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Just Before and After Bucharest Half Marathon 2024
For a long time, I tried to avoid such Sunday updates. Then I was no longer able to avoid them. Then I stopped even being able to finish them by midnight, editing the posts days later in order to add what was left. And, more recently, the rule seems to be to post what are basically just placeholders, only the beginning of the posts. And this is another such situation, so I’ll start what’s basically yet another placeholder, limited just to this first section, from the early hours of May 11, when I ended up eating dinner between 3:45 AM and 4:30 AM, and got in bed at 5:35 AM… And then I had to get up to pee several times, so my body seemed to want to get rid of all fluids instead of accumulating some before the run… But the last time I woke up was at 3:45 PM, and then I had a relatively early lunch and just after 8:30 PM I was back in the kitchen, and even though dad had also cooked, which left me with some things to wash and clean, and he also kept coming there to get things to make himself a salad that he didn’t even mean to eat that night and stressing me out as a result, I managed to eat dinner between 12:50 AM and 1:30 AM, putting peanut butter on all of the slices of bread. And I also made the tea for the morning while working on dinner, and after dinner I took one of those pills against gas. On the other hand, I started feeling some crap in my chest as I was working on dinner and occasionally had to cough, and something didn’t feel right in my abdomen either.
Either way, after dinner I shaved and got ready for the morning, putting the cereals, baked almonds with Himalayan salt and raisins in milk chocolate into a bowl, so I’ll just have that bio (organic) “Greek” yogurt to add, selecting the two apples that I meant to eat, since they were small, also setting aside the protein bar, gel and liquid magnesium that I meant to take with me, putting the number on the t-shirt and splitting the other things that I was taking between the bag and the jacket. I again chose to not go to the toilet one more time, since even so I got in bed at 3:40 AM, but my mind and heart were racing and I was still awake a few minutes before 4:30 AM, when I went to pee again, just in case, so it’d have been better to use part of that time to leave some more in the toilet.
I did fall asleep eventually, but I got an hour at best, probably less, before the alarm rang, at 6 AM. Then I ate what I had prepared, unsurprisingly only wasted time on the toilet despite feeling like I had plenty to leave in it, and took all of the supplements, one pill of each in case of the iron and that one for joints, but I took the last iron pill with me. I also ate three of those wheat things, with bio (organic) honey between them, took one more pill against gas, and drank most of the tea. After forgetting to set it aside before going to bed, I did remember to take a Smecta Go with me as well, and eventually stuck to the plan and also took that gel, despite thinking that I shouldn’t while I was getting ready. And I left at 8 AM, wearing the full running gear and one armband, and dad drove me to that spot that’s close to the metro station. The forecast for the period that interested me, between 9 AM and 11 AM, listed a steady 16-17°C, but it was cloudy and windy.
I reached Constitution Square just before 8:30 AM and wandered around a little, checking whether there was anything to take and only seeing some apples offered by an energy company, so I took one and put it in the bag. Then, without even the slightest attempt at a warmup or any stretching exercises, I entered the Sport Expo area, took the second iron pill, took off the jacket and put it in the bag, and a little after 8:40 AM I was in line to leave the bag at the wardrobe. However, there seemed to be two lines for the half marathon runners and I placed myself in the shorter one… Only to hear a little later that it was supposedly the line for those who didn’t have the sticker with the number placed on the bag, but there was no sign to state that, the only way to know being to hear the guy who was occasionally telling that to the first few who were in that line, and as I advanced and he got to me as well he took off that sticker, which I had placed on the bag, and put it on the straps, saying that it was likely to come off if placed directly on the bag. That was indeed a problem in previous years, when I used safety pins to make sure that it stayed on, but this time around it seemed fine, what he did likely causing the bigger problem, since the way he wrapped it around the straps made the number very hard to see, and I told him that, but he said that it was fine. So I left it like that and moved to the other line, hesitating for a moment but eventually cutting in and handing over the bag.
