A tale of two shores, Lacul Morii

Well, for today's long run location, I picked Lacul Morii which is located on the west side of Bucharest. Like much of Bucharest, Lacul Morii is full of contrasts. First, some quick history. Lacul Morii is actually a man-made reservoir that forms part of the flood control system in Bucharest and was finished in 1987. The Dambovita river flows into and out of Lacul Morii through a canal that cuts through the city. It eventually empties into the famous flood-prone Danube River in southern Romania.

To build a Fire

I started this run in the trashed, desolate southern side of the lake. It is wide open and windy all around the lake. According to an internet source, the lake was once lined with trees, but they were cut down for firewood by poor and desperate Romanains to heat their "homes" during the cold winters.

Early on this run looked like it would end early. A welcome committee of dogs "greeted" me as soon as I got out of my car.

Portraits of Poverty

I could see smoke from the fires of several homeless gypsy families nearby. I snapped this pic on the right of a gypsy "house" right after I finished. The family was just waking up and I could hear a baby crying. Puts things in perspective - we have a lot to be thankful for....

There was trash everywhere - this is no doubt a convenient dumping ground for contractors and other small businesses. I saw a few people picking through the trash looking for any salvageable items. This section of the lake reminded me of pictures I've seen of bad neighborhoods in South Central Los Angeles (Except for the couple of goat herds I saw, that doesn't quite fit) . There were a lot of people fishing in this nasty water too - yuck.

More Close Encounters of the Canine Kind...

I had one tense dog encounter right away. I ran by a medium sized dog that looked friendly enough. He didn't make a sound, but started following me from a distance. Soon, another dog joined him - they got closer and I started to pick up the pace. Then a third dog joined up and the three dogs got right on my heels. I'm thinking "Isn't this how wolves hunt?", watching and waiting for me to slow down or trip. I felt like an injured deer on a Wild Kingdom TV special. Just then, while the three dogs stalked me from behind, 3 MORE dogs came charging from the front! Uh oh! I thought I was dead. However, instead of taking me out, this new group of three attacked the other three dogs that were behind me which allowed me to escape (I heard a lot of barking but didn't look back). I guess I had crossed into a new groups territory and the canine intruders bothered them more then me.

I was pretty rattled but kept going. After about 1 mile or so, I ran into a locked gate. Bummer. I thought the path was continuous, but that was not the case. So, I had to go off course into what looked like a pretty poor section of Bucharest. None of the roads here are paved and there were lots of dogs, but thankfully I was able to navigate back to the lake and continue the run without incident.

Above pic shows my route map. I ran clockwise starting in the lower right hand corner - starting and finishing on the ugly southern shore where I took the pictures. Interestingly, the building that our church rents for Sunday morning is nearby.

Pleasant Ending

Once I crossed the canal on the west side (about halfway around), I passed a concrete barrier that read "Zona de Protectie". Of course, I had no idea what that meant but kept going anyway. Immediate I noticed the lack of trash in this area. Apparently, there is some clean-up going on to reclaim this lake. The whole north side was dog free and clean (for Bucharest standards anyway) for the most part. I even passed a couple of runners and walkers - wow! There is a nice little mini-park sticking right out into the lake, but I was getting gassed by then so I didn't go in. I did snap a pic from the other side of the lake though (see first pic up top).

Here's tinkling on you kid

Despite the rough start, it was good 5 mile run to push me over the 15 mile mark this week. Due to the unpredictable dog situation on the southern shore of the lake and the distance from our apartment on the other side of the city, I probably will not return here. Here's my last pic before I left:

I'm pretty sure this guy had just finished "marking" my car (see my wheel on the left) while I was taking the above pictures. He looks so innocent doesn't he?

Talk to you soon!

Steve's new stuff

As many of you know, I passed the 35 year split on 23 June. To celebrate the occasion, I decided to upgrade my running gadgetry. Feast your eyes on my brand new GPS watch:

As you can see, this futuristic looking baby just oozes geekiness. Like my old watch, its big enough to be seen from a mile away. It's also flexible. Not only will it be plainly obvious to Romanians that I am a foreign running geek, this watch will be equally fashionable stateside for a night out with 'da boys at your local Star Trek Convention - very chic (Scottie, I need warp speed and I need it now!)

As you can also tell from the graph on the right, the new watch (red line) is much more accurate than the old watch (blue line). (Hint: If there doesn't look like much of a difference, just think about who writes this blog and you will understand why it matters).

Two Shoes, New Shoes, Pretty and...Obnoxiously red

Just in case the technological monstrosity on my left arm doesn't get me noticed, I decided to get a shoe upgrade too. The change in my running form has made a shoe change necessary. Believe it or not, I did not intentionally get the most noticeable color, my feet are just hard to fit.

Ok, I know what your thinking. What was the whole running technique change stuff? For my non-running geek audience, I finally found a good drawing to explain it. Basically I want my foot to hit the ground like the foot in the middle of this hi-tech sketch.

I was very happy with yesterday's run of nearly 5 miles with little soreness. I think I'm finally ready to branch out and do some runs in some new areas of the city too, and get this blog going again.

I'm alive and well!

In a New York minute

From the running point of view, I had a nice break in New York. I ran 3 times in the morning there with excellent weather. One day, I ran to my old high school track (memories...blah..blah..blah..blah...blaaaah blaaaah - just think of the theme from CATS) and practiced my form by running 1/4 mile barefoot. Running barefoot is tough, but very helpful. Without the protection of those fancy running shoes, you must land your foot correctly everytime. If you don't, the feedback is instaneous - it hurts!

The week went by fast and it was really good to be with Dana and Maria again and see my side of the extended family.

Steve is back in town

I got back to Bucharest on Sunday afternoon and quickly got back to running. I ran Mon, Wed and early this morning. Each run was about 3-3.5 miles long and uneventful for the most part. The heat broke while I was gone, so the weather has been great with temps staying in the mid 80's. The low humidity here makes it quite comfortable when it stays below 90.

New Soarma source!

After Wednesday's run, I was starving and realized I forgot to take out any meat from the freezer. So, I decided to pass on the ramen noodles and find some grub outside. Right before I left for NY, I had noticed a new restaurant. I thought it was just a regular terrace bar, but then I realized they had a pretty big food menu there too. It turns out that they serve pizza, soarma's and a bunch of other stuff. The soarma was great. This place has some additional toppings and seasoning that the other place in the Piaţa doesn't have. Food goes along way to improving my morale, especially overseas.

Today's Run

I did run into a pack of dogs in the park today, but apparently they had owners close by. As the 4-5 dogs barked and closed ranks on me, I heard them hollering. It ended up ok. The dogs chased me for about 20 yards or so barking away, but no biting. It's always exciting when you get charged by a pack of dogs - you never know what they're going to do. It does get the adrenaline going, though, so at least it helps my running energy! Speaking of dogs, above is our newest addition to the dog family at work (actually there are several families of dogs at work, but this little guy is staying in our hanger right now). The dogs that chase me in the park are never this cute.

I'm heading back to help out at Camp Living Water today for the weekend, so this will have to be a short post. I did get some fancy new running stuff in NY that I'll post about when things slow down next week.

