Cav's Place

Since I changed my mind about editing the previous personal post in order to add these parts there, I’ll start this one right after getting back after the run on May 16, when I ate what I could still use out of a banana brought by dad and finished the peanuts that were left, then changed and left again at 7:40 PM… And I was once again caught by the possible owner while taking a picture of a car, or more exactly two pictures of two cars. The contrast between a very expensive and new one and an old one that was so common in its time struck me, seeing them parked so close to each other, so I took those two pictures and meant to take a third, from the other side, but spotted a guy walking with determination towards me and he used a key from the distance to make an alarm beep, and while I’m not sure whether the beep came from the expensive car or not and didn’t turn to look, it seemed like a good idea to skip that third picture and walk away before he reached me.
Then I walked to Obor, first checking Carrefour, just getting two discounted breads for dad, though the price of those had also increased, and using the self-checkout, which at first rejected my bill, but worked on the second try. Then I put the bread in a cabinet once I got to Kaufland, peed and washed my hands, but saw no bakery discounts when I went in, even though it was 9:05 PM. So I looked around for a while, gave up on getting a 2 kg bag of spoiling oranges when someone else grabbed the better one out of the two that I had set aside while I was still looking through the rest, but then found a handful of regular onions, with an evening discount that took them to a price that might have been normal last year, under the crates of red ones, so I picked those that still seemed good enough. I was picking some potatoes, which had a deep evening discount, when bakery discounts were finally announced, so I rushed there and got a few things, including one of those breads, even though it was discounted by 49%, making it a tiny bit more expensive than it had been when I had decided against getting one on May 11. Also got another bread for dad, at full price, since it was still among the cheapest ones available even though its price had also increased, and it was almost 10 PM when I got to the self-checkout, the announcement that the store had closed coming while I was still waiting in line. And I also had to remove my bread from the scales to be able to continue, but was charged correctly. Then, after just quickly arranging the purchases before walking out, I took more time to arrange everything in the bags and backpack before walking away, at 10:15 PM. The backpack ended up being too heavy, however, those rope straps digging into me, so at one point I stopped to move the potatoes to the bag.
I was back here a little before 11:10 PM, ate the sweet pastry which I had bought for myself from Kaufland, drank a bottle of Coca Cola brought by dad, since I just had a little tea left, did a few other things, and it was almost 12:15 AM when I went to the toilet and to shower. I came out of the bathroom an hour later, but still had things to do, and also had to show dad where to go in order to donate those dishes, and he was moving slowly and paying even less attention than he usually does, since he was also watching a match, so it took a while before I finally got back to the kitchen… And I hadn’t even had lunch yet, so I first did that, only starting to eat at 2 AM, then finally got to work on dinner, which I started to eat at 3:20 AM, finishing at 4 AM.

As it often seems to happen after runs, I couldn’t sleep that morning. Did fall asleep at first, but soon woke up with that nasty feeling in both arms and legs and couldn’t get back to sleep. Eventually, just before 6:45 AM, I got back on the computer, played Diggles for a while, got back in bed at 8 AM… And the scenario repeated itself, falling asleep at first but waking up again after a little while. The reason was different, however, since I woke up after dad did and there was a little noise made by him, and also from above, and I was also worried and annoyed that he’ll throw away the cats’ food again. So I’m not sure if I even caught another little nap before he left, at almost 1:30 PM, and then, since there was some noise coming from outside as well, I definitely didn’t manage to fall asleep again until I finally cut my losses and got up, after another hour.
I was so tired, and feeling increasingly out of it as time passed, the fact that I didn’t have lunch either, waiting to make mamaliga after dad left again in the evening, definitely not helping. But at least I managed to nap a little more in the evening, albeit for under one hour, if not even under 45 minutes, and then really stuffed myself at night… Which meant needing to keep getting up to pee, and if at first I fell asleep quickly and then also got back to sleep right away, this also happening after dad got back, after getting up yet again, a little before 7:45 AM, with him still awake and typing loudly, and I think also eating, at least at one point, I couldn’t get back to sleep again and at 8:10 AM I got back on the computer for a while, getting back in bed a little before 9:20 AM.