After getting back out of the Sport Expo area, I initially meant to have another look around while making my way to the toilets, but I spotted a few more toilets in front of the press and staff tents, with just a few other runners around them, so I only had seconds to wait before being able to use one. Admittedly, there were none of those portable sinks in that area, but I washed my hands when I passed by the other toilets on my way out of Constitution Square. However, even if that saved me what would have otherwise been quite a few minutes of waiting in line and I started to make my way to the start area a little after 8:50 AM, I still found it packed when I got there, the chances to advance appearing frustratingly low at first. But others were obviously trying to do that as well, and some of them were bolder and had more success, so I eventually found some “trains” to follow, eating that protein bar while doing so. And, after it initially looked like I was going to have to settle for stopping in the group which had gathered around the 2:00 pacemakers, since the start time was approaching and nobody seemed to manage to push farther ahead, some did eventually find a way and I ended up passing the 1:50 pacemakers as well, the start catching me between them and those for 1:45, and possibly even closer to these latter ones.
The plan for this post obviously included writing about the actual race as well, but when it was clear that I won’t manage to make myself do that, I decided to leave it for another time and at least add the rest of the day, since even so it was only in the early hours of Saturday when I added this section, starting right after crossing the finish line, when the final sprint caused that pressing need which had put me in a desperate situation at an earlier point but which had since subsided to a more manageable level to return with a vengeance, to the point that, after struggling to hold it in until I received the medal, I really feared that I was going to shit myself right then and there, getting quite desperate and needing to put everything into fighting it, so at first I couldn’t even keep walking to the finishers’ area, and when I did manage to get there I meant to just rush right out and to the toilets. But that meant one of those nasty portable toilets, where everything gathers and you’ll most likely get splashed by some of it if you use them for that purpose, so I wanted to avoid that if at all possible, plus that leaving the finishers’ area would have probably meant being unable to get back in and take anything. So I tried to give myself some time, just carefully walking around for a while, and the feeling eventually subsided once again, to some extent, and after taking three apples I even dared to eat a piece of orange and drink a large cup of water and two of the other drink, asking for a refill in case of the second, so I won’t waste yet another cup, and then I took two bottles of water and ate another piece of orange before walking out of that area.
I obviously feared that the problem would return each time I put something in, but when I saw that it didn’t, I felt more at ease and started to look for what else was being offered, noticing biscuits at the Mega Image area. But I wanted to wash my hands before taking some, so I initially moved along, going to retrieve my bag from the wardrobe… And having to wait a long time for it, since the volunteers were unable to find it, most probably just because of how that other guy had placed that sticker. The thing is that I knew where it had been placed and when I looked there I thought that I could see one with the sticker placed in that manner, and even that I could make out at least part of the number, so I was pretty sure that I had spotted it and wasn’t concerned… Until, after a long wait, I was given someone else’s bag, the number being one digit off, which I noticed after taking a couple of steps. So I returned it and they continued to look, and while I still thought that I could see mine and when I said that I hoped that it hadn’t been handed off to someone else as well I was assured that it hadn’t happened, it was taking a really long time and I had the new camera in there, so I was getting stressed out and started trying to work up the courage to ask to be allowed to have a look myself.
After they eventually found it, I took out the camera, went to that area that’s next to the final straight and saw that over half an hour had passed since I had finished, which made me push myself to just ask someone to take a picture almost right away. The guy was apparently foreign, since he replied in English, but I just repeated the question in English and he took a few pictures, and while I wasn’t exactly content with any of them I just moved on, and the one that I decided to keep will be the only one that I’ll keep from that day, since I don’t care about any of the official ones that can be found automatically.