Break from Bucharest

In less than 4 hours, I will be on a Flight to London, the first leg of my trip to Schenectady, NY to meet Dana and Maria and visit the Jutton side of the family. I'm looking forward to the break and seeing the family. Also, I should be returning with a new pair of running shoes and a brand new GPS watch the talk about (I know you're excited).

Feelin' Hot Hot Hot

It was in the 90's every day this week in Bucharest. My coworkers tell me it will be hot until September. I ran after work Monday and Tuesday. I was really feeling the heat on Tuesday, so I'm not sure that I'm ready to run 2 days in a row in that kind of heat. The only good thing is the lack of dog trouble. The Bucharest strays are just lying around everywhere in this heat. They look at you and you can see it in their eyes. They want to chase you soooo bad, but they don't have the energy to move.

Evening Run in Parcul Titan

Yesterday, I waited until about 8:00 pm to run and it wasn't too bad. The good thing about the Bucharest summer is how quickly it cools down at night. By 8 pm, the temp was only about 82 and it was dropping. The only bad thing - Everybody in Bucharest was in the park, it seemed. The place was packed, which required alot of attention on my part to avoid running over kids, rollerbladers, skateboarders, soccer players, etc.

Well, that's it for now. I may check in from New York, or I may not.

Carb loading in Romania

For a runner (or any other person pretending to be an athlete like me), carbohydrates are important for energy and recovery. Here's one of my favorites in Bucharest:

This bad boy is called a Shaorma. I think it came from the Middle East, which is not too far away. The main ingredients are a pita-type shell, grilled chicken, french fries, garlic sauce, pickles, and some kind of green stuff (could be lettuce or cabbage) to make it appear healthy.

What's most interesting to me is how the chicken is kept heated at the Shaorma stand. When you order, the guy will cut the chicken off this thing with a large knife.

Shaorma's come in 2 sizes, mica (small) or mare (large). I usually get the small, but the one you see on my plate up there is a large. I was having fun talking to the Shaorma guy in English and Romanian and forgot to say "mica". I couldn't finish it, since it weighs over 1 lb. Even the large shaorma costs only a 120,000 lei (about 4 bucks).

I guess in the end, it's not really "Carbohydrate loading". It's more like "Everything Loading".

Summer Begins

I hope you enjoyed my "filler post", ha ha ha. Not much is happening on the running front right now. I'm still mainly doing shorter runs and working on my new running form. After doing some more research, I'm thinking about changing running shoes which I would do while in New York. I ran after work on Monday and Tuesday and really felt the heat. This past weekend while I was camping with the missionaries, the temperature began to warm up. It was around 90 F for both runs this week. I may just deal with the heat, since there is much less dog trouble at this time of day as opposed to the mornings. The dogs just lie around everywhere when it gets hot like this and they barely move. That's all for now. I'll try to check in next week before my visit to the states.

Sunday Morning workout.

Sunday morning before church is usually not a great time for a workout. But, since I'm waking up so ridiculously early (5:00 am or earlier) , I have nothing else to do.

Friday's run was ok. My calves are still really sore from working on this running form change. I've read several articles on the net, and it looks like I can expect this for about 2-3 weeks. Not really fun, but I'm into this running thing for the long haul. Better form now will hopefully mean better knees years later. I'm quite certain I pushed too hard on my first run last Saturday, and that hasn't helped things. The good thing about the run this past Friday was that it was dog-free.

Today's run also featured minimal canine activity also. I passed a few that barked, but they kept their distance. Nothing else has been really exciting about these last few runs. I've run them all in the same place in Parcul Titan where the brand spanking new pavement is. Right now, I don't think my calves can take the abuse of the Lacul Titan route where the pavement and trails are rough in spots. Hopefully, when the calve issue goes away, I will try out some new running locations that I've been promising you guys. The weather each morning has been great with temps in the mid to high 50's. The high's for June so far have been in the 70's at midday here in Bucharest. Nice.

Steve's new workout

See this metal bar on the left? There are tons of these things located around the apartments. The Romanians use them to beat the dust out of their rugs. You may be thinking "Oh, how interesting". However, Steve J doesn't think that way. He looks at the metal bar and thinks "Cool! I can do pull-ups on those!". So I did bust out a couple of sets of pull-ups after my run today when nobody was looking (not that I would care...)

I know, I'm a nut. But, if you've been reading this blog for any length of time, this is nothing new.

Early Mornings in Early June

Saturday's run

On Saturday, I got up early and ran early. I've been waking up pretty early since daylight savings started. In Bucharest, there is about an additional 1:15 hrs of daylight when compared to Greenville. The early morning in Parcul Titan is very peaceful for running for the most part. There are very few people and very few dogs. The only exception is this:

I think people take their unfriendly doggies out this early due to the fact that there are less people around (and no children at all) for them to try to eat. On Saturday, I passed a HUGE doberman who made an aggressive growl and scared me half-to-death. The owner lady quickly grabbed his collar before her "puppy dog" added a little Fillet-O-Steve to his Saturday morning breakfast menu.

Today's Run (Tuesday 6/6)

The jury is still out on my plan to run in the mornings. I had to come to a dead stop today after 3 dogs came after me as I passed the restaurant, Casa Rustica. Every restaurant and farmers market here seems to have their own stray dogs. The reason is simple. They feed them. It doesn't take a rocket scientist (even Steve J) to figure out that the dogs are going to stay where the food is. They also become quite territorial about their home, especially at night. I've had very few problems during the day, as most of the dogs are sleeping. I guess I'll see if I can find a different route to the park in the morning that is doggie-free.

Steve's new running style

No, this doesn't mean I'm going to start wearing hot pink shoes and spandex shorts (to the disappointment of Romanians everywhere). After consulting with Coach Nathan on my running form, he suggested fixing my stride before really getting into the half-marathon training. Basically, due to my big 'ole feet (thanks ma!) and other factors, I'm hitting very hard on my heel when I run. This, according to Coach Nathan is putting undue stress on my knees and slowing me down (like I'd notice). So, in the spirit of running geekness, I took his suggestion and started working on my form this week.

For those non-running geeks in my audience, this basically means I am now twice as sore as normal, since I am using my massive leg muscles differently than I usually do. I figure in about a month I will either have a better stride or I will have injured myself trying - I'll let you all know either way.

Steve's "McGuyver Moment"

Yesterday was a rough day. Dana and Maria left for the U.S. I got laughed at while running (again). Yeah, it was rough. But it got worse. Later yesterday evening, I checked my fancy-schmancy running geek GPS watch and realized the battery needed charging. So, I got out the power supply, hooked it up and plugged it in like I always do. And what happens? Nothing. There was no indication of charging at all. After a quick bit of troubleshooting, my blood ran cold as I realized my power supply was dead!

Running Geek with no GPS - "Oh the humanity!"

What was I going to do? This power supply is a special power supply that came with my fancy-schmancy GPS watch. How will I find one in Bucharest? Am I doomed? Will I never know the precise distance and speed of my runs without "measuring" the distance the old way? Will this running geek ever get to use his mapping and graphing software ever again???

