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A Series of Three Runs in Five Days with a Cold Before the Marathon
In the early hours of September 27, I went to the kitchen a little later than usual and there was a lot to wash after dad had cooked, and he had also left the cutting board close to the fire while cooking and a part of it got burned, though at least it was on the side that’s already more damaged and which I don’t use. On the other hand, I also forgot that I had placed some of the bread that I wanted to use before these runs within reach and took out most of my bread from the freezer and then put it back. So I ended up starting to eat dinner at 3:25 AM, putting peanut butter on all of the bread, and it was past 3:50 AM when I finished, after also editing the previous week’s second post in order to finally add the rest of it. And then I quickly wrote the placeholder for that night’s post, adding the rest of it before starting to get ready for bed, and it was 5:30 AM when I finally did get in bed.
I set the alarm to ring at 2:30 PM, but as that hour approached I kept waking up, and while I had set my mind on staying in bed and waiting for the alarm, when dad got back I checked the time and when I saw that it was 2:18 PM I turned off the alarm and got up. My nose was rather stuffy, my left ear was quite clogged, I was definitely starting to feel something in my chest as well, and there was a slight feeling of weakness in general, so things definitely didn’t look good, but the plan was to run and I had to. And, even if it was September 27 and I had even said, or more exactly written, that I wasn’t going to, I did shave after all. Otherwise, I had the usual stuff, which these days includes those supplements, and the sweet thing consisted of two nicer biscuits of a different kind, which actually weren’t expired, with added honey. I left at 5:20 PM, wearing the full running gear, with some things in the pocket of my tights. The reported temperature was 32-33°C at that point, and while I couldn’t check after finishing and didn’t even check the forecast for 7 PM before leaving, I looked at a couple of sites that also show previous values and saw that it should have been 28°C at that hour.
The time was 1:17:43, with sector times of 4:17, 5:00, 5:50, 4:26, 4:52, 5:51, 4:28, 5:02, 6:29, 4:29, 5:10, 5:57, 4:36, 5:17 and 5:59, making for lap times of 15:07, 15:09, 15:59, 15:36 and 15:52. This makes this the first time I covered 16 km in less than 1:18 since a year ago, when I began this same series of three runs in five days with one that was six seconds faster, and the actual running time was better this time around, since I lost over 30 seconds because of a shoelace. And it’s also the first time since May when I managed to stay under 16 minutes on each of the five laps. Not that such a time isn’t still poor after two weeks of taking all of the supplements and almost a month of taking the one for joints, as I’d have normally expected to be around 1:16, if the heat wouldn’t have allowed me to get near my personal best. But the cold made me not know what to expect, and at first I even wondered if I won’t even risk a new slowest time over this distance, in which case I considered trying to continue to a half marathon distance, even if it was going to get dark, if that won’t also risk resulting in a new slowest time. So I wasn’t sure what to think of this time… But I knew that I was going to pay for running, and pushing, with a cold.
I expected a poor first sector despite pushing a fair bit, yet when I saw the time I was quite pleased and kept pushing, to see what I was capable of, and I was perhaps even more pleased with the next two sectors and the lap as a whole. Then, after being rather pleased with sector one of lap two as well, I really sprinted on the long straight of sector two of lap two, which resulted in that great time on that sector… But I was thinking that I had done that unwisely early. However, after the times on sector three of lap two and the lap as a whole were nice as well, I wondered whether I could stay under 1:18 after all, the targets becoming 15:30 for lap three and 16 minutes for lap four, to allow for a little more on lap five if necessary, though I’d have liked to stay under 16 minutes on each lap. And the first two sectors of lap three meant that I had a pretty good chance to meet that lap’s target, assuming that I was still able to stay under six minutes on sector three… Only to lose all of that time because of that shoelace. So I then pushed hard, trying to limit the damage, and when I saw that the lap’s time was just under 16 minutes even under those circumstances, I told myself that I was going to move what had been the target for lap three to lap four, though over the course of sector one of lap four I decided that 15:45 might be enough to give me a chance. Either way, I kept pushing, and while the time on sector two of lap four was a little worse than I’d have hoped, the lap as a whole was right on the target for 1:18, so I could still afford to go a little over 16 minutes on lap five. But I didn’t want to, so I kept pushing, and while the first two sectors were just over the targets for a 16-minute lap, I managed to make up for it on sector three.
