An Awfully Disappointing Bucharest Half Marathon 2023
I made the tea for the morning while working on the salad and started eating dinner at 1:15 AM, finishing a little after 1:50 AM. Then I took one of those pills against gas and the magnesium and potassium supplement, drinking a little of the tea, and got ready for the morning, once again needing plenty of time to pin the number on the t-shirt, though maybe not quite as much as I used to. And since I didn’t try to post anything about Eurovision that night, I got in bed at 3:15 AM. However, since I was still awake 20 minutes later, I went to pee one more time… Which still wasn’t enough, the need to pee waking me again at 5:53 AM. But the alarm was set to ring at 6 AM, so when I saw the time I decided to just get back in bed without going, and I might have actually just fallen asleep again when the alarm rang. Then I ate a large apple, a bio (organic) yogurt mixed with cereals, almonds and raisins in dark chocolate, and three of those wheat things, with honey and jam between them, and I also took the last of the supplements and another pill against gas and drank the remaining tea. Unsurprisingly, I hardly left anything in the toilet. And I left with dad just after 7:50 AM, wearing the full running gear and one of those armbands. At that point, the forecast listed 13-14°C at 9 AM, when the half marathon was going to start, and probably 17°C when I was going to finish. And dad drove me most of the way to the metro station, so I was there at 8 AM and, after getting off at Izvor, I reached Constitution Square at 8:20 AM, without putting on the mask which I had taken with me.
I “explored” a little at first, and while I was in the Sport Expo area I was handed a bar, though not one that I’d want to eat during the race. Then I saw baskets of fruits in the Mega Image tent and wondered whether you could take any, since nobody seemed to, so I took off my jacket and stood around, made a few stretching moves, and after quite some time I gathered the courage to just go for it, grabbing a banana and an apple, at which point someone else also came to take something, probably emboldened after seeing me. Either way, I ate the banana and it was past 8:40 AM when I went to leave the backpack at the wardrobe, ending up handing it to someone from the relay section, since the line for the half marathon section was longer and someone from the relay section was asking half marathon runners to leave their things there as well. And the girl who took it removed the sticker from it, even though this time around they did seem to stick, and placed it on the rope straps. Then I walked out of the Square, once again choosing to use the toilets that are closer to the starting area… And then finding the starting area already packed, and even though the signs that indicated the sectors had appeared again, there was still a single entrance, at the back, and at first I couldn’t even advance. But others were trying to make their way forward, so I did my best to follow while eating a protein bar which I had taken with me, and I managed to get just in front of the 1:50 pacemakers before the start. I had hoped to reach the 1:45 pacemakers, but I couldn’t… And in the end that proved to be my place anyway.
Maybe I should have tried to keep advancing after the start was given, gaining some more seconds, but I didn’t, waiting until those who were ahead of me could get moving and going with the crowd, which led to a start time that was 1:14 on my stopwatch, the official one being 1:15. That was still better than last year, but I couldn’t quite remember what my start time had been at that very moment and, either way, it seemed too much, and at the time I thought that my target should be 4:54 per kilometer if I was to once again have an official time below 1:45, though that actually included a small buffer, the actual time needed being exactly 4:55, assuming just under 30 seconds on that final portion. Not that I actually thought that I could manage something like that again, plus that it had been announced that there were going to be two supply points, at five and 12 kilometers, where bars and gels and other such products were going to be available, and if enough would be left by the time I reached those points, I was planning to sacrifice some time in order to get some supplies for the marathon.
I still wanted to at least do well enough on the first part, however, meaning to stay on target for the first ten kilometers, so until we’ll pass by the finish, since once again the ten kilometer and half marathon races were mixed, so at that point the ten kilometer runners finished while the rest of us went around the finish line. And the first kilometer really surprised me, since it was hard to make it through the crowd and I expected to be noticeably slower, but in fact the time was exactly 4:54. And on the second kilometer I limited the loss caused by that bad climb quite well, covering it in 5:00. And then I could start gaining time, covering the next three kilometers in 4:53, 4:48 and 4:43, respectively, getting ever closer to the 1:45 pacemakers and actually catching them just before that first 180° turn, on Kiseleff. However, I took that turn quite poorly and some of the people from that group passed me again, and one of them stepped on my foot a little, so I was among them when I reached that first refreshment point, which was immediately after the marker for five kilometers.