Moving on to the next run, that was on May 24, but in the evening, being supposed to count as practice for this summer’s Dream Trek, so I didn’t set an alarm and it was almost 3:30 PM when I got up, though I had been awake for a while at that point. Then I changed into the full running gear right away and, after the apple, I decided to actually have lunch. After that, I put on the running belt as well, with some things in it, and ended up spending quite some time trying to figure out how I had managed to tighten it more than it’d normally allow, probably finding a slightly different way, which looks worse but might actually be better, being less likely to come undone. Then I also had a slice of cozonac, with added honey, and left a little after 7:40 PM, when the reported temperature was around 20°C, being supposed to drop by 1-2°C by the time I’ll finish. It was very cloudy, however, and it had drizzled a little.
The time was 46:22.76, with sector times of 4:03.17, 4:59.81, 5:44 (5:43.28), 4:21.22, 4:55 (4:54.78), 5:44 (5:43.88), 4:19 (4:18.91), 4:53.43, 5:43.28 and 1:41.00, making for lap times of 14:46.26, 15:00 (14:59.88) and 14:55.62. I’ll go with those numbers for sectors two and three of lap two, not even adding question marks, but by the time I wrote down the times, at night, I noticed that I had a problem there, since I was remembering a second more for sector two, and also thinking that the first two sectors of that lap added up to exactly 9:17, which didn’t add up, as I also remember thinking that sector three of lap two was fractions of a second slower than that of lap one. Whenever I ran through the numbers, including while showering, it seemed to add up correctly, but my mind either kept playing tricks until then or, more likely, it suddenly decided to do so when I finally wrote down the times. But I do seem to remember 02.26, for seconds and hundredths, and actually noticing that a digit was repeating, after that sector two. Not that it’s surprising that I have a problem there, because I couldn’t look at the time right away after that sector two, needing to keep my eyes on the people coming from the opposite direction, so I couldn’t see the time when the seconds were large, needing to wait for a spot with better light to have a look at the interval time, listed with small characters, at which point I saw the hundredths better, being at the end, and actually remember thinking that I risked just remembering those and not the more important seconds. Plus that after that sector I decided to stop memorizing both values, as in the exact time as well as just the seconds, and just memorize the exact time, which might have mixed some things up in my mind.
I was just aiming to stay under 48 minutes, but felt so good at first that I pushed from the start and, while towards the end of the long straight of sector one I couldn’t keep it up anymore, I was so fast until then that the result was a second 4:03 sector one… Which could have been 4:02 without some minor issues caused by people. Then I tried to stay under 15 minutes on the first lap, which I managed by some margin, making me think that I could slow down a fair bit and still stay under 48 minutes. It was only after sector two of lap two that I started thinking of staying under 47 minutes, which became the clear target after the end of the lap, and if after sector one of lap three I was thinking that I had to lose less compared to five minutes on sector two than I’d expect to gain compared to six minutes on sector three, I was surprised to see that I was already clear after sector two, and that it was actually the fastest sector two of the day. That made me think that I could take it easier on sector three, but at the same time I didn’t want to risk going over six minutes… And ended up with a sector three that precisely matched the exact time of the one on lap one and a time after three laps that gave me a chance to stay under 46:30, if I could push like crazy on the final sector. So that was what I did, not only managing to stay safely under 46:30 but also obtaining the second fastest final sector ever. I didn’t think that I still had that much in me! Either way, it was my third fastest time over this distance, and the exact times would make it another run with all laps under 15 minutes, but it won’t get listed as such, since if I just look at the seconds, I covered lap two in exactly 15 minutes.