The biggest loss of time was obviously on sector three of lap three, when I noticed that my right shoelace was untied and I lost over 30 seconds, probably more like 35 seconds, to tie it again. And the one notable problem caused by people was on sector two of lap five, when a woman moved to the side that I was about to pass her on just when I was catching her, and while I don’t think that I actually stopped, I slowed a lot as I went around her on the grass. But otherwise, considering all of the damage and the fact that some areas were wet as well, the lane probably remained the main reason why I had to weave or go the long way around, and on sector two of lap three I was probably even helped a little by a faster runner, who likely made me push a little harder until the distance between us increased. As for physical issues, I was only on sector two of lap one when I felt that my nose and throat were getting irritated, though the feeling faded later, which seemed strange. On the other hand, I know that my right knee started giving some warnings on sector two of what I believe was lap two and I’m quite sure that it was at the start of a sector three when I began to feel something of a pressing need, and while by the time I finished I wasn’t certain whether that was on lap two or lap three, lap three seems more likely, since I don’t recall struggling with it for a long time and I remember that resting a little while retying that shoelace made both of those problems seem to go away until sector two of lap four, when multiple parts of both of my legs started giving warnings, the right knee started bothering me quite noticeably, and the pressing need also returned to some extent. But everything held until the end, and the heat didn’t bother me nearly as much as I feared either.
While the post was mostly already written, with the exception of the paragraph with the comments about the third run’s times, going out again today meant that I couldn’t go through it in the evening, and I didn’t want to throw it here without doing that first, and since I only managed to go through what’s above before leaving, it was initially basically another placeholder, scheduled to be posted at 11:59 PM and which I edited Tuesday evening only to add the parts about the rest of September 27 and the following day, mainly to show that I haven’t forgotten about this post. And I edited it again in order to add everything else in the early hours of Thursday, before going to bed.
I felt so weak after the run, and rather like I had a fever. But I wasn’t coming back right away, so I went to a bench and meant to write down the times and a few notes about the issues, but a Kaufland catalog for the next period was there and when I started looking through it I noticed a lot of ants, so I moved away, browsing the catalog while walking, then leaving it on the next bench that I sat on, where I did write down what I meant to. And then, on the way to Carrefour, I noticed a fair in the park, so I had a look, the prices being as insane as you’d expect at such events. And when I actually did make my way to Carrefour I picked up a rather crushed and dirty plastic bottle with the deposit symbol, trying to straighten it with little success, but the recycling machine somehow accepted it… Yet it didn’t accept another one of the same brand which had been left there by someone, so I washed my hands and entered the store with that one, getting one sweet pastry that was among the expiring products, one large Gala apple that I mean to eat before the marathon, the last bag of some salty pretzels that I found, and some more of those cheap bagels, using the voucher received for that recyclable when I paid, once again needing to use a regular checkout, checking that the receipt included a voucher with 20% of the value of those pretzels and bagels, according to the deal that applied those days, and arranging the purchases.
I put that bottle in the recycling machine from Kaufland, then put my things in a cabinet, washed my hands, and entered the store at 9:10 PM, if I remember correctly. The bakery discounts were of 50% and they didn’t increase, so I grabbed two buns and one of the sweet pastries which had been much cheaper during the previous period, so the price, with the same 50% discount, was 80% higher than a few days earlier, when I hadn’t noticed that large regular discount and had also just bought one. And, after spotting one that was already in a bag, so it had probably been returned there or left somewhere by someone else, I scanned the label of the regular bread, seeing that the discount was actually slightly more than 50%, so I also took that bread for dad, and then went to a self-checkout and checked the price of a bread that I was interested in and which had no label whatsoever. But that bread had no evening discount, so I didn’t take any. And there were no evening discounts for fruits and vegetables either, except for some black radishes that looked really bad, so I didn’t get any, but I did get one bundle of green onions, since at least they still had plenty that evening, and there was a regular discount those days. And, after grabbing another small yogurt, waiting for 9:45 PM, and seeing that no other discounts appeared or increased, I made my way to the self-checkout, needing to call an employee when the machine didn’t accept the green onions as the correct product, and using the voucher received for that recyclable when I paid. And, after retrieving what I had in the cabinet and arranging everything, I spotted another plastic bottle with the deposit symbol, so I walked out a couple of minutes before 10 PM and then put that in the recycling machine as well, keeping the voucher for another time. And on the way back I grabbed a can with the deposit symbol.