Suddenly, a thought came to mind - Bucur Obur Market. Yes! They have everything from fresh fruit to mountain bikes. From stereos to live chickens. We profiled Bucur Obur in our family blog on April 15 HERE. So, I headed to the market after work today. Since Bird Flu is a big news story here, I decided to skip the live chickens and just focus on the power supply.

Mixed Results and technical decision making 101

Well, with a little luck, I found a booth with a bunch of power supplies. Unfortunately, there was no exact match. I needed a 400 mili-amps with 5 volts. The closest one I found there was 500 mili-amps and 4.5 volts. After a serious 30 second technical evaluation, I figured "What's 100 mili-amps and 0.5 volts between friends?" So I bought the power supply anyway and headed home. This is where things got interesting...

Before I finish, those who don't know me very well need a little background to fully appreciate what happened next. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have very little hands-on mechanical ability. And the only thing worse than my hands-on mechanical ability, is my hands-on electrical ability. That's what makes this next part so amazing.

All jacked up with no place to plug

Ok, so I got home with high hopes and opened up my new power supply. Right away, I noticed the problem. The dead power supply has a specially shaped jack which plugs into a special receptacle on my fancy-schmancy GPS watch. This way, the company which makes the fancy-schmancy GPS watch forces most running geeks to buy their fancy-schmancy power supply also. None of the jacks on my newly purchased ($6) power supply matched. So, get this: I actually came up with a plan to cut the cords on both power supplies and splice the dead power supply jack with the new power supply cord. With nothing but a pocket knife and a rusty pair of pliers, I went to work...And...(I know the suspense must be killing you) Here is the result:

That my friends, is the sight of a happily charging fancy-schmancy GPS watch and the tools Steve used to make it happen. McGuyver's got nothin' on me - nothin' I say.

Stay tuned for the next episode when our hero, Steve J, returns to Bucur Obur Market for electrical tape and battles the evil bird-flu powered live chickens....(to be continued...ok I'm kidding on that).

Only the lonely...blah blah blah dum dee doo waa

So Dana and Maria are flying back to the states right now. I dropped them off before heading to work. I'm definitely going to miss them. My family is basically a part of who I am, so I'm incomplete when they're not with me (I know - so sappy, Everyone just say "Awwwwww" and we'll move on). At least the work day was somewhat interesting. After months of struggling with the Romanian bureaucratic nightmare, my 2-year (yikes) work visa application was finally accepted today. I should be able to pick it up next month.

Today's run

After coming home to a depressing empty apartment, there was no doubt I was going to run today. I headed out for an easy 3.7 miles in the newly paved section of the park. I usually run around the lake, but it is nice to change things up. Besides, with the smooth pavement, I can actually run with my head up. There just isn't too many places in Bucharest where you can do that! Another plus was the temperature. It only reached about 70F today, which is about 10 degrees cooler than my last 3 runs.

The only noteworthy Bucharest-moment of this run was the 4-5 teenage girls who basically stared at me like I was an alien as I ran by. They then proceeded to bust out laughing as soon as I passed them. I should be used to this by now, but I guess I felt more out-of-place than usual today.

Back on the road!

Well after about 2 weeks lost due to that nasty stomach flu bug-thing, I got back out there yesterday. After work, I headed out to Parcul Titan for a short 3 mile run that basically was one lap around Lacul Titan. To make things interesting, I tried out a pair of new shoes, Addis Supernova Cushion. They were a Christmas gift from "The Granny" (my mom-in-law) and I am going to rotate them with my current pair. The shoes felt good, but the run was pityfully slow. However, today I feel great, and I plan to get back to running every other day this week.

Looking Ahead...

Ok, now what? How do I keep this blog going and keep it interesting? Well, I got two things to offer ya. First, I'm setting a personal goal of running the Dracula Half-Marathon on Oct 15, so I will chronical my training for that. I know what your thinking - "Gee Steve, that's great, so where does the interesting part come in?". Okay, since I have to do some long practice runs to get ready for this thing, I'm going to try to pick a new running locale in the city and do my long run there. (And yes Nathan, I will try to take photos of these different locations too).

Losing the "ole ball-n-chain" again...

Ha ha ha. Those who are actively praying for me here should remember to double their efforts beginning on June 1. Yep, its time for Dana and Maria to head back to the states for the next two months. I will be back to depending 100% on my inept self for all my basic needs. It sounds pathetic, but its not really that bad. This time, unlike January, I have several things going for me:

(1) I actually have a permanent residence
(2) It's summer, so it doesn't feel like Sibera outside
(2) Dana will be leaving me with a freezer stocked with meat ready to cook
(3) Dana will be leaving cooking instructions for the aforementioned meat as well as rice, sides, etc.
(4) Praise the Lord, this time I have a car with an automatic transmission
(5) I actually know my way around this town - scary
(6) I have learned the appropriate times when its ok to drive like a "jerk" to survive the daily commute.

By the way, if this blog gets stale, check on the "Romanian Adventure" family blog. I will be doing some posting there from time to time with some of the stuff I've learned about Romania and Bucharest. I have to fill in for Dana, and it will help me pass the time while the family is away also.

Steve struggles with the bird flu

Ok, I may not have the bird flu, but a statement like that makes a great eye-catching blog headline. However, I certainly got something and it's pretty nasty.

Down and Out...

Within 2 hrs of drinking my celebratory first bottle of gatorade on Saturday, I noticed I was feeling it bit sore - unusual for a relatively moderate 6 mile run. Well, the fever and chills quickly followed and I hit the couch for the next 3 1/2 days. I finally had the energy to go to work Wed and Thurs, but I must have pushed it too hard cause here I sit on the couch today.

Thankfully the fever & chills are gone, but I still got the runs (and not the good kind that I blog about either) and I'm fighting to stay hydrated due to that. Yuck!!! I'm hoping the Immodium (yahoo, its cheap here!) will come through soon, but it looks like you won't see a running post until next week.

Sunny Saturday in Bucharest

It was a tough week to run. Dana and Maria took turns being sick (2 fevers, 2 long trips to the doctors, and 5 consecutive days of having one of my girls on the couch). Dana is pretty much well now, while Maria is still on the couch as I write this. Her fever on Thursday was measured at 103.5 at the doctors office, but the blood work was negative so it became just a matter of resting and drinking fluids.

In addition to the family stuff, the weather was a bit foul Wed, Thurs, Fri (refer to my dumb rain post). On the good side, the weather cleared up nicely today and I got my 3rd run this week into the books, and totaled about 15 miles for the week.

Bucharest warms up

The weather today seems to officially begin the summer warming trend. I'm told to expect possible temps of 100 in July/August. I guess we'll see. For today, it was approaching 80. I don't think we hit 80 officially, but its always warmer in the city (concrete effect) than at the airport where the weather station is.

Overall, it was a pretty good run. Due to the warm temps, I kept the pace a little slow to make sure I got a good 6 miles in. I basically ran all over Parcul Titan and finished up at Lacul Titan with a couple of laps. The only trouble I had, as I should of expected, was the sunbathing area south of the Bridge.

Speedos, Bikinis and Old People, OH MY!

I hate to dwell on this subject, but...Anyway, the speedos are beginning to multiply like rabbits. I think for every degree above 75, there are at least 2-4 more old speedo men in the park. And not only that, they are bringing their bikini clad old ladies with them.