That previous drizzle meant that parts of the lane were wet and difficult and the clouds meant that I had less light than I thought I’d have, so I finished just before sunset but had to look for spots where I could see the time better, maybe slowing just a tiny bit a few times because of that, and probably a little more on sector three of lap two, since I couldn’t look when it’d have been easier to see, as I already mentioned. But people weren’t really a problem in general, though they did cost me the chance to get that 4:02 on the first sector, since I had to slow a little on the long straight, being uncertain which way to go around some, and then had to go the long way around others in the last turn. Otherwise, however, the only mental note I made of an issue that went beyond just weaving or going the long way around was needing to avoid a kid on a bicycle on sector one of lap two, maybe stopping for just an instant to do so. On the other hand, there were some physical problems, usually appearing on sector two, feeling the need to snap my back and being unable to on lap one and lunch not seeming to be sitting well and my right knee also starting to give some warnings on lap two, though both of these problems gradually went away after that, while on lap three my left ankle gave a few warnings as well. But what made me worry for a moment was when, on sector one of lap three, my heart felt somewhat strange. But maybe that feeling was also caused by my back, and I tried to sort of snap it for a while, which seemed to do the trick even though I still couldn’t really do that properly.

I went to that Carrefour after the run, putting on the mask after entering that mall, and just got two bags of microwave popcorn for dad. Then I made a small detour to a pharmacy on the way to Kaufland, looking for some teas for dad and another one of those nose sprays for myself, but they didn’t have one of the teas, so I just bought the other things… And the cashier struck me as being bothered by the fact that I had a mask. None of them were wearing one, but the one who was dealing with me asked what I wanted multiple times, saying that she wasn’t understanding, in particular when I was asking for the spray, until another one told her.
Once I got to Kaufland, I put the purchases in a cabinet and washed my hands, but could just grab a bun from the bakery area, since it was almost cleared of discounted products by then. However, there was discounted garlic, so I got some, as well as the single banana that still looked good enough from the pile of deeply discounted but otherwise bad ones, plus quite a few breads for dad. It was some five minutes before closing time when I had a look at the lines for the self-checkouts, but then went to have a quick look through the refrigerated expiring products, not finding anything interesting, before returning there, so I took my place in line moments before the announcement that the store had closed… And the lines were moving slowly, and the woman behind me kept trying to push her basket ahead of me, on one side or the other, so I was putting a foot in front of it whenever she did that, and eventually managed to make her stop doing it by moving in order to stand right in front of her when, after leaning to the side in order to grab some cat food of their brand, I found her alongside me, with the basket next to the person who was ahead. Either way, I had to take the garlic and the banana off the scales in order to be able to continue, but was charged correctly, then retrieved my things from the cabinet, took some time to arrange everything in the bags and was walking away at 10:20 PM.
After another small detour, to quickly check a Mega Image for discounted bakery products or cakes, leaving my things in a cabinet without locking the door for the brief time I spent inside, since I didn’t find anything interesting, I was back here at 10:55 PM. Then I ate that banana and an entire chocolate figurine we had, just that figurine containing some 50 grams of sugar… Also had the yogurt and cereals which I hadn’t eaten before leaving, without almonds, and put some of the purchases in their place before going to the bathroom, at 12:15 AM. I was only wasting time on the toilet, however, so after a while I gave up on that, showered and was finally out at 1:20 AM. In spite of that, and of still having things to wash and also slicing two of the breads for dad, I somehow managed to stick to the dinner schedule.