I can’t quite recall whether I got back at 10:25 PM or 10:30 PM, though the latter seems more likely. Either way, after eating some watermelon I cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, then put the purchases in their place and ate the sweet pastry from Carrefour, and by the time I washed all of the greasy things that were in the kitchen, I had gotten through another September 27… Not that I care to… Either way, I then also had lunch and took another pill, and it was 12:55 AM when I went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash. I was done a couple of minutes before 2 AM, then I sliced dad’s bread, took something else as well, and ate dinner between 3:30 AM and 4:15 AM, lighting the aromatherapy lamp again before starting to eat. My ears felt rather clogged after washing and the right one got worse after eating, when the right nostril suddenly got stuffy as well… And there were no visits recorded on September 27.
Well, sleeping was obviously a problem, as it always is after such an effort, even without the added complication of the cold, so I caught some brief naps until a little after 8 AM, eventually went to the bathroom around 8:15 AM, mainly to blow my nose, though I peed as well, just in case, then tossed and turned for a while longer before trying to blow and spit some more and getting back on the computer a little before 9:15 AM. But I did catch a little more sleep in the afternoon, and while Liza woke me after what was probably about one hour of sleep, if even that, by starting her “concert” after dad left for a while, and the symptoms were noticeably worse at that point, I eventually got back to sleep and things seemed better by the time I woke up again, at least as far as my nose and throat were concerned… But my energy levels weren’t good at all, and over the course of the day I was feeling that I wasn’t breathing properly.
Moving on to September 29, before eating dinner in that day’s early hours, once again with peanut butter on all of the bread, I put what I was going to take with me in the pocket of my tights, selected the apple that I was going to eat in the morning, made the tea and took another pill, and before going to bed I went to the toilet and took one more pill, all of those preparations being due to the fact that a bad storm was supposed to hit in the afternoon, so I set the alarm to ring at 10 AM, meaning that instead of catching up on some of that lost sleep, I added even more to the debt. And when I woke up a couple of minutes before 8 AM I once again had a runny nose and crap going down my throat and into my chest, so I went to blow and spit.
When the alarm rang and I got up, things seemed better once again, but when I went to blow and spit, there was a trace of blood as well, and it felt like something was bubbling around in the left side of my chest… And then I noticed that dad had taken some of the raisins in dark chocolate that I had selected to eat just before the marathon! I had noticed the previous evening that they seemed to have been moved, but I didn’t actually look inside the bag then, only doing so when I took the biscuits, at which point I saw that half of them were gone! So I was quite a mess… But I had to run, so I had the usual stuff, including the supplements, but the apple was a Gala one, and the sweet thing consisted of two of those nicer but expired biscuits, with added honey. And I did manage to leave some more in the toilet as well, and then I left at 12:10 PM, wearing the full running gear, with some things in the pocket of my tights. The reported temperature was about 21°C, holding steady or maybe increasing just marginally by the time I finished.
The time was 49:15.45, with sector times of 4:17.83, 5:13 (5:12.97), 6:05.18, 4:39 (4:38.91), 5:14 (5:13.78), 6:06.31, 4:37 (4:36.78), 5:16 (5:15.50), 5:55 (5:54.96) and 1:53.23, making for lap times of 15:35.98, 15:59.00 and 15:48 (15:47.24). Considering how I felt, I wondered if I could even stay under 50 minutes, yet the first sector was better than I thought it’d be, especially since I hadn’t pushed that hard on it… But then I felt myself getting slower, and the second sector’s time made it clear that my original assessment was correct and it was going to be hard to stay under 50 minutes, and after the end of the first lap I knew that I had to at least squeeze under 16 minutes on the second one if I was to have any chance. And I just barely managed that, recovering what I lost on the first sector on the next two, and I’m quite sure that I only did so thanks to another runner who became my target from sector two of lap two. But then I wondered whether I could stay under 16 minutes on lap three as well, and also get under 49:30, so I pushed harder, and even more so on sector three of lap three, with that other runner continuing to be my target until close to the end of the lap, when I overtook him, after having closed in over the course of that sector. And after the end of the lap I wondered whether I still had enough energy to squeeze under 49:15 as well, but I guess that I didn’t. So this was another bad time that was nevertheless less bad than I expected, under the circumstances…
On top of feeling tired from the beginning, my leg muscles hurt in a way that made it likely that the main cause was the way I stand when I blow and spit in the sink, but the bigger problem was that I was feeling like I wasn’t quite getting enough air, soon enough my chest started burning, and at least for the first half of the run I was occasionally getting lightheaded, so my lungs were obviously affected and I mainly felt something wrong with the right one. And towards the end of lap two I felt something different for a while, most likely heartburn. But over the course of lap three I was noticing that I was feeling better… Though on that lap I no longer noticed the wind either, and there had been some serious gusts on the first two laps, so I’m not sure whether it had actually died down, which may also explain feeling and breathing better to some extent, or I wasn’t noticing much of anything anymore. On the other hand, the lane was obviously still damaged in all sorts of ways, and there were even a couple of new spots that created a risk of tripping, and some areas were also wet, while on sector two of lap one, at the kayak dock, I hesitated when a roadblock formed ahead of me, though a guy stepped aside and let me through before I actually got there.