So, as I was about to finish my first lap around the lake, there he was. This was another 50 something year old guy in a white speedo standing right in the middle of the path! He was a lot scrawnier than the guy from last week, but the sight was just as hideous. Scrawny, fat, or fit - nobody should be wearing those things! I had to run to the right of the guy, and by doing that, I had to look in the direction of the bikini clad elderly women soaking up the rays in the grass.

Insult to injury - here's buns in your eye.

Lest you all think I'm a sick-o let me just preface this next event with this fact. When you run, you are always looking around. It's natural, it makes the run go by quicker - It's fun (usually). I like to take in the scenery - If I had to run indoors all the time, I would have quit running a while ago.

Okay, I was nearly recovered from the sights of speedos and bikinis when I notice 3 younger guys goofing around in the water at the edge of the lake. Just at the instant I saw these guys, one guy pulls the shorts down of his buddie (a common prank for goofy boys). So, in addition to the horrifying sights of old people wearing bikinis and speeds - I get mooned too. Maybe running indoors isn't a bad idea after all?

Special Thanks to Ashley

I have had a hard time finding Gatorade in this town. When I have found it, I haven't found much. So my homey, Ashley (part of my ever expanding blogger audience - I think I'm up to 5 now - woo whooo) hooked me up by placing a few cans in the care package of office supplies we recieved from work.

Thanks Man!

I'm expecting a call from Gatorade any day now for an endorsement deal. Think of how many will starting drinking the stuff after seeing this guy!

Steve's dumb reasoning for running in rain

Well, as you can guess from the title, I ran over 5 miles in the rain in Bucharest yesterday. I thought I'd give some insight as to why I would do this.

First, for a normal person, this is a simple issue. A normal person looks outside and thinks this: "Look, it's rainy and cold outside. I think I'll stay inside and wait for a nicer day to run". Case closed.

Well as you know, I'm not a normal person. So I thought I'd do a very un-Freudian analysis of what goes through my head while I decide whether to run in the rain or not.

Thought 1: If I don't run today, I won't get to enter any miles in my running log (ego/geekness)

Thought 2: If I don't run today, I won't have any gps data to upload and analyze (geekness)

Thought 3: The rain will mean a lower concentration of people in the park, and thus less course adjustments (definitely geekness)

Thought 4: The rain will mean a lower concentration of people in the park, and thus less people staring and laughing at me (ego)

Thought 5: Running today is optimal after an good nights sleep and a rest day yesterday (geekness)

Thought 6: Cooler temperatures during the rain will help minimize my chances of overheating. (geekness)

Thought 7: I will be able to blog about my macho-man drive that motivates me to run in the rain (ego)

Thought 8: Annie is probably wrong. The Sun may not come out tomorrow. I might as well run in the rain today since tomorrow will probably be worse (pessimism)

Steve's even dumber reasoning for running in a thunderstorm.

Yes, it gets better. About 0.8 miles into my run yesterday, I heard the first clap of thunder. Of course, I continued my run. Here's my extended list of reasons for running in a thunderstorm.

Thought 9: Was that really thunder? Hmmm...I didn't see any lightning. It still must be pretty safe. (ignorance - meteorology would obviously not be a good career move for me)

Thought 10: If I quit now, my running log would look really pathetic with a 1.6 mile run in it (ego)

Thought 11: (2-3 miles in after numerous claps of thunder) Boy this is great, the park is really empty. This will really help me keep an even pace (geekness)

Conclusion:

This just goes to show you that just because someone has a blog, it doesn't mean that they're intelligent.

Titan in the Springtime

Well Parcul Titan is not as pretty as the parks in Paris, but its a heck of a lot cheaper to eat your post run meal here! The weather for today's run, a 5 miler, was outstanding. Like most of the month, the temp was in the mid 60's and sunny. What made today great was the lack of wind.

As you can see, many of the pathways are now shaded and provide additional wind protection as well as the aesthetics.

Before the run, I finally got those pic's you've all been waiting for. These next 3 you can compare with similar photos from my March 3 post titled "Titan Exposed". The additional photos come from the northwest section of the park that has brand new pavement and a really nice fountain which has been turned on for the season. Here we go:
First, from the bridge on the road that divides the park. This first shot is the northern half of Lacul Titan.

The morning was a bit cool today, so there were not very many people around when we took these pics.








Now, of course is the southern half. The Sun snuck behind a cloud on this one. You may need to double-click to expand it.

Of course, my assistant was available to assist me. Nearby where we took this photo is an area with a bunch of frogs. They look normal, but they have the weirdest croaking noise here.

And finally, 2 more pics of the northwest section, newly paved pathway and the fountain.

Its hard to tell, but if you look at these trees in this last photo, you will notice a kind of flower. These things are actually a collection of smaller white fuzzy things. The wind sends them into the air and I've ingested quite a few of them running - yick!.

From Real mountains to Urban mountains.

Well, its back to the old grind. After a great weekend in the Romanian Mountians taking in scenery like this, it was time to get back to the running routine.

I was a little fatigued today and didn't feel like running. I don't know if my fatigue was caused by 2 consectutive long weekends fo travel or the intense workouts I had in the Romanian countryside:

Ok, I'm kidding. I just posed for this shot of the "workout center" in one of the guesthouses. We actually didn't stay at this guesthouse, that had the gym, they were full. We stayed at the owners cousin's house a few doors down.

Anyway, today's run at the park was ok. As usual there was wind, but the temp was a nice 65 F. I ran 1 lap around lacul Titan, along with a slight detour to the freshly paved northwest section of the park. It was a pleasant run there, not only becauses of the brand-spanking-new pavement, but they also had the fountains going - and that added greatly to overall appearance of the park.

Speaking of appearances, I know what you're thinking. "Where are the spring pictures of the park you promised, Steeeeeeve?" I'll admit it - I'm a slacker. But soon my friends, soon....For now I will leave you with a couple of pictures from the balcony of Steve's crib.

January Pic:

Today:

Oh, and one bonus pic of the post run meal on the barbie, "Carnati Afumat" baby!!!

I'm blind!!!!!!

You would think after returning to my normal running routine after a weekend in Paris that there would be nothing interesting to blog about. Especially since I planned a basic routine 2 lap effort around my "home" course on Lacul Titan - surely it would be a ho-hum experience today. Of course you would be wrong!

I should've saw this coming.

Even before I left the states I was aware that many older Europeans have this problem. Yet, once again, I totally ignored the warning signs. As I headed under the bridge during my first lake lap everything seemed ok. It was warm today with temps in the low 70's, and as I expected, the sun worshippers were laying out at their usual spot on a raised embankment near the bridge. Everything seemed ok.

Then, on the second lap - it happened! I came out from under the bridge, rounded a sharp curve...and there he was standing proudly on the bank of Lacul Titan. Yep, you guessed it - A 50 something year old man wearing nothing but a speedo.

Somehow I stayed on my feet and remained on the path. Do they realize the kind of hazard they cause? At least the guy was in pretty good shape (did I actually think that?) but that's not the point. I just don't get it. This is a conservative culture here in Romania. Heck, the older men here hardly ever wear shorts. But as soon as they get near water, they go from long pants to speedos. Amazing.