At each refreshment point, I took a piece of banana and one cup of water and one of that other drink, but even drinking caused me to lose more that first time, since I struggled to finish the first cup before getting the second and couldn’t really do so despite slowing a lot, so I wasn’t sure what to do and lost a few more seconds before finally deciding to pour what was left in the first cup into the second. And that announced supply point indeed followed immediately, and I was surprised to see all of the different products and, while I more or less knew what that sponsor had and what I wanted, I definitely hadn’t checked their products well enough to be able to identify and grab those things in such a hurry. Then again, it’s also possible that the better products were only available at the second supply point, since I don’t recall seeing gels, liquid magnesium or even salt bars at that first one. I might have missed them, of course, since those pacemakers were pulling ahead again and I was trying to limit the loss of time, but what I clearly saw were jelly bars and what I tend to call their regular bars, so I grabbed one of each, without even trying to pick a specific kind. However, I then ended up losing quite a number of seconds while struggling to stuff those bars into the pocket of my tights and zip the pocket once again, since I had the other protein bar, the gel and the Smecta Go which I had taken with me in there as well, and that was despite thinking that it’d have probably been better to just hold them in my hand for the next few kilometers, until that steep climb, when I meant to slow to a walk and eat a bar anyway. And the added weight made my tights feel uncomfortable for a while. Despite all of that, pushing after I finally did get back to running meant that I still limited the loss of time reasonably well, covering that sixth kilometer in 5:08.
I was probably pushing a little too hard at that point and knew it, but at the same time I wanted to get ahead of the 1:45 pacemakers as soon as possible, in order to afford to lose time on that steep climb and at the second refreshment point and still not be behind them at ten kilometers. And I did get ahead of them before the first relay changing point, which was at about 6.5 kilometers, though I can’t remember whether I somehow managed to do so even before reaching six kilometers or not. Either way, since one of those pacemakers had pulled a little ahead of the rest and I recognized him as that guy whom I tend to consider as the “second in command” of that group that organizes that night run, when I passed and greeted him I meant to say that they’ll catch and pass me again after ten kilometers and I’ll likely finish closer to the 1:50 pacemakers than to them. But I didn’t, and that estimate proved too optimistic anyway. Still, at that point I could push and did so, the seventh kilometer being my best, covered in 4:42, while the eighth was covered in 4:43. It included going down a slope, however, so I was starting to slow more than that mere second might appear to indicate. But I was relatively content with covering the ninth kilometer in 5:04, since it included that short but steep climb and I also ate a bar, though I did lose an additional amount of time in order to dig one out of my pocket and it ended up being the jelly bar, so I just ate it even though I had meant to keep that one for the marathon. If I’d have just kept those two bars in my hand until then, it’d have been no problem to eat the right one, I wouldn’t have had to take any out and would have just had to stuff one in, so I’d have lost significantly less time as well… Though I’m not sure how holding them would have affected my times until that point.
The next kilometer, also covered in 5:04, was the tenth, and it included going down that slope that’s at the end of Victoriei, which definitely helped, but also the second refreshment point, which obviously meant another loss of time, even though just drinking what I could from the first cup until I could get the second and then immediately pouring what was left into it meant that I reduced that loss a little. It wasn’t enough to prevent the 1:45 pacemakers from overtaking me again, but I dug into what reserves I still had and was just at the head of the group when we went past the finish, so at ten kilometers. And if at first I meant to switch to damage limitation mode and let them pull ahead after going around Constitution Square, especially since the next 5.5 kilometers or so were going to be against the wind, I found that I could stay at the head of the group a little longer and decided to do so until a little after 11 kilometers, to only fall back with ten kilometers left. And the fact that they slowed a little definitely helped, since I stayed at the head of the group despite covering that 11th kilometer in 5:12. And after dropping to the back of the group at what should have been 11.1 kilometers, I realized that I could stay there a while longer and should actually try to do so, because they were shielding me from that headwind, so I was still there at the end of the 12th kilometer, which I covered in 5:11.
