minutes (and a several belches) later I was fired up and picking up the pace for a high-energy finish. It doesn't get any better than this...

Or does it?

I got back to the apartment feeling rather pleased with myself for this 11.6 mile run. I also still had a good caffiene/sugar high going from the coke. When I got upstairs, I realized the Coolest Helpmeet Ever was making things happen. Check it out:

Yes, the woman was fixing Churros. Churros are Spanish donuts, and they rock! Apparently she and Maria found some frozen churros during their last visit to Auchan (the newest hypermarket) while I was at work this week. All you have to do is remove from the freezer and fry them in oil (can't go wrong there) and sprinkle with sugar. Sweeeeet! (literally).

Clue #3

Although some 80's music knowlege would be a plus, if you can utilize google, you should be good to go...and take a big step towards figuring it out.

The Contest, Clue #2

A little retro, but this dude is stylin'

Guesses to the previous post (11/14) will no longer count.

Let the guessing for Clue #2 begin!

Clue #3 (a video clue) will be posted in 24-48 hrs.

The Contest! Where in the world is....

Steve gonna race next?

The History

I was trying to come up with a Spring 2007 running goal (race) the other day, but as usual, living in Romania has its limitations. The first problem is trying to find any races scheduled in advance in Romania. The second problem is then trying to figure out how to register - no simple online registration seems to be available here. How am I supposed to train for a race if don't know (1) exactly when it is (2) where it is (3) what distance it is? Especially for these small races here - I may not find out until just a few weeks in advance, if at all.

Then, a thought hit me. "Why do I have to run in Romania?" (Wow, Steve J thinking outside the box - watch out!) "Instead, why don't I pick a big race in a really cool foreign city that we haven't visited yet?" Needless to say, the Coolest Helpmeet Ever was totally on-board with this plan. Yep, convincing Dana to travel and see new places - real tough! It took a little bit of Internet research (of course, this is one thing I'm extremely good at) to find the right fit, but I found one.

The Contest

Since you can't have a really cool blog until you sponsor some kind of contest, here goes nothin'. The good thing about this contest is this: with my meager blog audience, you (that's right, you!) have a good shot at winning.

So, my challenge to you is guess (1) the city I will race in (2) the exact name of the race in its native language. The first one to post a comment with the answer will win...(drum roll)

The Prize

Take your pick of (1), (2), 0r (3).

(1) A 24 pack box of Jelly Belly Sports Beans! Yes, the same product used by Steve J to achieve his fantastic 1:47:00 half marathon debut. OK everyone say "OOOoooh...Ahhhhhhh." (You choose the flavor - Fruit Punch, Berry Blue, Orange or the as pictured Lemon-Lime)

(2) A 16 pack box of Jelly Belly Sports Beans! A little scared of commitment? Decision challenged? Relax, choose this option and try all the flavors.

(3) A Jelly Belly 50 flavor gift box! (The non-athletic version is perfect for those looking to score points with the spouse or suck up to the boss at the company Christmas party)

The Rules

Place your guess by commenting to the blog. Starting today, you get 1 guess per post. If you are "blogger challenged" and are unable to leave a comment, email your guess to me at sjutton@yahoo.com. Make sure you name is in the comment, especially if you post as "anonymous" on blogger.

Note: You snooze you lose. You can only guess to the current post. You cannot go back and add a guess to an old post.

The first person to correctly guess the city and race wins!

Clue #1 (written clue) :

A Kenyan won this race in 2006 with a ridiculously fast time (go figure).

Let the guessing begin!

Clue #2 (picture clue) will be posted in 24-48 hrs.

Back on the Streets of Bucharest - Long Run Saturday

First, a quick recap of my training week:

Monday: 1 Hour massage, $10 (starting a training week right - PRICELESS...heh heh heh)

Tuesday: Speed session at Parcul National (Lots of people at that track today to observe my impressive 800 meter repeats)

Wednesday: 5 mile run (horrible - I underdressed for the cold and was sore from trying to show off on Tuesday)

Thursday: Rest

Friday: 4 miles easy (warm-up for today's long run)

Saturday: Long run at 7 am followed later by massage ($10) at 3 pm (recovering from a long run right - PRICELESS, heh heh heh)

Taking it to the streets (of Bucharest)

My long runs have become a bit dull lately. My usual route involves running to Parcul National for a few laps on the track and then heading over to Parcul Titan for more loops of my 1 mile course. The good thing about this route is the safety factor. There are not too many street crossings to make and the stray dog incidents are usually minimal. The bad thing is the continuous laps which can make any run a real bore.

That was my plan today until I was about .5 mile into my run and I started thinking about adding some variety. So, right before I entered Parcul National, I turned left and headed west towards the city center. Note: A couple of these pics were made by me earlier in the year and some I borrowed off the net.

The street in front of Parcul National pretty much follows a direct path west into the city center, although it changes names 3 or 4 times. After about 33 minutes, I reached Piaţa Unirii (United Square). Piaţa Unirii is one of the city's biggest commercial centers.

Ironically, the square from where communist dictator Ceauşescu's huge office building can be scene (1st pic), is now the center of capitalism run amonk in Bucharest. The same buildings which were intended to house the communist party faithful are covered with billboards and other monuments to free enterprise (maybe too much eh?).

