Steve's 10 mile "Run fit for Filth"

For Saturday's long run, I was feeling adventurous. I decided I would head south - outside the city for a nice run in the countryside along the canal. You see, we are located in the southeastern portion of the city, so I figured it would only be about 2-3 miles running to leave the city.

What scenery!

I set out going south and made my way out of the city. After the 1st mile, the apartment blocs got smaller and smaller. By the time I was in mile 2, they were gone. The blocs gave way to small, mostly decrepit houses - some with gardens. The smell of fresh horse dung was in the air, and I could see a massive petro-chemical plant on my right.

I ran under a massive formation of high-tension power lines before I reached the canal. I could hear the buzzing from the power lines as I passed and figured since I was probably glowing at this point, it would make me easier to see on the road (Note: you can ask Dana, who was quite un-nerved by the buzzing when we drove back for these pics). Ah yes, the sounds and sights of the "country".

My first disappointment occurred when I reached the canal. The walkway on the north side of the canal has really been neglected in this area. Remember, we are in Bucharest, so when I say "neglected", I REALLY mean neglected. On this north side of the canal there were 2 lanes of traffic going east, so I headed west towards the traffic and tried to make the best of it. Broken pavement, trash and weeds were everywhere and I had to keep jumping off the walkway and into the road and then jump back up again. Traffic was flying past me as this little road basically becomes the Romanian autobahn once outside the city. My run in the country was anything but relaxing at this point. After a nerve-wracking mile of this, I began to look for a bridge so I could cross the canal and head against traffic on the way back.

The only good thing on this run was the lack of dogs. There were a few, but not as many as I expected. A group of 5 startled me at one point from across the road. I turned towards them and stopped, ready to do battle when they crossed the road (assuming all of them made it across). Just before they crossed however, I heard a whistle and they turned back. These strays were apparently semi-trained by a homeless person/dog herder, so that was a relief. I did see a few homeless people walking along the road with their belongings and several people fishing in the canal - and I have to assume they were fishing for food, not recreation (YUCK!).

I was quite relieved at mile 4 when I saw a lock ahead with a footbridge across the canal. The trash really builds up near the lock and the water smelled pretty ripe. I think it's quite safe to say that the canal which cuts through the center of Bucharest is one of the most polluted waterways in Europe and maybe the planet as well. I was happy to make my way across and start heading back - of course, things would get worse.

My happiness was short-lived as I headed back east on the southern side of the canal. The walkway on this side was even worse, forcing me into the road for long stretches. The other side of the road was unbelievably disgusting as well. Trash was piled up over 5 ft high along the road. It looked like the road was carved through a dump when they had made it. I picked up the pace, anxious to get off this highway and back into the city. It was at this point that I realized my biggest mistake. At mile 7, I reached my starting point on the canal which was great, right? WRONG! I was on the opposite side of the canal and there was no bridge where I started from, duh! I decided to press on, running against traffic and hoping that another bridge wasn't too far ahead. Thankfully, about 1 mile away was another bridge and I crossed back over.

I never thought I would be so happy to see the apartment blocs come into view. I'm glad I didn't try this run when I first got here, or I would have went straight to the mall and bought a treadmill. I give this area an 8/10 on the Steve J's FILTH-O-METER. Remember, it's not easy to impress me with filth. I've been to Panama City and Cairo which are a couple of the most filthy cities on Earth. So I know filth when I see it.

Week Wrap-Up

Well the "Carolina" winter has continued here in Bucharest and my running is going great overall. Temperatures were in the mid to upper 50's all week. After 2 miles today in what I now consider the spotlessly clean and perfect confines of Titan Park (ha ha ha) with Maria, I once again topped the 33 mile mark for the week. I started speedwork at Parcul National on Tuesday and cranked out 4 x 800 meter repeats at a speedy pace. I know I impressed the footballists (that's "soccer players" in Romanian) who were also doing some conditioning on the track. Wednesday was another nice run with John Lewis back at Herestreau park. John was coming off a 2-week layoff and had to work hard on this one. This was no problem as I able to handle most of the conversation griping about work the whole way. Thanks for listening John!