That second supply point came immediately after the marker for 12 kilometers. It was on its own, refreshment points being roughly every five kilometers, and it seemed larger than the first one, and I also saw gels and liquid magnesium, and there’s a part of one of the tables that I didn’t see at all, since I quickly grabbed a bar and a gel from the first table, then sort of avoided the guy who was standing in front of the second table and holding something out because I had seen liquid magnesium there and definitely wanted one for the marathon, so I grabbed one of those and then moved on, not even noticing what was in that guy’s hand or on the other part of that table. And I only realized after I actually looked at what I had grabbed that the bar wasn’t only another regular one, but in fact the exact same kind as the one which I had grabbed at the first such point as well, and which I still had. And then I lost quite some time because I once again struggled to stuff everything into the pocket of my tights, which added enough weight on that side to make me feel quite uncomfortable, unbalanced and thinking that my tights were really going to slip down, despite being tied pretty tightly. I considered moving a bar to that small pouch that’s meant for keys, but I wasn’t sure I’ll be able to and didn’t want to lose even more time, so I just dealt with the situation from then on, and I’m sure that the discomfort had an effect of my times as well. Either way, I covered that 13th kilometer in 5:31, which came as quite a shock even though it should have been expected if you think about it, considering the previous kilometer’s time. The bigger problem, however, was that it meant that I lost contact with the 1:45 group, so I had no more protection from that headwind, and the times that followed definitely showed that.
True, the next kilometer, covered in 5:40, included climbing the slope on Decebal, which is slight but pretty long, and also eating the gel grabbed from that supply point, which also meant digging it out of the pocket. So I should have once again held it in my hand instead of stuffing it there and then needing to dig it back out, but I had wondered whether to eat it then or after the next refreshment point, and possibly even after the 180° turn, only deciding to eat it then when I noticed that I was having a harder time with that slope and the wind than I thought I would, so I pretty much walked while eating it, resting a little. And then I lost some more time with the next refreshment point, so the next kilometer was even slower, being covered in 5:43.
I knew that I was losing a lot of time, but I didn’t really calculate what it added up to until that turn, which actually came where it did before and not at that slightly earlier point that was marked on the map. Either way, after that turn I saw how close behind me the 1:50 group was and realized that I was doing much worse than I thought, and after passing the marker for 16 kilometers, having covered that kilometer in 5:34, I actually calculated… And I realized that I was looking at 1:52! So I tried to dig into what little reserves I still had, and the fact that the wind was behind me after that turn obviously helped quite a bit as well, so the next two kilometers were covered in 5:17 and 5:24, respectively, and most of the difference was probably because of the headwind that once again appeared around Alba Iulia Square. It still meant that I had no chance to even stay under 1:50 as official time, but I meant to give it absolutely everything and try to at least avoid being overtaken by the 1:50 group, since the pacemakers run according to the real time and their start time had been slightly worse than mine, after all. It was an awfully disappointing goal to have, but it was the only one left at that point, and I had serious doubts that even that was realistic.
The last refreshment point was just before the marker for 19 kilometers, so covering that kilometer in what was probably 5:44 should have been expected, but it meant that the 1:50 group was right on my heels and the situation seemed hopeless, though the fact that the marker was just after the refreshment point instead of just before it made me wonder whether it hadn’t been moved a little. I do believe that the line painted on the pavement was there as well, which should have confirmed the correct placement of the sign, but I was trying to drink and eat as efficiently as possible and not paying enough attention to be absolutely sure. In fact, I only noticed the sign when I passed by it, and my hands being full meant that I also failed to press the button on the stopwatch, so the time is calculated according to what I saw, which means it I might have actually reached the marker a second earlier… Not that it makes much of a difference. And it still means that the next kilometer was surprisingly fast, being covered in 4:58 if the time I saw was the correct one, so it couldn’t have been more than five minutes even if I looked a little late when I passed 19 kilometers. However, while I did push like crazy on that kilometer, giving everything and deciding that I’ll see what I’ll do over the final kilometer when I’ll get there, this surprisingly fast time for this point in the race once again makes me think that the marker for 19 kilometers might have been moved a little.