After circling Unirii Shopping Center (big ugly bloc building that was turned into one of the city's first malls), I headed back towards our Titan neighborhood on Unirii Boulevard. Uniri Boulevard is a big wide street which runs from the Parliment building on the west to a large roundabout on the east side. It is actually a really nice street to run on with large asphalt sidewalks. Before the revolution, Unirii Blvd was originally named by the communists as "Boulevard of the Victory of Socialism"...Oops!

It is here on Unirii Blvd, that you see one of the contrasts of Bucharest. Right across the street from a brand new western style office building is this: (Last pic on right). This unfinished hulk of a building is the National libary, which was started in 1986, 3 years before the execution of Ceauşescu. Construction did continue after the revolution, but has now stopped completely due to funding problems. The building serves as a reminder of both past and current problems facing the city.

The run was real nice. Total distance: about 11.5 miles in 1 hr 49 min. The early morning Saturday traffic was not bad. I rarely had to stop during most street crossings. Mental note: When you run by coffee shops, pastry stops, and various other fast food joints 50 minutes into a 2 hr run - this is not good, especially if you don't have money. I was dragging when I hit Parcul Titan and I finished with a few laps of my 1 mile course there before calling it a day.

By the way, don't worry - the contest will start soon. I just have to finalize a couple of things...

Brrrrrr!, This weeks running wrap.

Before I start, let me congratulate my bud Ashley for his performance at the Ford Ironman Florida race yesterday. Ashley didn't just finish his first Ironman, he smoked it! Ashley's numbers (excluding transition times):

Swim (2.4 mile) = 1:10:59, Bike (112 mile) = 6:06:20 Run (26.2 mile) = 4:29:41

Total Time: 12:02:34, this puts Ashley in the top 1/3 of the over 2100 finishers.

Feel free to drop by Ashley's blog later this week as he reflects on his accomplishment (no pressure buddy)

November begins

The approaching Romanian winter played havoc with my running schedule this week. A cold front rolled in on Thursday bringing cold, rain, and a little zapada (that's snow in Romanian). I waited as long as I could, skipping Thursday and Friday, but had to suck it up on Saturday. It was a brisk 28 Degrees F for my run Saturday morning. I didn't go as long as I wanted due to a fast pace (Not employing any serious training strategy - I was trying to stay warm), but completed around 8 miles. The middle part of the run was actually enjoyable. Titan Park was quiet and a light coat of the white stuff was clearly visible on the grass. I needed to double up on gloves as the light pair I brought didn't quite cut it towards the end.

Sunday's Double

It warmed up a little bit today, but not much. With the wind, it felt a lot colder than the 46 degrees F that the internet was telling us. I had been promising Maria a run for a while, so it was time to cash in. Before the run, we "fueled up" at a Chinese restaurant in the Bucharest Mall after church. This Chinese place is surprisingly good, and as you know, I'm not exactly a model of perfect training nutrition. I enjoy running, but not as much as I enjoy good food! After taking a quick "power nap" to help the Chinese settle down, Maria was chomping at the bit to get out into the windy cold.

We had a nice 17 minute run (1.5 miles or so) in Titan Park. Needless to say, we received a lot of "looks" from the Romanians, especially the older ones. Bringing my poor little girl out into the cold with shorts on, I'm probably lucky someone didn't call the cops.

After the run with Maria, I decided to head back out there. I quickly changed my shirt because (a) I'm superman (b) I'm a wuss who wanted a warm dry shirt - I report, you decide. I was able to put in a comfortable 7 miler which brought my weekend total to over 15 miles and a ending a satisfying 27 mile week.

Odd running sight of the week: For me, seeing a desperate smoker pick up a used cigarette off the ground to get the last few puffs will be forever associated with Bucharest. I'm sure some of the poor, desperate smokers in American cities do this too, I've just never seen it until I came here. I've seen this several times before today and I'm sure I'll see it more. Many people here expect a hefty tax on the "cancer sticks" after Romania enters the EU next year. I'm not really a fan of the government running peoples lives, but with the high smoking rates here in Romania - this tax may not be a bad idea.

Guess Steve's 2007 Spring Running Goal - The Contest...coming soon. Stay tuned!

This week: Steve coming to grips...

with the fact that it is getting cold out. Both runs so far this week were done in 45 degree temperatures. And it's going to get colder....

with the fact that my family and I will be here in Romania far into 2007. My blog headline has been tweaked to reflect this.

with the fact that my friend Ashley is 48hrs from competing in an Ironman (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run). Go Ashley!

with the fact that life (as good as it may be) is temporary. Sometimes, too temporary for the nicest of people...

David Thomson Chapman, 47, of Greenville, S.C., formerly of Seattle, Wash., died Thursday, October 26, 2006, at Greenville Memorial Medical Center....Mr. Chapman graduated from Wade Hampton High School, Class of 1977, and Clemson University, Class of 1981 with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering. He attended Edwards Road Baptist Church...
He was a design engineer with D3 Technologies. Mr. Chapman was previously employed with Boeing and Lockheed Martin, where he helped design both military and commercial aircraft...Surviving, in addition to his parents and wife, are two sons, Nick and Joe Chapman....Mr. Chapman was a devoted husband, father, and precious son. He was loved dearly by all of his family and friends...

with the fact that I know where Dave C is now.....

John 5:24 (New International Version)
"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life"