Moving on to May 27, when I turned the monitor on after waking up, my mouse wasn’t moving the pointer anymore, though clicks were registering, and I had used it just before going to bed, after all. Unplugging it and plugging it back in solved the issue, though I then also rebooted, for good measure, but it was strange, and an even more serious reason for concern, after the fact that it had also started double clicking quite frequently again. And the double clicking is now getting worse and there also seem to be moments when a left click doesn’t register, but at least that problem didn’t repeat itself so far, so that’s all I have to say about it at the moment. And, even though the part about that other order started before I went to bed on the morning of May 28 and it’s probably an abandoned matter for now, remaining to be seen whether the price will get low enough again for another attempt, so I could consider it over for the time being and include it here, I decided to yet again leave it for another time, so this section will just be about going out again that evening. After having cleaned the stove top the previous evening, which again only took me about an hour but nevertheless really tired me, the plan was to just rest that day, but the forecast for the following evening was listing storms and I didn’t want to risk it.
As such, I was out a couple of minutes after 7:30 PM, taking the paper, which I dropped off in a bin on the way. I didn’t put a mask on at first, and even entered another location of that pharmacy without it on, making that little detour to ask whether that tea which I hadn’t been able to get three days earlier was available there. And it was, so I got that, then went to the Carrefour from the park, finally putting the mask on when I got on the escalator but not bothering to use a cabinet, just going in with the teas in the backpack… And then back out, since I didn’t get anything.
I made another tiny detour on the way to the newer Kaufland, to that Mega Image, just going in and out, again with the teas in the backpack, since I just checked the expiring products and didn’t find anything interesting. I also had a quick look in the little store that’s next to that Mega Image, just out of curiosity, and then also checked Penny, again not bothering to use a cabinet… And again not buying anything, since I wanted cabbage but couldn’t find any, so I just looked around for a little while and then went back out.
I didn’t bother to use a cabinet for those teas at Kaufland either, so I washed my hands and went in, seeing some evening discounts even though it wasn’t 9 PM yet and getting some things from the bakery area, including the last bread of that kind. Even though that evening discount wasn’t particularly high at that moment, I also got a lettuce, then wandered around and grabbed a few other things. At 9:30 PM it was announced that the discount had increased to 75% for some bakery products, but the labels weren’t changed, so I waited for 9:45 PM before making my way to the self-checkout and it was only there that I found out that the increased discount didn’t apply to that bread or the sweet pastry I had bought, but did apply to the other things… And also that the discount for the lettuce had increased. But, before getting that far, I had to call an employee, since I started with the tarragon and after placing the second sachet on the scales the machine told me to scan it first, and removing it didn’t fix the problem, probably because it weighed so little, which tends to be a problem with spices. Either way, I finished scanning just when it was announced that the store had closed, so I walked out right away but then stopped for a moment in order to arrange the purchases in the backpack and bag, walking away at 10:05 PM.
After having a quick look, just from the door, in the nearby Mega Image, I was back a little after 10:45 PM. Then I ate that sweet pastry, but went to the toilet and showered before having lunch, so it was almost 12:55 AM when I started eating that and 20 minutes later when I finished. But I still just managed to stick to the dinner schedule, and that was despite also having that bread and the worse leaves of the lettuce to deal with.

I ran again on May 30, so I got up when the alarm rang, at 2 PM, and had the usual stuff plus almonds. The sweet thing was uncommon, however, since I decided to have an expired cereal and fruit bar, with added honey. Either way, I went out at 4:15 PM, wearing the full running gear. The reported temperature was 25°C, holding steady.
The time was 1:17:16, but I somehow forgot to check at the end of sector one of lap one, so I just know that the time for the first two sectors was 9:25.85. Based on the time I saw when I remembered to look and how long it took me to get there on lap two, the sector times were probably around 4:21 and 5:04, but that estimate can be off by a couple of seconds in either direction and I decided to not take it into account, just leaving that total. Then, from sector three of lap one, the times were 5:55 (5:54.94), 4:28 (4:27.53), 5:06.07, 5:55.40, 4:37.00, 5:13.00, 5:56.16, 4:31 (4:30.31), 5:13 (5:12.75), 5:58, 4:26, 4:54 and 5:39, making for lap times of 15:20.79, 15:29.00, 15:46.16, 15:42 and 14:59. There was no reason to check and memorize all the exact times until the time went past one hour and they were no longer displayed, but I guess I was overcompensating for missing that first one.