Romanian Polar Bears?

Oh well. Besides speedo-man, the other weird sight on today's run was people swimming in that nasty pond water that can't be much more than 60-65 degrees. There was ice on it less than 2 months ago! Thankfully, I only had to see speedo man one more time, and it was from the opposite side of the Lake. Him and his speedo was last seen sliding into the nasty freezing pond water.

Parc de Monceau

Tuesday Morning in Paris.

Despite a good nights sleep, I was a bit tired today and set a modest goal of around 3 miles. It was a little different running on a Tuesday morning as opposed to Sunday in Paris. We stayed in a business oriented district, which is quiet on weekends with little traffic but very busy during the weekdays. I got out at 7:00, however, and the traffic was not too bad. My plan was to run at a nice park, Parc de Monceau, that we stopped at yesterday.

I decided warm up by running to the Arc De Triomphe before hitting the park My gps watch beeped and fussed a bit like yesterday due to the tall buildings blocking the signal. There was also some clouds and haze leftover from rain last night. Like yesterday, the temperature was in the low 50’s. The GPS calmed down when I reached the open area near Parc de Monceau.

Keep on knockin’ but you can’t come in.

I noticed the French are quite serious on locking up their parks at night. I tried one entrance to Monceau and it was padlocked. I then took a detour around the park to find the main entrance. On the way, they had some artists display tents near the gate and the security guard didn’t really like me running through it. He kept saying “Misseur, Si Vous Plait something-something-something” over and over. I decided to play the ignorant American (Yep, I’m a natural) and kept running between the artists tents to the main entrance. He didn’t tackle me from behind, so I guess my violation wasn’t serious enough.

The park is beautiful and I actually took some pics to keep you people (cough...cough… Nathan…cough…cough) happy with my assistant, of course. Enjoy!
There are lots of sculptures and other artsy stuff scattered all over the park.

In addition to the excellent landscaping of the park proper, you also notice really nice architecture on the buildings which border the park. This is not a low rent district; that’s for sure.

The surface of the trails (either hard packed gravel or clay) is also excellent for running and there were many other runners/walkers navigating the outer perimeter trail, which covers about 0.6 miles. The interior trails can be used for variety, and the only negatives are that some are narrow and have the slower folks on them. I ran 2 moderately hard laps around the perimeter before an easy cool-down through the main trail that bisects the park.

Paris! A run for the books!

As my loyal readers (all 2 or 3 of them) know, we are in Paris this weekend. I appreciate all of you who were concerned about the riot situation. Unfortunately, the inept French government gave in to the lawless youths and the violence subsided. I was really hoping to get a picture of Maria in front of a burning car too – bummer. So fellas, this is the best I could do:

Uh…Steve… about the run...

Oh yeah, sorry for the opening tangent. The weather for this mornings run was perfect. It had to be right around 50 F at 8 am. I started out here at the Hilton and headed down a couple of side streets. After about ¼ mile or so I came out on the Champs Elysees and headed southeast, away from the Arc De Triomphe. The pace of this run was slow; around 9 min miles for a couple of reasons: (1) my legs were beat after all the walking we did yesterday, including walking down about half of the Eiffel Tower at my daughter’s request. (2) This run was just so cool that I couldn’t help going slow and lookin’ at stuff. You have to be careful not to go TOO slow in Paris though, or this could happen:

The goal of this run was to run under the Eiffel Tower, so as soon as I started to see it, I headed in that direction. I took a right turn off the Champs Elysees and crossed the Seine at Pont Alexandre III. Just before the bridge I passed 2 big honkin’ buildings. Believe or not, they are actually not called “big honkin’ buildings”. They were museums called Palais de la Decouverte (Grand Palais and Petit Palais). After getting to the front of Hotel de Invalides (a really old building with a bright gold roof built by Louis the whatever for some injured soldiers), I turned down Rue de Grennelle which came out on Champ De Mars right in front of the Eiffel Tower. Champ De Mars looks like this:

I then proceeded to run under the Eiffel Tower (Ok, is this not the coolest run ever, or what?) and headed for home. I crossed the Seine right in front of the tower and ran along the riverfront for a while before returning to the Champs Elysees. The Sun was rising and the views of the tower were great here. When I got back to the Champs Elysees, the traffic was beginning to pick up, so I figured I’d run to the Arc and then hang a right (thus avoid crossing the huge rotary) and head back to the hotel.

However, when I approached the Arc De Triomphe, I thought “What the heck!”... I sprinted across the Rotary and run under the Arc De Triomphe also.

That was the most enjoyable 5.5 miles I’ve ever ran, and I hope you guys enjoyed this little piece of it.

Best laid plans....

Well, I had a simple plan for today's run. Like last week, I was going to run to the track near Stadiul National and do fast mile or so, and then run back for a cool down. Since I'm writing a blog entry on this otherwise uninteresting interval workout, you can probably guess that things did not go as planned.

After another horrid 1 hour commute home, I decided to get this last run in before we depart for Paris tomorrow. My first mistake was forgetting to let my GPS watch "acquire" satellites by leaving it on the balcony while I get my running stuff on (what I usually do). So, when I left the bloc I had to stand outside looking stupidly at my watch while I waited for the signal to max out. After several painful minutes waiting, I just started the timer and got going. I figured I'd just edit the route using my mapping software later (Geek alert!!! - sorry let's continue). I did make a mental note to get the next generation GPS watch for Christmas as my reward for surviving 1 year of running in Bucharest.

Hello? Hello? Anybody home? Huh? Think, McFly! Think!

Anyway, as I headed to Stadiul National I blissful ignored several signs that my speedwork at the track wasn't going to happen. The first sign was the unusual amount of policemen on the streets as I got closer to the Stadium. The second sign was nearly getting run over by a car full of flag waving Staua (soccer team - translates to "Stars") fans. The third sign was a big gate full of policemen blocking traffic on the road to the stadium - still I didn't get it, until...

I finally made it to the main street in front of Parcul National near the stadium entrance. The place was mobbed!! I finally remembered that Staua is using Stadiul National until their stadium is renovated and they are in the playoffs this year. I said to myself "Nice going Steve, but you'd think you would have put this together 1 mile ago"

Strike while the "pavement" is hot

Yeah I know. Normally the word "iron" is used, but obviously on this blog "normal" is not what you get! I did get one nice surprise at the end of this otherwise forgettable run. In order to get at least 3 miles in, I decided to head back to Parcul Titan for a quick loop of the Northern section. I entered the park in the northwest corner; it's an area that I had not run in since wintertime. I was surprised to see fresh pavement on the paths! Real smooth pavement too - not the communist kind! And it was fresh - really fresh - in fact, there was steam still coming from it. I actually ran by the paving crew and the warm "tacky" surface was sticking to my shoes. I wonder if they are going to to do all areas of the park like this - man, I hope so.

Rolling along!

Well, I just thought I check in with my audience (which I think consists of about 2...well, 3 counting my faithful wife). The weather has been great. Most days this month have had highs ranging from the mid 60's into the low 70's. My running has gotten into a nice groove and I'm now getting about 15 miles per week.

Today's Run...