But I should say more about that runner that I mentioned above, who appeared ahead of me on sector two of lap two and initially seemed to just be another passing target, albeit a more relevant one, since he was only slightly slower and it took me a while to catch him. I don’t remember where I managed to pass him, whether it was on that same sector or the next, but I know that just a little later I almost stumbled when I stepped into a hole that was under the lane, and then I was more careful for a while, which allowed him to pass me again. And I also don’t know whether a pressing need made its presence known while I pushed to catch him the first time or when I tried to keep up after he passed me back, but it definitely appeared when he was just ahead of me and for a little while it seemed like it could become a problem, though it then lessened. Either way, being passed by me seemed to have also made him push harder and by the start of lap three I was wondering whether he’ll even still be in sight at the end of the lap, but then he stopped at the drinking fountain that’s just before the end of sector one and I passed him again… Only to immediately need to briefly stop when a little kid got in my way, and he passed me again after that. But I was pushing and he only managed to put a short distance between us over the course of sector two, and on sector three I pushed even harder, closed in and eventually passed him again before the end of the lap.
After the run, the plan was to go to Penny, and while just making a detour to the nearest one was the main idea, I had considered going to the one from Titan, which tends to be much better stocked, if the weather would still be all right, which it was. In fact, the storm still seemed far enough that for a moment I considered going to Carrefour first, and then to Penny Titan, but then I decided that I shouldn’t risk it and stuck to the original plan, even jogging to that Penny. And, while I considered turning around and going to the one from Titan after all when I saw that they were out of the pumpkins that were supposed to be on sale, when I checked and saw that at least they had what dad wanted, I decided to stay and get those things, and I’d have needed just a little more in order to get the total above 30 RON and be able to use the second voucher received from their coins campaign, so I added a bag of corn puffs of the kind that were also on sale, and which I actually prefer, as a small “reward”. And phones started giving the alert sound while I was in line, but there were no problems with that voucher and the weather was still fine for quite a while, the rain only starting some two hours later, and rain was in fact all we got in this part of the city. And I also had a very quick look in the nearby Mega Image, entering with everything, before getting back here.
When I got back, I asked dad what had gotten into him to take those raisins in dark chocolate, since they were clearly placed where I put what I keep specifically for running, and when had he done that, and he said that he had done it the previous night and admitted knowing that they were mine, but said that he just wanted something sweet, decided that he wanted those, not any of the other things from the fridge, and assumed that it’ll all be fine if he’ll get me another bag right away despite only eating a few, and while I ran he had actually gone out and bought two bags, at full price, which had actually just increased a fair bit.
Well, it was definitely not all right! I’ve been eating raisins in dark chocolate before the important runs all these years and they’re the one thing that I can carefully select, so I just “have” to pick the bag carefully, which I obviously didn’t do for those he bought, and then I look through them after I open the bag and select those that I somehow like more and save them for a major run, so I’ll use the rest while practicing and leave the “best” ones to eat before said major run, and with no more long runs left before the marathon, I couldn’t “properly” go through that selection process again even if would open a new bag. And I just “have” to eat some from that specific bag before practice runs, to “know” that they’re fine, and in case of the marathon in particular, it’s basically a given that those eaten before the long practice run and the marathon “must” be from the same bag, which was no longer possible because dad just randomly felt like eating a few without even asking! And when he said that he didn’t think that I’d be that set on such things and I asked if he didn’t find himself set on doing something in a certain way, especially before a major event, he admitted that he did, but again said that it’s not that specific. And then he once again said that after a certain age one needs to be told things more often, but when I reminded him that he had even admitted knowing that they were mine, and also how I had reacted when I was in the kitchen at one point and saw him poking through those things that I keep specifically for running, he said that if I get angry it all goes right past him, he never pays any attention to anything anyone tells him in anger. So, once again, he does whatever the fuck he pleases and I have to deal with it, and it’s my fault, one way or another!
