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!
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Saturday, March 25, 2006
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
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.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
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.
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.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
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)
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...
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
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.
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 goAfter 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.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
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!
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!
Saturday, February 18, 2006
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!
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!
Saturday, February 11, 2006
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.
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.
Saturday, February 04, 2006
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
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.
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
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.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
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
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
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Todays Run, Score: Stray dogs-1, Steve-nil
WHO LET THE DOGS OUT....WOOF...WOOF...WOOF-WOOF
Actually, during the communist era here in Bucharest when there was no food, EVERYBODY let the dogs out. Hence, you now have a stray dog problem. It was worse years ago, until a certain Bucharest Mayor started to take care of business (Hasta La Vista Perros). Unfortunately, thanks in part to Bridget Bardeau's (and other Hollywood left wingnuts - and probably PETA too - those wackos are everywhere) protests, the task was not completed.
Which brings me to my run today....
BALMY WEATHER...
After and utterly frigid week, the temperature soared to nearly 30 F this afternoon with only a 10 mph wind (real feel up to 20). The sun was out, and I decided to avoid a shut-out this week and get out there. Running in the daylight is MUCH better here. The sidewalk pavement here is in terrible shape, making each jog the equivalent of a trail run (+ dog poopies) until you get to the parks where the pavement is better (still must watch for the poopies though).
A GOOD START...
For 1.6 miles, I easily negotiated the side streets to make my way back to Parcul National, keeping a pace in the lower 8's. This time, I made it all the way to the National Stadium. The stadium has fallen into disrepair and is currently being renovated, a huge task. However, the is a very wide access road which circles it and 1 lap around is 3/4 mile. In addition, while running around the stadium there are several athletic fields and what looks like a full size 400m track at one of the soccer fields. I will be moving to my long-term apartment Monday, and it will actually be less than 1 mile to the stadium which is really cool. I actually saw a couple of runners today in addition to kids playing soccer, and did not feel nearly as weird as I did the last time I was here.
IT'S A DOG-EAT-STEVE WORLD....
On the way back, I picked up the pace a bit until I squeezed onto a narrow sidewalk (it was narrow because people were parking on it!). Unfortunately, I unwittingly entered the territory of a stray. He backed off right away, and I figured he would keep his distance like the rest....WRONG! The little scum actually just waited for me to pass him and then lunged for my right leg. He got a good hold and clamped down, but didn't tear my tights. I turned and tried to kick him, but whiffed and he took off. When I got back, I noticed that I have a small bruise and a scratch right below the knee.
That concludes another adventure. Somehow, I am close to the 30 mile mark this month. Wish me luck as I get settled in the new apartment tomorrow on Monday and I hopefully can knock out a 4 miler before Feb 1.
Take care guys!
Steve J
Actually, during the communist era here in Bucharest when there was no food, EVERYBODY let the dogs out. Hence, you now have a stray dog problem. It was worse years ago, until a certain Bucharest Mayor started to take care of business (Hasta La Vista Perros). Unfortunately, thanks in part to Bridget Bardeau's (and other Hollywood left wingnuts - and probably PETA too - those wackos are everywhere) protests, the task was not completed.
Which brings me to my run today....
BALMY WEATHER...
After and utterly frigid week, the temperature soared to nearly 30 F this afternoon with only a 10 mph wind (real feel up to 20). The sun was out, and I decided to avoid a shut-out this week and get out there. Running in the daylight is MUCH better here. The sidewalk pavement here is in terrible shape, making each jog the equivalent of a trail run (+ dog poopies) until you get to the parks where the pavement is better (still must watch for the poopies though).
A GOOD START...
For 1.6 miles, I easily negotiated the side streets to make my way back to Parcul National, keeping a pace in the lower 8's. This time, I made it all the way to the National Stadium. The stadium has fallen into disrepair and is currently being renovated, a huge task. However, the is a very wide access road which circles it and 1 lap around is 3/4 mile. In addition, while running around the stadium there are several athletic fields and what looks like a full size 400m track at one of the soccer fields. I will be moving to my long-term apartment Monday, and it will actually be less than 1 mile to the stadium which is really cool. I actually saw a couple of runners today in addition to kids playing soccer, and did not feel nearly as weird as I did the last time I was here.
IT'S A DOG-EAT-STEVE WORLD....
On the way back, I picked up the pace a bit until I squeezed onto a narrow sidewalk (it was narrow because people were parking on it!). Unfortunately, I unwittingly entered the territory of a stray. He backed off right away, and I figured he would keep his distance like the rest....WRONG! The little scum actually just waited for me to pass him and then lunged for my right leg. He got a good hold and clamped down, but didn't tear my tights. I turned and tried to kick him, but whiffed and he took off. When I got back, I noticed that I have a small bruise and a scratch right below the knee.
That concludes another adventure. Somehow, I am close to the 30 mile mark this month. Wish me luck as I get settled in the new apartment tomorrow on Monday and I hopefully can knock out a 4 miler before Feb 1.
Take care guys!
Steve J
Pre-blog runs in Bucharest
----2nd Run, 1-16-2006
Yesterday, I was able to get out of work on time and get out for a run from my "new temporary" apartment. It was only 23 degrees, not an ideal day, but I just can't count on free time during daylight hours right now - so I headed out (wearing my new tights and 2 layers up top, compression long sleeve and wind jacket, doubled up on gloves, ear muffs). The good thing was the lack of wind, so I shed my top layer of gloves and unzipped the wind jacket partially within 10 minutes.