I was aiming to stay under 1:18 but felt rather tired when I started, so I didn’t want to push harder right away despite realizing that I was rather slow on that first sector. And things didn’t look that good after the first two sectors, the time for the first lap was barely all right, after two laps it seemed that I didn’t have enough of a buffer, and on lap three I felt the heat getting to me even if it wasn’t exactly hot, so I was thinking that I was heading towards 1:20 and getting ready to accept that, especially after losing ten seconds compared to the 1:18 pace on that third lap. But I pushed on lap four, wanting to at least still be on pace for 1:18 at the end of it, and what I managed meant that I needed an identical time on lap five in order to just make it. So I really went for it, even more so after sector one, and the result was amazing, getting under 15 minutes on lap five.
The lane was breaking up at the end of the last sector one straight, before the last turn, and that was also what my mind was actually on when I forgot to check the time at the end of the first sector. Otherwise, I almost stopped, or maybe actually did stop for an instant, on the long straight of sector two of lap two, because I tried to go left when another runner, who was also on the lane and coming from the opposite direction, moved in the same direction, and the person who was to the left of the lane moved closer to it, leaving me no room. And then, just as I was accelerating again at the end of that straight, I had to fight what was probably the worst gust of wind of the day, though it was usually windy in that spot, and I also felt the wind on the long sector one straight on the first two laps, and to some extent at the start of sector three as well. Back to sector two, it was also there, but on lap five and in the turn that’s before that long straight, when I slowed a lot, or again perhaps stopped for just an instant, when a cyclist came from the opposite direction, not just on the running lane but also holding a fishing pole and not even looking ahead! And I actually saw that guy again since then, behaving in the same manner… Back to that day, bugs or poplar fluff, or maybe even small leaves, kept getting into my eyes. And the heat was quite a problem, rather breaking me on lap three and making me wonder what I’ll do in the coming months if I couldn’t manage three good laps at 25°C.
What helped at the end was that it was cloudy on sector three of lap five, or possibly starting from some point on sector two, even though that last sector three was also windier. And two other runners helped as well. The first was a guy whom I ended up sort of racing for quite some time, after he first approached from behind towards the end of lap three, overtaking me and pulling ahead early on lap four. However, he stopped for a little while on what for me is sector three, resuming his run after I passed him, staying behind or alongside me until early on lap five, then overtaking me again, but not for long, since I quickly pulled level again and around the end of sector one or the start of sector two I overtook him again and soon after that he was no longer behind me, so he either stopped for good or went out of the park. But another runner appeared ahead of me just at the end and I pushed to overtake him too, just managing to do so before the end, that quite clearly being how I managed to just stay under 15 minutes on that last lap.

This, including this paragraph, is how far I got before midnight, so I edited the post later in order to also add the part about the rest of May 30, even if I only managed to do so Tuesday evening, since I wanted to finish the month in this post. However, I first wanted to add right here that yesterday I cleaned my room a little, apparently after a good three months, also changing the sheets and even washing the windows, albeit not that well and only on the inside in case of the one that doesn’t open. And last evening I also finally shaved my head again. Since it’s almost two years since the last time I mentioned doing so, I wonder if it’s really been that long or I did it one more time since then but didn’t mention it… Or mentioned it in a way that doesn’t show up on a quick search, since I doubt I wouldn’t mention something like this. But it had clearly been a long time, and I do recall thinking about doing it again but always deciding against it last summer, so maybe it really has been that long.

Returning to May 30, after getting back I saw that the notification that some pills ordered for dad were ready to be picked up had arrived just five minutes after I had left to run, so if I’d have known I’d have taken the order number and the money with me, that location of that pharmacy being on the way. As it was, seeing as that location closes at 7 PM and, while I was going to go out again that evening, I didn’t want to do so immediately, I left it for another time, and in fact dad went to pick them up after a few days. So I finished the tea, made another, had some walnuts… And jabbed the knife used to open them into my left hand, so the cut was small but quite deep.