Either way, pushing that hard carried a price, my legs were heavy and the time for the 21st kilometer was 5:44, with no doubts about where the painted markers were. Admittedly, there was also a point when I looked behind me and saw that I had put what I thought was a pretty safe distance between me and the 1:50 group over that 20th kilometer and I might have relaxed a little too much, but as I reached Constitution Square once again I suddenly noticed the first of the 1:50 pacemakers out of the corner of my eye and realized that I was about to be passed by them. It was shocking, as until that very moment I thought that I was somehow going to at least manage to stay safely ahead of them, not even really believing that I could do so poorly as to fail to do so when they had just about caught me at that last refreshment point, even though my pace had been much worse than theirs for so long. But that was the reality, and my last chance was an absolutely desperate dash to the finish line even though I felt completely drained. And that resulted in covering that final stretch in 28 seconds and at least managing to stay just ahead of the 1:50 pacemakers. However, the time listed on my stopwatch was 1:50:39, and the official one was 1:50:41, so there is another second missing, on top of the one from the beginning, which may mean that I actually covered those final meters in 29 seconds. Either way, the official real time was 1:49:26, which is over six minutes worse than last year’s…
I couldn’t even get this far before midnight, editing in order to add the last two paragraphs above a little later. Then I edited the post again, Tuesday afternoon, in order to add the rest of this paragraph and the following section. And the rest, starting from that fair from Unirii Park, was added before I went to bed Wednesday morning. And I should also point out that the entire part about the actual race was written from memory, three weeks after the fact, the only notes that I was able to make before then consisting of the times for each kilometer and mentioning whether it included a refreshment or supply point or a slope or if I ate.
Yes, I was disappointed after failing to reach my goal in 2016 and 2019 as well, while in 2021 I was slower than I had been before, but in this latter case it was entirely expected, considering how I felt, and the time was actually much better than I thought it’d be, so I was pleased with the result, while in 2016 it was my first official run and in 2019 that target was extremely ambitious for that moment and all of my calculations had shown that I won’t be able to make it. This time around, however, when I was thinking that I’ll end up closer to 1:50 than to 1:45, I was thinking of 1:48, or maybe, after factoring in the loss of time caused by getting those supplies for the marathon, just failing to stay under 1:48 as real time and therefore having an official time approaching 1:49:30. But that was the worst case scenario, and remained so until I saw how close the 1:50 pacemakers were, after that turn, and while the final result wasn’t as bad as what I calculated after that moment, I didn’t really believe those calculations, thinking that once I started pushing harder, I’ll somehow recover much of that lost time, and staying well ahead of those pacemakers won’t really be a problem. So it’s not just that I was a little over a minute slower than that worst case scenario, but that I was shocked by it, simply not believing that things could go so badly until the last moment. And when my typical mindset is to expect the worst, that shows just how terrible the result really was.
But, to return to that day’s events, I’m pretty sure that I had already received the medal but definitely hadn’t yet reached the finishers’ area when I spotted a box with some apples and I think one last orange, and I took an apple and the orange. Then, in the finishers’ area, I first went to the water, drinking a cup and grabbing a bottle, then also drank a cup of that other drink, of the kind that I hadn’t seen during the race, though it’s likely that only the flavor differed. Then I took two pieces of orange, one at a time, and ate them, and as I sat down to peel the second piece, a guy asked whether I was fine and I said that I was, and after he said that I’ll have cramps if I sit and I once again said that I was fine, I realized that I really was, perhaps too fine. Either way, I had spotted an apple that had fallen from the tables where fruits were sliced and since it was still there after I finished the orange pieces, I grabbed it as well, then I drank another cup of that other drink and grabbed another water bottle before finally leaving that area and going to retrieve my bag from the wardrobe.
When the person who started looking for my bag didn’t seem to be able to find it, I was starting to worry, but someone else joined her after a while and it was eventually found. I had tied those rope straps around the opening before handing it over and they were untied when I got it back, but nothing else seemed to have happened, so maybe they had just untied it so it’ll be easier to hang, though I usually tie the bag in that manner and don’t recall getting it back untied before. But two guys were behind me while I was waiting and one asked the other whether he was fine, and when the other said that he was, the first said that it’s not fine if you’re fine after a race, since it means that you didn’t give everything, which obviously reminded me of the fact that I had sort of thought the same thing after that other guy asked whether I was fine. Either way, I then put on the jacket and took out the other things that I was going to need, including the old camera, which I had taken with me, and moved everything else into my backpack, which had also been in the bag, also adding what I had grabbed.
