Cav's Place

In a way, it can be said that this week’s run was the first in the series meant to prepare me for the half marathon, but that’s just because I’d normally avoid another longer run before the first that has to be of 16 km. Then again, even that first 16 km run in the series was only notable back when I’d just stick to ten kilometers for quite a few months in a row, which is no longer the case now, so the first truly notable run in this series should be on the week starting on March 7, when I’ll cover a half marathon distance, to see where I stand. But that 16 km run, planned for tomorrow, is the first one I actually schedule in this manner, so this post will be about the last three runs, which would therefore be the last three before starting to train… Or, more likely, to disappoint and dishearten myself when I’ll see how badly I’m doing.

This week’s run, which was on Wednesday, was surprisingly fast, however, so I’ll start with it, though I’ll first mention that I sadly couldn’t stick to this newer eating schedule the night before. Dad had cooked, but I had cleaned most of what he had left in the evening, so while there was a little more to do when I got to the kitchen at night, the main problem was boiling too many carrots for the salad, which meant more time to select, peel, boil and then chop. So, after having had lunch in the first part of the evening, I ended up starting to eat dinner at 3:20 AM… And more carrots meant more to eat, and needing to do so faster, trying to at least finish at 4 AM, which I just barely managed.
Then I also kept waking up. First to pee, just after 7:10 AM and at 9:45 AM, but then that was no longer the cause and yet it took a while to get back to sleep and after I finally did I woke up even more often. Went to pee one more time just before noon, after dad left, thinking it might help, but still kept waking up. Then I went again at 1:20 PM, hoping to catch at least another brief nap after that, but while I guess I did, I was awake again just before the alarm rang, at 2 PM, and I got up. Then I had the usual stuff plus almonds, with a slice of cozonac with added honey as the sweet thing, put on the full running gear, with an undershirt underneath and a few things in the pocket of my tights, and left at 4:15 PM, when the reported temperature was 16°C, likely to drop by just 1°C by the time I’ll finish.
The time was 47:20.91, with sector times of 4:09.60, 5:05.13, 5:53 (5:52.90), 4:30 (4:29.63), 4:57.22, 5:54.25, 4:22.25, 4:59.00, 5:46 (5:45.93) and 1:45.00, making for lap times of 15:07.63, 15:21.10 and 15:07.18. Was just hoping to stay under 49 minutes at first, but the first sector was fast, and after the second I was wondering about 15:10 on the first lap, to perhaps give myself a shred of a chance to stay under 48 minutes. And I managed that, and then started hoping even more after the great sector two of lap two. And that nice sector one of lap three made it nearly certain that I’ll stay under 48 minutes if there won’t be problems, and after another great sector two I decided to aim for 47:45 and really go for it… Only to realize after the end of the lap that I just had a shot to even stay under 47:30, so I really gave it everything on the final sector, managing a great time on it on top of staying well under 47:30 overall. I definitely didn’t expect that, and it was the best time since December 2, which was when I last took that iron, and the first time under 48 minutes since December 20.
Parts of sectors two and three were still fenced off, but they were here and there, not long stretches. And while there were quite a number of people, I could manage for the most part, only slowing because of roadblocks at the end of the long straight of sector one of lap one and right at the end of sector two of lap three, under the bridge, while the only brief stop was on sector three of lap one, because of a misunderstanding with someone on a scooter. As for physical issues, there were a few warnings from my right calf on sector three of lap two, but they went away after that.
After the run, I went to that Carrefour, jogging part of the way, and got some more yogurt, which was still at the old price in that location, and also rewarded myself with a sesame bar that was discounted as if it was expiring even though it wasn’t. Then I jogged almost all the way back, sparing a few seconds for a very quick look in the nearby Mega Image as well. Then I ate that bar and an orange, after which I went to the toilet and to shower… And it was a good thing I rushed to do so, because while it seemed that we were lucky with the hot water, a big problem having left most of Sectors two, three and five without since the day before, the temperature was dropping as I showered, so I hurried to finish, the “hot” water remaining quite lukewarm after that. Either way, I then made mamaliga. My right foot was burning again, however.

Sticking to the reverse order, last week’s run was on February 10, when I got up when the alarm rang, at 2 PM, though I was awake for a few minutes at that point, and had only napped a little bit more after waking up just after 1 PM. Then I had the usual stuff plus almonds, with a slice of cozonac with added honey as the sweet thing, put on the full running gear, with a few things in the pocket of my tights, and left at 4 PM, when the reported temperature was 14°C, likely to drop by just 1°C by the time I’ll finish, and it was sunny.