I then washed my hands and went to take what was being offered to the finishers, starting with two croissants. I don’t want those, but I knew that dad would, so I went to that tent and, after being given two identical ones, I asked whether they had different kinds and the guy replaced one of those with one of the other kind. Then, at the next tent, I was offered a choice between some new high protein products, vanilla or cocoa pudding or plain yogurt, and I obviously picked yogurt, which I could also keep for later, which I did, while in case of the pudding they were just pouring into cups, so it had to be eaten there. Either way, there was a contest there as well and I hovered around there after taking the yogurt, showing that I was interested but without butting in and specifically asking to participate, and they just ignored me, so I eventually walked away. And, while those biscuits which I had spotted were the main reason why I had wanted to wash my hands before taking anything, I’m pretty sure that it was only after that when I walked past the other tents to get back to the Mega Image area and take and eat two of them. Then I returned to one of the tents that I had walked past, where they were offering sandwiches, taking one and then sitting down and eating it… And more clouds gathered and it suddenly felt cold as I sat there, so I put on the jacket and rearranged everything in the backpack before finally walking out of Constitution Square a couple of minutes before noon.
To move on to the last section, which I added Saturday afternoon, I’ll say that, even though I didn’t really need more for Kaufland’s campaign and therefore didn’t actually bother to look, I still grabbed two plastic bottles with the deposit symbol on my way out of Constitution Square and one more on the way to Carrefour Unirii, then I put everything in a cabinet when I got there, grabbed an expiring product and wandered around until the employee seemed to have finished placing more products in that area. But I wasn’t interested in anything else, so I then meant to just buy that product… Only to suddenly once again feel that I was just about to shit myself just when I was at the self-checkout. Since I was no longer running and that problem hadn’t returned after eating, drinking, sitting down or getting back up, I had assumed that I was safe and won’t really need to use a toilet for that purpose before getting back, so I hadn’t even taken that Smecta Go, but just after scanning that product, as I was about to pay, it came so suddenly and with such force that it really felt like I won’t be able to hold it in anymore, so I quickly asked for the transaction to be cleared, out loud but without even turning to the employee who was at the computer, and went back, taking the product with me and holding on to a freezer as I made every effort to hold it in, just barely managing to make it past that moment. But I knew that I had only bought myself a few more moments, so I struggled to make it to the upstairs exit, where it was very fortunate that I had just recently realized that the store actually has a toilet, hiding that product on a shelf on the way and dashing in, relieved to find the single stall unoccupied, a guard having just walked out.
Well, this next part will be quite gross, but I’ll write it anyway, because I don’t want to just say that I solved the problem and move along when I just barely managed to pull down the tights and underwear and let it rip before even being able to sit, so I ended up soiling the toilet seat and even the lid and could only hope that I had managed to hold the jacket and t-shirt out of the way of the spray. It was only after the worst of it was out that I managed to take off the jacket, initially hanging it on the door handle while I did my best to clean up the mess with toilet paper, finally sitting down after being satisfied that I had done a good enough job. After that, I noticed that there was something to hang clothes from, so I moved the jacket there and then kept trying to see whether any of the spray had reached any of my clothes, finding a tiny spot on the t-shirt that might or might not have been shit, but fortunately nothing else. So, after I was finally done, I tried to wash that spot a little, then thoroughly washed my hands, retrieved that product and bought it, adding it in the backpack after retrieving my things from the cabinet.
I then took the metro to Obor, and when I got out it was so windy that I was really thankful that the run had been in the morning. Not that the wind hadn’t been a problem then as well, but at that point I could barely walk against it as I made my way to Penny, where I put my things in a cabinet and just bought pizza dough. Then I retrieved my things and went to Kaufland, putting those three bottles in the recycling machine, then spotting two cans with the deposit symbol in the garbage bin that’s just before the store entrance and going back to put those in as well. More recyclables seemed to have appeared in that same bin by the time I walked past it again, moments later, but I just kept going, putting my things in a cabinet, washing my hands, and just buying toilet paper, since a 30% discount on toilet paper and paper towels was in effect that weekend and I could still find some of a kind that I can get, and which I knew should also have the additional 10% discount if the store card is used. So I took five packs, which was what I needed in order to use all of the vouchers received for the recyclables that I still had if both of those discounts applied properly, but I wanted to make sure, so at the self-checkout I initially entered four, adding the fifth after checking the total and confirming that the discount was, in fact, 40%.