With today's run of 3.56 miles, I'm now sitting at 31 miles for April!

The internet forcasted clouds and rain today, but again, the Lord had other plans. The Sun popped out this afternoon just enough for me to get this one in. The weather changes quick though, and clouds were moving in after I finished. I did not enjoy this one as much as normal though. With the rain last night and this morning, I had to do a lot of maneuvering to avoid mud and such. When you add the amount of teenagers prowling around at this time in the afternoon, the paths get a little tight.

The Long Run...

This past Saturday morning, I did a little over 7 miles with 3 full laps of the lake. I went out at around 8:30, and though is was only about 50 when I started, the Sun was shining and it warmed up nice.

As I've said before, Titan Park is a joy to run early in the morning. There were several runners out there Saturday, as well as some other folks doing calisthenics (and maybe yoga). On one hill that faces the afternoon Sun, I'm starting to see alot of sunbathers also.

I don't know if there is any truth to that runners high stuff, but I had a good time on this run. The first 6 miles where nice and relaxed even though I kept a pretty good pace. My endurance (or lack thereof) did catch me on the final lap though, and I really had to focus on the way in to keep from slowing down, but I met my goal.

What now?

Well, I hope to get you all some spring pics of the park soon. Although the weather has been good overall, it has been a little bit fickle at times. Everytime I start thinking about breaking out the camera, the clouds seem to roll in.

We also have a trip to Paris coming this weekend. I will have my running stuff, so stay tuned!

"Ah, it's spring is it not?"

--Pepe Le Pew

The last 3 weeks has been a transforming time here in Bucharest. The weather 3 weeks ago was cold, dreary, windy - awful. Today was another gorgeous day of around 72 degrees. I left work too late today and was rewarded with a brutal commute and took the family out to eat instead of running. Dana had a burger, Maria had fried chicken, and I had a Mexican style pizza all at the same place. I guess we sufficiently covered the fast food department. I did get a good run in Parcul Titan yesterday, so that's what I'll blog about today.

"Alright darling. Enough is becoming enough. Let us proceed." -- Pepe Le Pew

Spring has come in so fast here its amazing. Every day it seems a different tree is blooming, budding or putting out leaves. I appreciate spring so much more here as opposed to SC, where the winters really aren't cold enough to bother you too much. Spring is no big deal there other than adding some flowers. I try to get some Spring pics of the Park soon.

After getting some advice from "coaches" Nathan and Ashley, I decided to put off the track work for at least another week or 2. So, I decided to do my typical route with 2 laps of Lacul Titan. Then, I actually remembered I had a gps watch (incidentally that I paid $100 bucks for) - I can run anywhere and still know the distance. So I headed out on a meandering run all over Parcul Titan. This run had it all - hills, trail, asphalt, cobblestones, concrete, grass - every surface was covered.

Parcul Titan is really a potpourri of activity now that the weather was improved. The sights of yesterdays run included kids playing, dogs being walked, people drinking and chatting at the restaurants, old men playing backgammon and chess, young adults in rowboats (with beverages - oh boy) and of course the young and in love.



"You know, eet ees not just a case of physical attraction. I admire her mind too."
--Pepe Le Pew



So, what exactly is the protocol for a runner who approaches a couple engaged in extra-curricular activity? I've been wondering about this a lot lately. The Romanians use 2 words for "excuse me". One of them, "Pardon" is borrowed from the French and seems more appropriate. What do you think?

I'll end with this last quote from my favorite cartoon skunk:

"One nice thing eez, the game of love eez never called on account of darkness." --Pepe Le Pew

Return to Parcul National

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!

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.

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone...

Actually, those lyrics don't quite fit - it's the SUN that's gone! Although it has warmed up to the 40 F mark for highs, we have not seen sunlight since we were in Barcelona last Sunday. This is the kind of weather that would make my friend Dave Mercer (a running colleague and soon-to-be-relatively-famous old guy triathlete in Greenville, SC) homesick for his native Britain.

Somehow, I managed to get motivated to complete 2 runs this week. The first, and wetter of the two, was on Thursday. The only good thing about that run was that it ended. The dreary weather and the melting snow combined for pretty lousy conditions. I was unable to run very far into the park due to the massive puddles, so I circled the northern section of the park on the sidewalk instead.

As I noted on earlier posts, the pavement here is awful. If there was one thing the communists stunk at (actually they stunk at a lot of things) it's laying down asphalt. Some of the pavement on the sidewalks outside of the park is about as smooth as a low grade cobblestone street. My fellow runners know how much fun it is to run on cobblestones, so they should understand my description. My ankles must be getting strong though, since I haven't rolled one since mid January.

Slowly Drying out...

Today's run was definitely the better one. The park has slowly begun to dry out despite the lack of Sun, so I started my usual 2 mile lake loop. When I got to the south lake, I decided to detour around the 1/4 mile un-paved portion of the path and re-enter the park after. I figured it would be a quick 1/2 mile or so and then presto - back in the park. All I had to do was exit the park and loop around a couple of apartment blocs. HA! I had forgotten how tough it was to navigate these streets when you enter a new area. All these apartment blocks look the same! Soooo, about 2 miles later, I finally found my way back into the park.

Barcelona Blues...

Well, I have no running to report so far this week. This past weekend was spent in the beautiful city of Barcelona, Spain with Dana and Maria. You can check our family blog for a bunch of pics.

I'm trying to get motivated to run, but going from this in Spain (Sunny with highs of 65-68F each day)

Back to this, in Bucharest - it's a little bit demotivating. What you see below is the forecast for this whole week. Cloudy, cold, and wet - dreary.
Why I didn't bring my running stuff to Spain, I'll never know. I do know I won't forget next time!

Now, some comment responses:

Ashely wrote: "Looks like the ghetto dude! Do they have street ball like up in NY?"

Streetball? Not exactly, and definitely not like NY. Take a look at "streetball", Parcul Titan style on the left!

Like most of the world outside the US, soccer is the king of sports here. You know when there is a big match in town too. The fans of a particular team will be waving flags and singing as they board the public transportation to the nearby stadium. There are 4 or 5 professional teams in town. Unfortunately, many of the best Romanian players will end up playing in other European countries where the salaries are higher.

Nathan wrote: I'm sure the Park athestics will improve when Spring comes.

Agreed! Look for another photo op in May...

Titan Exposed!

Well, after a good run Saturday, the weather turned foul again. Not really cold as far as temperature, but the wind was really blowing putting the "real feel" temps down to the low 20's F. The wind finally let up today and I was able to do 5.6 miles with the temp in the low 30's F.

Bring on the photos!

Now for the real reason for this post! After the run last Saturday, Maria and I headed out to the park after church on Sunday. The weather was still pretty good so we brought our cameras. So here we go with my Titan exposé:

In the beginning...
The only real tricky part of my runs is right here. After leaving my bloc, I have about 1/4 mile on this fairly busy street. The sidewalk is nice and wide, but you'd never know it since its used as a parking lot!
After dodging the pedestrians, the cars, and the dogs, I have to cross one big street at a traffic light and then enter the park.



The Park Entrance...