The time was 48:12.95, with sector times of 4:22.86, 5:02 (5:01.97), 5:52 (5:51.50), 4:37.28, 5:05 (5:04.40), 5:52.69, 4:35 (4:34.81), 5:01.07, 5:56 (5:55.75) and 1:50.62, making for lap times of 15:16.33, 15:34.37 and 15:32 (15:31.63). I didn’t think I’ll be able to do better than just staying under 49 minutes, and the first sector was worrying even for that target, but there were reasons for it being slow… Including the fact that I forgot to take my mask off before starting, being so used to it that it took me a little while to realize I still had it on and taking it off after the bridge, running with it in my hand after that. Either way, the next two sectors were good, resulting in a first lap that was good enough, but I was still calculating target times adding up to 49 minutes, and I continued to do so even after lap two, even though the time at that point should have allowed me to think of 48:30. Can’t even say that I really switched after the first sector of lap three, only finally setting my mind on 48:30 after the second… Which makes me wonder whether I’d have managed to get back under 48 minutes a week earlier if I’d have really set my mind on it early enough.
There were no notable physical issues, but it was windy on parts of sector three of laps one and two and at the end of sector two of lap two, though on lap three I can’t say I noticed it anymore. The real problems, however, were that there were plenty of people and the fenced off area started at one point on the long sector one straight and ended a little after the start of sector two, right at a stall, which created a bottleneck in that spot. There were also areas that were either scraped or fenced off towards the end of sector three, but those caused no serious problems. On sector one, however, it was bad, and on lap one I tried to stay on that narrow strip that was still open and ended up slamming into a man, since I was trying to squeeze past him but a girl moved to throw something in a bin in front of him and he moved because of that, then was likely startled by hearing me the next instant and turned to look, slowing or possibly even stopping when I was right there, so I ran into him and think I stepped on his foot as I pushed past. So on the next two laps I took to the grass a lot on that straight, going around benches and garbage cans and trees. And I often, again mainly after the first lap, also took to the grass on that last sector one straight, at the boat dock, and at one point when I tried to not do that, maybe on lap two, though I’m not really sure, a roadblock caused me to briefly stop. So I wouldn’t call any sector one time as representative. And there were problems in other areas as well, including slowing a few times and maybe one more brief stop, because of a roadblock at that stall where the fenced area ended, at the start of sector two, on top of a lot of weaving and going the long way around, that also being caused by the fenced areas, or sometimes by sticking to the lane.
After the run, I again went to that Carrefour, getting some more of that yogurt at the old price, and another bread. The bread was on a “sale” that just got it back to its previous full price, and I had to ask for it, pointing to one that seemed particularly large and asking the employee whether it’d even fit in the bag she was putting it in, and after saying that it had to she saw that the bag did actually tear, so she took another and was particularly careful, managing it in the end. It was only particularly large, however, not also heavier, the weight being just a little above what it should have been.
After getting back, I just had an orange and a little after 7:30 PM I went out again, going to these two that are next to each other. Just looked in Carrefour, but bought a few things from Kaufland. According to the catalog, that cat litter was not only back in stock, but also on sale, yet when I looked for it I just found an empty area, but at least I found bags of potting soil that weren’t torn and got one of those, and also a sweet pastry that had the evening discount, a lettuce at a price that was similar to what’d have been a regular price at the height of the season but which at the time was listed as being more than 50% off from what I guess would be the current full price, and a few other things. Then, while I had no issues with the self-checkout, the guard stopped me and asked for the receipt right after I left the checkout area, as I was passing by the information desk. After I gave it to him, he glanced at the bag with the potting soil and just briefly at the rest, not asking me to take anything out and show him, and when I asked whether I had seemed suspicious he said that what I was carrying was too voluminous, so I just said that the potting soil was voluminous and that was that… Though I was thinking that he should have seen me if I’d have found cat litter as well…
I was back a little before 10:25 PM and showered, finally having really hot water again, then had that sweet pastry and made mamaliga… And a lot of it, but putting fewer other things in as a result, since I had to add some expired kefir that dad hadn’t gotten to. And I only ate about half of it that night, leaving the rest for the next day, so I won’t stuff myself at night and finish that late anymore. Even so, that feeling of pressure in the right side of my abdomen had returned, and it seemed like there was some more swelling.