After struggling to use one of those portable things in order to wash my hands a little, I saw that protein milk and protein yogurt were being offered in the Zuzu Fit area, so I took one of each. Then, after just walking past the areas where there were contests or raffles, I went to the place that offered hot dogs and took one, then went to the Mega Image area in order to sit down and eat it. I also checked what was still available in those baskets, and those from that side only had one kind of apples left, but someone else was telling another person that they still had the other kind of apples, as well as bananas, on the other side, so after I finished eating I went there and grabbed another banana and an apple of that other kind, and also what seemed to be the last pear.
That left just one more thing to do, having a picture taken, and I had seen something about one of the sponsors taking pictures in their area and the place where that should happen was obvious, but the message which I had seen seemed to indicate that pictures were taken automatically, at random intervals, and when I had passed by that spot, girls wearing that company’s t-shirts formed a tight human wall around the camera, so making use of that didn’t seem to be an option and I still had to ask someone, which meant needing to work up the courage to do so… And when I finally managed to get myself to go for it, the person I had meant to go to was just about to walk away and ignored me. And I knew that I was going to lose that courage if I won’t try again quickly, so I quickly picked another “target”, hovered around while they talked, and when I saw that they were also about to leave I rather butted in and asked the guy. And after he agreed I told him that the camera’s old and may not save correctly, asking him to take two pictures and then faking a smile. And, after the woman who was with him offered to hold my jacket and I gave it to her, he actually took three pictures, though all were in the same orientation and from farther away than I’d have liked… And I forgot about that smudge, later seeing that it was pretty much right on my face on all of the shots, so it didn’t really matter which one I chose to keep.
Since my brain had pretty much disconnected when I had to interact with someone, it was only after that guy walked away that I realized that I had looked sort of “through” him when he took the pictures and hadn’t memorized his number despite meaning to, just to know who took my picture. So I tried to follow in order to have another look, but didn’t want to be too obvious about it either, so I kept some distance and, after initially also following into the Sport Expo area, I turned around, went back out and waited a short distance away from the entrance, some abdominal cramps and a certain pressing need that suddenly appeared just then meaning that I couldn’t have really moved for a few moments even if I’d have wanted to, at least not without fearing a certain accident… However, when that guy did appear again, he was holding something in front of his number and I still couldn’t see it from where I was. I did see the number of the woman who was with him, and that allowed me to quickly identify him as well once the pictures from the race were up, but at that point I didn’t know whether it’d be enough, so I was still following a short distance behind them when I walked out of Constitution Square, at 11:45 AM. But wanting to be even less obvious about it led to trying to use a slightly different route, the plan being to catch up to them if they’ll cross the road or end up alongside them but on the other side of that green space if they won’t. But the actual result was that I just lost them, so after hesitating for a moment I crossed the road, looked a little more from the other side, then sort of stood around for a while, watching as the last runners came past that area and trying to decide what to do next.
Since I once again found that fair in Unirii Park when I got there, I had a look around, paying closer attention to a stand where socks were being sold. Also checked one with paintings for some reason, but then I returned to that one with the socks and asked about them, being told that a single cotton pair was left, and it was cheap, but the size was too large. The rest were made of bamboo fiber and I had actually considered trying some of those already, after seeing some in stores, but at first I once again walked away… Only to stop a short distance away, think about it a little longer and then return and buy three pairs, since the third was at half price in that case, resulting in a reasonable price per pair. And I bought them even though only dark colors were left, and on top of the fact that I just don’t like dark colors, it also means that it’ll be next to impossible to tell which are mine and which are dad’s after washing. Maybe, if I’m really careful, I’ll be able to tell the dark gray ones apart from his, but instead of at least picking three pairs like that, for some reason I picked two of those and a dark blue one, which I still don’t know how I’ll manage to tell apart from some of his. I guess the material feels somewhat different, but the risk of mixing them is very high, and it’s quite clear that sooner or later he’ll assume that they’re his and take them even if I will be able to tell them apart when I take them out of the washing machine and try to hang them to dry separately.