After surving 1/4 mile of urban jungle, the park entrance awaits. You can see the puddles, which are due to the remainder of last weeks snow melting away.
The smooching teenagers are usually found on the park benches, but as you can see - you can run into them everywhere.

To the Lake we go

After about 1/2 mile along the park walkways I usually take this set of stairs down to the lake level.
There are several sets of stairs and "ramps" down to the lake, and I usually do some stairs during the runs for "fun".
I know - I'm a sick-o.



Like a Bridge Over Troubled Water....

Is that Simon & Garfunkel in my head? I wonder what brought that on? Anyway....This bridge divides the north half of the lake with the south half. You can go up stairs, cross the bridge and go back down another set of stairs to stay on one side or the other.
Or you can go under the bridge and run the whole lake. Total distance around the lake is 2 miles (1.1 for the south and .9 for the north).


The South Side....

From the bridge, we are now looking at the South end of the lake. The only interesting part of this section is the unpaved portion of the trail located on the far right side of this pic. When the snow melts, it turns into a muddy mess.

Due to the lack of a restaurant here, there are usually less people on this side.



The North Side

The next couple of pics are taking on the north end of the lake. This end has the highest concentration of people. This is also where I run during wet weather to avoid the mud at the south end. This first shot is from the bridge. The trees in the middle of the pic are on an island in the lake. There is a small bridge to walk to it.

This next pic shows the center of activity around the lake. There is a bar/restaurant here with lots of outdoor seating along waters edge and on a permanently moored boat which you can see in the distance.
There were quite a few people there on Sunday, with the temp over 50 F. I may have to detour around this area in the Summer!!
We have not tried eating here yet, although we enjoyed a good meal at Casa Rustica, another large restaurant in a another area of the park.

This pic shows the extreme northern end of the lake. You can see the different levels of walkways here. There are acutally 3 levels in this section of the park.
Casa Rustica, the restaurant we ate at on Friday is located roughly behind me when I took this photo.

So, who's that cutie?

If you haven't guessed, here is Maria, my daughter. She was my photography assistant Sunday. This pic shows her with a bridge that connects an island in the background.

In like a lion, out like a....

Hopefully the old saying about the month of March is true! My last run was on Tues Feb 27. It wasn't a great day with at 42 F with some wind, but I'm glad I got the run in. The following afternoon, Feb 28, we had a blizzard! My coworker, Neil, flew in when the fun started, and had a fun ride in for his first day. My 30 min commute home that day turned into 90 min, and many folks who live towards the city center had 2 hr ordeals. We ended up with around 8" of snow (the final tally was tough to call with the wind) by Wednesday morning March 1.

The temps stayed chilly after the storm leaving a slippery, icy mess all week. Finally, the temp shot up to the low 40's yesterday and the sun came out. I was determined to run this moring, Saturday, since the winds were forcast to slack up a bit.

27 F, Good to go...huh?

Yeah, with the sun coming up, clear skies, and no wind, the 27 degree temp actually looked good to me this morning. Since we had a museum visit scheduled for later this morning, I decided to get 'er done. I threw on my tights, 2 layers up top, gloves and cap and headed for Parcul Titan. I decided it would be better to run on the frozen tundra instead of the muddy wet mess that would occur later today when the temp rose to the low 50's and some serious snow melt started happening. It turned out to be a good call, and I managed 2 full laps around the lake and a 5.7 miler in the books.

Strangely, for once, I wasn't the only one who was thinking this. There were about 5-6 other joggers out there today. The other joggers, of course, were bundled up much more than I was. I realized today there may be a reason why they are wearing more clothes than me beside the fact that most folks here are cold-natured. The running gear I had on today (a mixture of name brand and Wal-mart brand technical fabrics) would cost the average Romanian about half of their monthly salaries (around $250 American dollars per month).

I want to know, what you're thinking...

Morning runs in Titan are nice. The smooching teenagers are largely absent and the people walking the park are pretty much the older age groups. As Dana noted in the family blog, it is rare for someone to return a smile or a "good morning" when you pass them, even when you make eye contact (For more you can check out our family blog at http://romanianadventure.blogspot.com/, and yes I get paid for this plug, heh heh.)

I tried my best this morning, since I now know most of the common Romanian greetings. Every now and then I did get a couple surprised and/or mumbled responses to my "Buna Diminata" or "Salut" (Good Morning and Hello). I wonder what the poeple are thinking as I pass? Do they recognize me right away as a westerner (a virtual millionare by their standards of poverty) or what?

Communist hangover....

You would think after finally breaking free of 40 years of godless communist rule, that the people would be ecstatitc, jubilant and looking forward to the future, but that is not the case. Especially among the older set, the reaction to the 1989 revolution is mixed. Although they like the freedom to be able to travel and they enjoy buying things like gas without worrying about exceeding the government imposed limits; the potential for economic success is too distant for them. Many feel the chances of owning a home and a car are very small. In America, a good example is professional sports that kids dream of playing. Sure its possible, but its a long shot. Some of the older folks here miss the days when the communist government took care of them and paid all the factory workers a decent wage.

Hopefully, one day, many of these people will find that there is Someone that they can count on. That Someone is much more dependable than any government or economic ideology.

Here's looking (or more precisely laughing) at you, kid...

The Romanians are very outwardly expressive people, especially the teenagers. Here's a hypothetical example:

Let's pretend you're an American living in Bucharest in mid February. On a rare winter day, the temperature shoots up to 60 F and you decide to go running after work. Let's also assume that you decide to wear shorts, low cut socks, and a sleeveless T-shirt. Hypothetically, you are 1 of only 3 people running in the park this day, and definitely the only one wearing shorts and shortsleeves (In fact, since the Europeans don't wear shorts much, you may be one of only a handful of people in the city of 3 million people wearing them). In short - you stand out, got it?

In most cultures, when people (especially groups of teens and young smokers) see this ridiculous sight of this crazy american yankee running through a park, they will wait until you pass and then laugh at you behind your back. Not in Bucharest. They will stare right at you, smiling, when you approach. They may even point at you. Many will burst out laughing at you. Let's just say I did a little "research" before coming up with this example.

From the Comment line:

NC from Georgia writes:

"You need more pictures on this! words, words, words."

My reply:

How much more of a freak do you want me to look like over here? You mean besides my goofy American running clothes, you want me to tote a camera? I don't recall seeing any pictures from you route in China you little independent baptist punk!

Anonymous from SC writes:

"Very well written dude."

My reply:

Kissing up to the blogger is always in vogue here! Multumesc!

Goooood Morning Titan!!!

Yes folks, another lame intro - oh well. After nearly a week of freezing temperatures, 4-5" of snow, wind and ice, this morning was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. Last Monday, we got about 4" of snow, and it stayed around most of the week. The highs all week hovered at around 32 F. The snow would start to melt, but then quickly refreeze making the footing too treacherous to risk.

Warming Trend!

On Friday, the weather took a turn for the better, shooting up to nearly 50 with lots of sun. The snow and ice finally melted from the sidewalks making running possible once again. Due to our 11th wedding anniversary celebration (its actually today, but we arranged a sitter and celebrated last night) Friday, I couldn't squeeze in a run. Today (Saturday) we also had some family activities planned including a trip to the mall and dinner with our landlady's family. So, my only chance to run was this morning. Fortunately, the 8:00 am temp was pretty good at 37 F, so I headed out for a 4.5 miler at 8:20.