As for February 3, that was that week’s best day to run, but it was also when a protest was to take place at the Ministry of Energy, demanding increasing the green energy target for 2030 and focusing on investments in green energy instead of gas, also in order to have lower energy bills in the long term. And the breakdown I had the previous week had prevented me from going to that other protest, against the hunting quotas for birds becoming daily instead of yearly and the minimum required training for hunters being reduced from one year to six months, so I couldn’t also miss this one and therefore got up when the alarm rang, at 9 AM, had an apple and left just before 10 AM.
I was somewhat worried, since the event started at 11 AM and I thought it’ll take me over an hour to get there, but in fact it took me just under 50 minutes. And I soon took a position inside the perimeter where we were supposed to stand, but most, including the very visible Greenpeace members, silently resisted the “main” organizers’ attempts to have them stand there, as the gendarmes had asked. There were some discussions about moving a little, but eventually we remained there, and I ended up being asked by Olga to help hold a banner and needing to keep compensating, since the person holding the other side kept holding it too low or not stretching it.
The more unpleasant moment, however, was when Olga asked me to slowly remove my hat, since the name and logo of a fossil fuel company was very visible on it. Since it’s the only one I have except the one knitted by Andra, it was the one received when planting trees in November of 2019, so it also had the logo of the NGO organizing that event on it, and I said it was from them, but she said she knew that but the other one is very visible. So I just removed it suddenly and stuffed it in a pocket, not even thinking of trying to make it less obvious, and said I’m bald and don’t exactly want to have my head exposed, at which point she said she had one I could use, but I wasn’t going to use another’s clothes. And I didn’t really comment when she later asked whether the request had bothered me.
At least, though there were plenty of reporters and I was very visible, nobody tried to interview me, neither then nor later, after people started leaving and Olga asked me to hold that banner again for a little longer, that time on my own, after she had found someone else to take over my spot when she saw me trying to take some more pictures, allowing me to wander around a little more. And while I was doing so she came to apologize, in case I felt singled out, and I said I was feeling bad anyway, considering how I am around people. She also asked whether I wanted to go for a coffee with her after the protest, saying it could also be a tea or something else when I said I don’t even drink coffee, but I obviously declined, mostly just wanting her to leave me alone. However, she then asked whether there was anything else she could do, then apologized again when I said no, adding that she was glad that I was there and that I’m one of the most active members, so I also apologized for having been unable to attend the previous week’s protest and said that I’m probably also one of the most annoying members. She asked why do I think that and said that I’m so quiet, but at that point I finally wandered away.
Either way, the event was supposed to last for 30 minutes, and as 11:30 AM approached the few other regular participants started leaving, and the total number had only been around 30 anyway, many being NGO members. And those NGO members then moved to the entrance of the Ministry for a few more pictures, at which point I also put that hat back on, and eventually left at 11:45 AM, just wandering away as they were preparing to go in, not saying anything more. As for the outcome, they delivered the petition and a study and had some talks, but those had no result, or at least no good one, the strategy remaining the one focused on gas.
On my way back, I stopped at the Carrefour from Unirii, grabbing some spoiling bananas and seeing that the eggs sold by piece again didn’t have a listed price. So I asked an employee and she told me a price that’d be the regular one, which made me just get four, but the price I saw at the checkout was half that, so I told the cashier that I had been told a higher one and asked whether I could go back and get more, and she said I could, if I’ll first pay for those purchases and then leave them there. So I did that and grabbed seven more with code one, which I had put back after first going through all of them in order to select all of those.
I was back here at 1:50 PM, so it could be said that I actually had a little more time to get ready for the run, compared to waking up at 2 PM, but after sleeping so little and walking a fair bit, I was thinking that the main reason why I was determined to run that day was to have an excuse for the poor time I was sure I was going to have, especially since the pressure and discomfort I was feeling on the right side of my abdomen seemed to be worsening, and I was more and more concerned about fluid… And then something else went wrong even before I could start getting ready, since I wanted to put the eggs in the fridge, doing so just when dad left, and one fell on the floor and cracked. I placed the bag on a shelf, so I won’t risk dropping it if I’ll hold it while placing and arranging the eggs on the door, and I pushed it farther in, so it won’t fall off, but that was just when dad walked out and I guess I glanced at the door, which meant that I didn’t see that an egg had ended up under the shelf, obviously falling when I let go of the bag… So I had to gather it up and then also wash that spot a little.