After retrieving my things, I continued to Carrefour, needing to take the time to at least make everything fit into two small cabinets, since all of the large ones were locked and the toilet paper obviously took a lot of space. And it was for nothing anyway, since I didn’t get anything from there… And I initially just walked away, only realizing that I hadn’t retrieved my things as I was on my way to that mall’s exit, so I went back for them. And, I’d say as a result of that, I ended up just missing the metro, entering the station when it was there but being blocked on the stairs by the flood of people coming up, so I could only watch as the doors closed and it left, and the next one came over ten minutes later. Either way, I picked up a few more recyclables with the deposit symbol on the way to and from the metro station.
I got back at 3:50 PM, put what had to be refrigerated in the fridge, ate the recently expired walnuts with pepper that I had, getting some 850 calories from those, even did the day’s squats, changed, and left again at 6:30 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol, which I put on the cabinets while I quickly checked the nearest Penny, then retrieved on my way out. The problem was that it was the last day of that campaign, so I had to put them in the recycling machine from Kaufland and also use the voucher that evening, but there was quite a line when I got there and the employee was saying that the machine was going to shut down at 8 PM, along with the store, insisting on that when I corrected him to say that the store closed at 9 PM. And he also said that they were out of crates, especially for glass, so when the remaining space in the last one will fill up, that will be it for the day. That made me worry that I won’t be able to put in what I had and wondered whether I should try to rush to the other location. But that was too much of a risk, so I waited for my turn and was relieved that the machine didn’t stop as I rushed to put in what was accepted, quickly setting aside what wasn’t, and also one last plastic bottle which should have been accepted, and splitting so what I had found was on one voucher, which I needed to use that evening in order to make sure that I reached the maximum amount allowed during the campaign, if it will actually work without the app, and dad’s recyclables were on another, which I didn’t need to use just then.
After putting what I was left with in a cabinet and washing my hands, I entered the store and saw that the bread that I was interested in only had a 30% evening discount, and I scanned the label to confirm that, and that toilet paper was sold out at that location by then, so I couldn’t use those vouchers to get more of it either. But I got two packs of paper towels, a few peppers for dad, which had an evening discount, and some carrots, after spotting a price label that listed a 90% discount in a pile of discarded electronic labels, since the one that was placed there looked damaged and still listed the full price. And, after using a price checker to confirm that discount, I took that correct price label and placed it next to the damaged one, so others will know of the discount as well. Then I wandered around and wasted time, meaning to take a glove when I went back to the bakery area and ending up with two, so I put one on and stuffed the other in a pocket, but that bread’s discount hadn’t increased and I didn’t want anything else, so after eventually checking that bread’s price one more time I finally made my way to the self-checkout. Then I retrieved those leftover recyclables and arranged my things a little, and I think that I managed to walk out before the store closed, obviously at 9 PM. And, after discarding the glove which I had pointlessly used, I ended up coming back here with the other one still in my pocket.
I got back for good at 9:25 PM, put the new purchases in their place, went to the toilet, albeit leaving very little in there, and showered. After that, I wrote the placeholder for that week’s second post and then went to the kitchen, washed what was to wash, and made pizza. Until I was almost done, I thought that I might be able to take a first bite just before 3 AM, to be able to say that I started eating at a normal time, then take it to my room, but as it became obvious that it’ll be impossible I slowed down, did things properly, also moved something, and finally took the last pill of that supplement for joints and once again another pill as well, just in case, before eating, between 3:40 AM and 5:20 AM. I got in bed at 6:10 AM, after dad got back.