It was 7:50 PM when I left again, going to Obor and first checking Carrefour, looking for eggs and finding bio (organic) ones among those sold by piece. They weren’t discounted, but since it hasn’t yet increased, even the full price of those eggs is now very good, and even more so when you can find bio (organic) ones among them, so I searched until I got the ten of those. Then I also saw 2 kg bags of oranges that were discounted by 50% because they were spoiling, but one didn’t look too bad, so I got it, along with four breads for dad, also discounted by 50%. Those breads weren’t in the self-serve part of the bakery area and no employee was there to give them to me, but after waiting for a while I reached over and managed to pick them up myself, though two of them required a bit of effort. Then I used the self-checkout, asking the guard about those oranges, at which point he called over the employee who was in that area she entered the discount, and also asked, quite surprised, if I had known the code for the eggs, and I said that I searched for it and asked whether she wanted to check that there were ten of them, but she said that she won’t count eggs. Oddly, she then asked whether I was all right, I don’t know why, but there were no problems.
Then I rushed to Kaufland, but first just to put those purchases in a cabinet, since I then rushed away again. It was already past 9:20 PM, so I jogged part of the way to that Penny, found what I was looking for, then rushed back to Kaufland, added the new purchases in the cabinet, washed my hands and finally went in when it was almost 9:45 PM. The bakery discounts were staying at 50%, but I grabbed a few things, then checked the expiring products, not finding anything interesting. However, one of the two packs of that yogurt that were left looked almost all right, so I grabbed it, then looked for other evening discounts, seeing that there had been nice ones for carrots and onions, but they were all gone at that point, so I just got the few decent potatoes that were left… And saw that their 1 kg bags of oranges were discounted by 60%, matching the price per kilogram of those spoiling ones from Carrefour, and they looked good, so I grabbed one of those as well. And I managed to do all of that before the announcement that the store had closed, which came just as I was making my way to the self-checkouts. There was a bit of a line, but I had no problems with the machine, then retrieved my things from the cabinet, at first just taking a little time to put everything in bags, obviously being careful with the eggs, before stopping again in order to actually arrange everything in the backpack and bags after walking out.
I was walking away from there at 10:15 PM, but I stopped again a little later, to arrange what I had in the bag a little differently, and then yet again, trying to find a safer way to hold the eggs… And almost dropping them instead. But I managed to catch the bag and finally got back here a little after 11:05 PM, just threw the yogurt and the eggs in the fridge, quickly went to take a shower, not going to the toilet first, to get out before midnight, then went to do something in my room… And burned the tips of both of my thumbs. Just a little in case of the left one, so that wasn’t a problem, but I even ended up with a little blister on the right one. Either way, I then got back to the kitchen, put some more of the purchases in their place, started eating lunch at 1 AM, finished after 15 minutes, then washed what I had to wash and also ate something sweet. However, even if I only started working on dinner after doing all of that, I still managed to stick to the schedule, and then even put the rest of the purchases in their place before going to bed.
Speaking of going to bed, I fell asleep well enough, but at 7:40 AM I woke up to pee and couldn’t get back to sleep. A little after 8:30 AM I gave up for the moment and got on the computer, and after half an hour went to the toilet, something rumbling in my abdomen, maybe caused by something brought by dad which I had eaten as part of that late lunch. It wasn’t the first time he brought that dish, made by someone he knows, and it tastes good, but I seem to remember that it always caused a lot of gas, and that time around it seemed to be more than that. Either way, dad woke up while I was on the toilet, and then loud noises starting coming from the neighbors, some work apparently being done, so I stayed up and only got back in bed a little after 1 PM. It was around 4:40 PM when I got up again, but I wonder if I even got two hours of sleep during that time.