Either way, after placing the rest on the door, I had the usual stuff plus almonds, but a banana instead of the usual apple, since I had already eaten one of those in the morning, and a slice of cozonac with added honey as the sweet thing. I just wasted time on the toilet, however, and what was worse was that something popped in the left side as I was pressing some areas of my abdomen. That made me so worried that I started shaking, but eventually managed to calm down to some extent and went out at 3:50 PM. The reported temperature was 7-8°C and there was next to no wind, but it was overcast, so on top of the full running gear I also wore that thing around my neck and the gloves, plus the jacket on the way, tied around my waist as I ran.
The time was 48:15.01, with sector times of 4:10.51, 5:01.34, 5:54 (5:53.78), 4:31 (4:30.57), 5:04 (5:03.96), 5:57.82, 4:33 (4:32.06), 5:11.22, 6:00.19 and 1:54 (1:53.56), making for lap times of 15:05.63, 15:32.35 and 15:44 (15:43.47). Seeing as I was initially thinking that I should aim for 52 minutes and will reward myself if I’ll somehow stay under 50 minutes, I definitely didn’t expect that! However, after dad had said that he was going to make pizza that evening, or at least what passes for pizza for him, I decided that I’ll also have some and that was going to be the reward, which likely motivated me to really push, wanting to deserve it. And I actually didn’t feel that I had pushed that hard on the first sector, and yet it was surprisingly fast, and when the second was fast as well I wondered whether I’ll manage to stay under 15 minutes on that first lap. And while I missed that target, I also knew I hadn’t quite given it everything and was nevertheless much faster than I had even dared to hope at first, so I started calculating target times adding up to 49 minutes. Then, with lap two also going well, I thought of 48:30, being pleased with the first sector of lap three and thinking that, if there won’t be problems, it’ll be hard to fail from then on, which indeed proved to be the case, and by a safe margin.
Surprisingly, I had no notable physical issues, but they were painting the new surface right at the end of the lap, and had just done so at the beginning, so those areas were fenced off, some other fenced portions appearing intermittently later on the first sector and a little earlier on the third. While there weren’t that many people overall and some knew to stand aside when noticing me, especially in fenced areas, the fences did cause some issues on the long sector one straight, as I had to take a little to the grass or step on the paved area that’s behind the stage on each lap, though at least I didn’t actually get blocked. There was one roadblock in a fenced area that did make me briefly stop, however, and I think it was at the start of lap two, but I’m not quite sure and it might have also been at the end of lap one or two or even, though far less likely, at the start of lap three. Either way, a man and a woman were walking on either side of a child and I don’t know whether the man had a handicap, was aping the child or trying to show something he was talking about, but as I approached from behind he started walking with difficulty and holding his arms to the side, and when I asked them to make way he got startled, stopping and stretching his arms even wider, fully blocking the way. And another brief stop was on the long straight of sector two of lap three, a dog that was off the leash and running ahead of me stopping and turning to look when it heard me, so I had to stop for an instant and step aside to avoid tripping over it. And I also slowed a little at the start of sector three of lap three, to see the time better, since it was still very cloudy and there were even a few drops towards the end, so it was darker than it’d have otherwise been, even though some breaks in the clouds had started appearing earlier.
At least I could crap after the run, and again later. And when I got on-line at night I was making a note of the fact that the router was listing an uptime of 100 days, so there had been no power failures in that long, since the one on the evening of October 26, and I meant to take a screenshot of that… And should have done so, because I was woken up by my UPS beeping because of a blackout just before 10:20 AM the next morning. It was a brief one, but enough for it to actually beep, meaning that it wasn’t just a matter of fractions of a second, and it was also enough for the router to reboot. Not that a screenshot of the router’s uptime matters, but it’d have just been nice to have it. Missing that, I’ll just add here that it had just reached 100 days and a half, since the hour had gone back during that period, so the power returning around 11:10 PM after that previous failure was the equivalent of 10:10 PM at the time of this one. On the other hand, and seeing as this paragraph went beyond February 3 anyway, and it was also added after midnight, since I only just managed to finish the previous one by then, I’ll also mention here that, as of the start of the month or so, my mouse has been double clicking often again, after being better for quite a while.