After a week of cold, I was happy to just be-out-there and get the legs moving. I didn't push the pace, staying in the middle 8's per mile. Due to the melted snow and ice, mud and muck was everywhere, so I stayed on the upper lake path and avoided the 1/4 mile unpaved path along the lower lake. Running on half the lake is fun, especially when you add the stairs in to cross the lake at the junction, and avoid running the whole lake.

The Birds!

The early Saturday morning in Titan Park is a different running experience. The young children and teenage couples (showing much affection usually) were nowhere to be found. They were replaced mainly by a few adults walking their dogs and some park maintenance workers trimming bushes and trees. One thing I also noticed today was the large number of birds in and around Lacul Titan (Titan Lake). Lots of Ducks (mallards and some others I didn't recognize), seagulls and other shore birds, and of course, the crows. Bucharest has some of the biggest crows I've ever seen. They are about the size of medium sized hawks back home. Like something out of a Hitchcock horror film.

Stray away

One great thing about Parcul Titan has been the lack of stray dogs. After the infamous biting incident near my old apartment, this has been a big bonus. I've also noticed that most people who own dogs keep them well trained. Many people were walking dogs (leashed and unleashed) today and I had no trouble. The pooches seemed to be much too happy enjoying a nice morning of free running in the park. I guess after a long week of cramped apartment living, they had much more important things to do than chase a goofy looking American running in the park with shorts.

It turned out to be a good thing getting this run in this morning. We had about 3-4 hours of non-stop eating ahead of us at our landlady's house. Check out our family blog soon for the details on that. Later!

ICE ICE BABY TO GO...TO GO

Oh brother, now I'm quoting Vanilla Ice. I am one sick puppy (no Bucharest dog pun intended). How did this happen to me? I think it's because I heard Vanilla Ice on the way to work before Thursday's (2/9) run. The radio stations here play a lot of American 80's music, which takes me back to my teenage years. I also heard "Tainted Love" the same day. My 80's savvy audience should know who sang that - your trivia answer is at the end of this post.

ICE IS NICE!...NNNNICE! (an 80's movie quote)

Well, most of this week was cold, barely getting above freezing for my 2/9 run. I had to do it though, with the long awaited reunion with my family coming on Friday 2/10. It was only a month, but it stunk. I really feel for military families that have to go much longer.

Lacul Titan was nearly ice covered and many more kids were out there Thursday. A couple of more organized Romanian kids were busy smoothing a large rectangle for an upcoming game of pick-up hockey. As dangerous as this looks with portions of the lake still un-frozen, I found out that much of the lake is very shallow (1-2 feet) in many areas, which mitigates the risk somewhat. Of course, I still don't see Maria getting out there - that's for sure.

I was hoping to do another long run with at least 2 lake laps, but I was beat, the conditions were cloudy and dreary, and I had some emergency errands to run (I had dropped my coffee pot earlier in the week and needed a replacement - a tragic situation). So I just did 1 lap and finished the run at about 3.5 miles. The good thing about the ice and cold was that the unpaved portion of the lake trail was completely solid and easy to run on. Nice!

Steve

P.S. Tainted love was sung by a group called Soft Cell. Post a comment if you guess the movie quote.

Information for the Running Geek

I have had 2 nice runs since my last post in Parcul Titan. On Thursday, I completed a lap around the enter perimeter of Lacul Titan, which is a hair under 2 miles. With the distance to and from the park from my apartment, this run registered 4.21 miles. The path around the lake has about 1/4 mile that is not paved in the southern end, but its a smooth trail. The only problem now is the mud caused by melting ice.

The map on the left shows Parcul Titan as well as Parcul National. You can see our apartment location on the lower right with the red dot.

There is alot more of Parcul Titan than just the lake, leaving much potential for different workouts including trails and stairs, especially when the snowy weather stops and the trails dry out.

The garmin gps watch gives me great flexibility to run anywhere and adjust the route on the fly. Here is a plot of Thursdays run around the lake

Large sections of the park lay unexplored, but right now, the trails have a little to much mud for me.


TODAYS RUN

With the weather beginning to worsen, and snow in the forecast, I took advantage of a not-so-busy Saturday and broke out for 2 full laps around the lake, ending up with 5.6 miles. It was 32 F, which I've decided is the cutoff for the running tights, especially with light wind like today. I probably could have got along without them, but since I didn't try to run especially fast, I didn't overheat too badly.

THOSE HEALTHY ROMANIANS?

There were actually 3 other people jogging today, which made me feel much less freakish than normal! Even on this cool and dreary looking today, there will still quite a few people walking in the park. The Romanians definitely make good use of their parks to get a brief break from the city hustle and bustle. They walk alot which, in addition to the smaller portions of food they eat, explains why their obesity rate (like much of Europe) is much less than ours. You rarely see overly obese people on the street here like you do in America. Unfortunately, one of the consequences of the "Americanizing" going on in Bucharest will be an expected rise in those pesky numbers on the bathroom scales.

Steve’s Running Oasis

He lives…

Well, it's been several days since the infamous stray dog incident and I want to thank those of you who have expressed your concern for me getting rabies. I feel great and I’m pretty sure I’m rabies free (Yeah right…I say that as if I actually know how long the incubation period of rabies really is).

Back Up and Running…

While I was spending a few hectic days getting my stuff moved and setup in the long-term apartment, the temperature has slowly been climbing each day to nearly 40 F. So today, I finally got enough time to squeeze in my first run from my new home – wearing shorts to celebrate the “warm” weather. This run was just what the doctor ordered. One of the reasons I picked this place was it’s proximity to Parcul Titan (Titan Park). Titan is a huge park that is broken into 2 halves (north and south with a lake in both that connects under the bisecting road). It is split by a street that my apartment street runs into, 1 city block from the park, and only 1 busy street to cross.

Titan is huge! After about .3 miles from the apartment, I entered the north half of the park. I had run this once before, at night from the other apartment, and had no idea where I was going. It turns out the park has 2 levels. The upper level has walkways and playgrounds and what looks like a bar or restaurant area, while the lower level has a lake. You can get from the lower to the upper by stairs or trails. After circling the upper level, I headed down to the lake. There is a nice wide paved path around the lake. Since, I wanted to stay on the north side of the park only, I had to go up and down stairs where the lake necks down and runs to the south half of the park. Its approximately .9 mile around ONLY the northern half of the lake. Some kids were on the ice playing. Some actually had skates, while some had a soccer ball. I’m not sure if this was wise with the weather above freezing today! The southern half of the park is actually bigger, so there is a great potential for runs of all distances in this park.

It's Shoarma Time…huh?

The pavement of the park is really good, and will allow me to do some up-tempo runs under 8:00 pace, and that’s great. I still have to make the slightly longer trek to Parcul National for speedwork though. Oh and yes, the dogs left me alone today for all 3.5 miles. I had to shower quickly when I got home, as I was off to a bible study, but I did reward my effort later with a big fat Shoarma at the food court of one of the malls.

More on what a Shoarma is in a later installment….
Steve