Either way, I then went to pee at that McDonald’s, after which I put on the mask and went to Carrefour, entering with everything and, on top of just wasting time, since I didn’t find anything to get, also ending up in an awkward situation, since I had taken everything out of my jacket’s pockets before walking back out, expecting the guard to want to check, but that time around he did want to check the backpack as well and the fruits, the protein milk and yogurt, the bars, all of those things could have been taken from there, so I tried to be as calm and confident as possible when I told him that I was coming from the half marathon and had plenty of things in the backpack which I had grabbed from there, pointing to the number and saying that it should prove that I was there, and the medal was next to it as well. Of course, the fact that I had been there didn’t mean that I couldn’t have taken those things from the store, especially when the protein milk and yogurt and the banana were right at the top, but after pulling those out for a moment and having a look, he put them back and let me go. The fact that I also pointed to the bag where I had those socks and said that “some socks” were in there might have had something to do with it as well, if he assumed that those were the socks worn during the race, but I only realized that later.
After that, I took the metro to Obor, and dad called after I got off, while I was on my way to the farmers’ market, obviously not understanding how I was feeling or why would I be affected in that manner and ending the conversation rather in a huff when I guess that I was looking for a shoulder to lean on, not that I could ever hope for anything of the sort from him. So I had to somehow pull myself together again and decided to have a look through the farmers’ market after all, looking for cheap apples and finding a crate in the indoor area that seemed to contain apples that’d normally be cheap but which were nevertheless better than the other cheap apples that I had seen. No price was listed, however, so after I finished looking around I got back there and asked, and when I was told that they were just 1 RON / kg I put some in a bag, asked how much it weighed and, even though I saw 2.339 kg on the scales, I was told that it’ll just be 2 RON. And they turned out to be very tasty, and only a few were actually spoiling, and my mother also asked for some since then, so I really should have bought more. Either way, I then also had a quick look for those cheap perfumes for dad, asking about the price in one place but not getting any, since it was slightly higher than it had been before.
I did put everything in a cabinet when I got to that Carrefour, then peed one more time before entering the store… And just wasting some more time, so I then retrieved what I had in the cabinet and only put the apples back in one when I reached Kaufland, entering with the backpack, but still not finding anything to get, so I just retrieved the apples and continued to Penny, where I once again put everything in a cabinet and at least bought some sweets, most of them for dad, finding a way to squeeze them into the backpack after retrieving what I had in the cabinet.
I then got back to the metro station, picking up another one of those bottles that went towards that 10 RON voucher from Penny on the way, and deciding to go to Pallady next, to also check that Auchan. And at least they have cabinets at that location, so I once again put my things in one, but the expiring products no longer had higher discounts than at other locations and the regular ones are usually too low to be worth getting such products from Auchan, and I didn’t find anything else to get either, so I retrieved my things from the cabinet, once again put them in one when I got to that Kaufland as well, and only got some yogurt from there, meaning that this entire trip was one more waste of time, since I could have bought that yogurt from that other Kaufland, and maybe I could have found something if I’d have checked the Auchan from Obor instead of rushing back to the metro in order to make this other trip. Either way, I added the yogurt in the cabinet and peed one more time, then retrieved everything, arranged, and went back to the metro station… Only to be so tired and distracted that I somehow failed to notice the metro in the station! The board only listed the one for the other direction as being about to arrive and after seeing that I just sort of stood there, largely unaware of what was going on around me and only realizing that there were trains on both sides when there were two announcements about doors closing. So I wasted yet more time, waiting for the next one.
I got back at 6:40 PM, though after cleaning the litter box I went to throw a bag of trash down the chute. Then I put everything except the apples in their place, went to the toilet, showered, ate a pretzel and a large bag of corn puffs, and wrote the part of the post about Eurovision that I managed to post before midnight, but I was too depressed to do anything else or even have a proper lunch, much less dinner, so at night I just ate an apple, probably the one picked off the pavement in the finishers’ area, and also finally washed what had been left in the kitchen. I was shaking… But at least I also managed to get all the apples in the fridge. And I’ll also add here that the following night I ate dinner between 3:05 AM and 3:40 AM.