Not knowing the side streets yet, I headed down a fairly busy road on the sidewalk in the general direction of Parcul National (National Park). I got a lot of curious looks and a few old people said some words as I passed. I'm think it was the Romanian equivalent of "What the heck are you doing?", but I'm not sure. I'm not sure if I scared the girls more than the guys (its a very conservative culture - so I'm sure my tights made an impression).
The Garmin picked up the satellites within about 2 minutes, which I thought was good since I started out in an area with lots of blocs (apartment buildings).
Although I had to slow considerably when crossing the streets, I made pretty close to a 9:00 min pace towards the park. I'm learning that you actually CAN run on ice, if you go slow and careful. At around 15 min, I made it to the national park. The paths were pretty good and mostly ice-free. There is a small lake and I headed around it. Unfortunately the path doesn't go flat completely around the lake, so I had to do some stairs and some trail before I figured out how to get around it. There were a few dogs there. Only a couple actually barked and tried to follow me, but they did not come too close.
The end of the run was really cool. I'm starting to get some directional sense here, and I was able to take side streets on the way back which really cut the number of cars down to what you would typically find in any city. I still do not trust any intersection though so I'm going to have to keep the pace slow for now.
My long-term aparment is near the larger Parcul Titan, and that will hopefully allow me more room that is car-free to start some up-tempo runs.
The Garmin works great, and performed nearly perfect except for the instantaneous pace (It varies due to the occasional, but only momentary, loss of signal, and is not a necessary function anyway.
Well, that's all for now. Hope all is well.
Steve
------------------------------------------------------
---1st Run in Bucharest 1-12-2006-
Hey all,
After another death-defying drive home, my nerves were completely shot, I decided it had to be done. It was dark, below freezing, the dogs were out, I was (and still am hungry) but I didn't care!
I made 2 pieces of toast, 2 cups of coffee, and prepared to get out there!
I put on my stuff, headed outside and sat in the car while the Garmin reset itself for Romania (you must do this after moving more than 500 miles). Despite the buildings, it did find satellites, so that was good.
I headed out in the direction of a smaller park, but I must have took a wrong turn and I couldn't find it. I then headed in what I thought was the general direction of a bigger park. I did find that one, but I decided not to cross a very busy road and headed up a decent sidewalk on the other side of the street before doubling back.
The Garmin is awesome. I just went out there and adjusted my route any time I wanted to avoid cars, ice, potholes big enough to hide my rental car and whenever I heard barking dogs.
Anyway, thought I'd share my experience. I miss you guys, sniffle-sniffle.
Steve
---------------------------------------------
Yesterday, I was able to get out of work on time and get out for a run from my "new temporary" apartment. It was only 23 degrees, not an ideal day, but I just can't count on free time during daylight hours right now - so I headed out (wearing my new tights and 2 layers up top, compression long sleeve and wind jacket, doubled up on gloves, ear muffs). The good thing was the lack of wind, so I shed my top layer of gloves and unzipped the wind jacket partially within 10 minutes.
Not knowing the side streets yet, I headed down a fairly busy road on the sidewalk in the general direction of Parcul National (National Park). I got a lot of curious looks and a few old people said some words as I passed. I'm think it was the Romanian equivalent of "What the heck are you doing?", but I'm not sure. I'm not sure if I scared the girls more than the guys (its a very conservative culture - so I'm sure my tights made an impression).
The Garmin picked up the satellites within about 2 minutes, which I thought was good since I started out in an area with lots of blocs (apartment buildings).
Although I had to slow considerably when crossing the streets, I made pretty close to a 9:00 min pace towards the park. I'm learning that you actually CAN run on ice, if you go slow and careful. At around 15 min, I made it to the national park. The paths were pretty good and mostly ice-free. There is a small lake and I headed around it. Unfortunately the path doesn't go flat completely around the lake, so I had to do some stairs and some trail before I figured out how to get around it. There were a few dogs there. Only a couple actually barked and tried to follow me, but they did not come too close.
The end of the run was really cool. I'm starting to get some directional sense here, and I was able to take side streets on the way back which really cut the number of cars down to what you would typically find in any city. I still do not trust any intersection though so I'm going to have to keep the pace slow for now.
My long-term aparment is near the larger Parcul Titan, and that will hopefully allow me more room that is car-free to start some up-tempo runs.
The Garmin works great, and performed nearly perfect except for the instantaneous pace (It varies due to the occasional, but only momentary, loss of signal, and is not a necessary function anyway.
Well, that's all for now. Hope all is well.
Steve
------------------------------------------------------
---1st Run in Bucharest 1-12-2006-
Hey all,
After another death-defying drive home, my nerves were completely shot, I decided it had to be done. It was dark, below freezing, the dogs were out, I was (and still am hungry) but I didn't care!
I made 2 pieces of toast, 2 cups of coffee, and prepared to get out there!
I put on my stuff, headed outside and sat in the car while the Garmin reset itself for Romania (you must do this after moving more than 500 miles). Despite the buildings, it did find satellites, so that was good.
I headed out in the direction of a smaller park, but I must have took a wrong turn and I couldn't find it. I then headed in what I thought was the general direction of a bigger park. I did find that one, but I decided not to cross a very busy road and headed up a decent sidewalk on the other side of the street before doubling back.
The Garmin is awesome. I just went out there and adjusted my route any time I wanted to avoid cars, ice, potholes big enough to hide my rental car and whenever I heard barking dogs.
Anyway, thought I'd share my experience. I miss you guys, sniffle-sniffle.
Steve
---------------------------------------------
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