Either way, after the argument I ate a banana and a sweet pastry, then had to rush to the toilet before washing, and after that I ate dinner and wrote the week’s second post, which I ended and posted as it was when dad wanted to get on-line again, even though I’d have wanted to add a little more. And at least I did get some sleep in the evening, after once again taking something, and after getting up I even did the day’s squats. On the other hand, while my nose seemed better, maybe even close to normal, considering the weather and the time of year, there was quite clearly something in my chest. And before going to bed I took one more pill. But another problem was that something started hurting in the left side of my abdomen while eating dinner, and while I definitely had gas and that might have been the reason, the fact that I continued to feel a little pain in that spot the following day was definitely concerning… But what was more of a concern was that something continued to feel wrong in my chest, possibly even more than before. Yet the other symptoms just about went away, so I just took one thing at night instead of two, and then I once again put peanut butter on all of the bread.
For the last run in the series, the alarm was set to ring at 2:30 PM, but I woke up when dad left, a little before 2:15 PM, and initially thought that what I heard was when he unlocked the door, so after a moment I went out of my room to ask him something, and when I saw that he had already left I initially got back in bed… But I quickly realized that it was pointless, so I turned off the alarm and got up, though I took it easy and it was past 2:30 PM when I got out of my room again. And I still felt something in the left side of my abdomen, albeit in a lower spot than before, and what I felt when I pressed around that area seemed more like fluid than gas. But I had to run, and after eating another Gala apple I opened one of those bags of raisins in dark chocolate bought by dad, selected them to some extent and put some of the “worse” ones in the yogurt, before adding the cereals and the baked almonds with Himalayan salt, and I didn’t have another sweet thing after that. And I left at 5:15 PM, wearing the full running gear. The reported temperature was 20-21°C, and 17-18°C when I finished.
The time was 1:16:47, with sector times of 4:21, 5:07, 5:54, 4:26, 4:58, 5:51, 4:28, 5:01, 5:58, 4:28, 5:05, 5:53, 4:30, 5:02 and 5:45, making for lap times of 15:22, 15:15, 15:27, 15:26 and 15:17. After the previous run, I had very low expectations, thinking that I might hope to stay under 1:22, or maybe 1:21 at best, but having target times that added up to 1:24 as well, if necessary. Yet the first sector’s time was better than expected, especially since I couldn’t quite decide how much I wanted to push from the beginning, and when the next two sectors and the lap as a whole were quite good as well, I started wondering whether I could manage a better time after all, deciding to go for it and push as long as I’ll be able to, and I once again sprinted on the long straight of sector two of lap two, which resulted in a very good time on that sector. The question was how much had that exhausted me, but when sector three of lap two was faster than that of lap one, and the lap was also faster than the first one, it seemed like I would at least stay under 1:20. And over the course of lap three I started thinking about getting under 1:18, if I could stay under that 15:36 that’s the target lap time for that on that lap as well. And I did, so at the start of lap four I calculated that I needed to gain three more seconds over just staying under 16 minutes on the last two laps, yet when I saw, at the start of lap five, that just staying under 16 minutes would get me under 1:17:30 but that I had stayed under 15:30 on all of the previous laps, I wondered about squeezing under 1:17 as well, and after the first sector it seemed that I might just have a chance, so I really pushed, and even more so on the last sector, which ended up being the fastest sector three of the day. And this was finally a time that I could work with.
My right knee started giving warnings again after that sprint on the long straight of sector two of lap two, I felt them clearly right from the start of the following sector, and on the last two laps they got worse, probably at least occasionally going past the level of mere warnings. But that was pretty much the only physical issue that I noticed during the run, the most notable difference compared to two days earlier being my breathing, which wasn’t a problem anymore, as the times obviously show. On the other hand, that toenail did jab that toe again, but I only really noticed when I got back and saw the blood, only briefly thinking that something might be happening during the run, without being bothered by it in any way. And, with the exception of the damaged and wet areas of the lane, there weren’t more than a few other problems either, the one somewhat scary moment being at the start of lap four and also having to do with the lane, since I slipped on mud and some of it was left on my shoe, which also made the next few steps a little tricky. And later on that same sector I slowed in order to squeeze through a roadblock, but the only other somewhat notable problem caused by people was on sector three of either lap two or lap three, I couldn’t quite remember even at the end of the run, when I hesitated a little, but more to make a point than because I was actually startled, since a woman was about to get in my way because a little kid, probably hers, ran past me and she suddenly decided to go after it.
After getting back, I ate watermelon and a sweet pastry, changed, though I left the running t-shirt on, and left again at 8:20 PM, taking the paper, which I dropped off in a recycling bin on the way, and the recyclables with the deposit symbol, including one which hadn’t been accepted before, and I picked up one more on the way to Auchan and two more which were left in front of the recycling machine from there, which I used before entering the store with that bottle, which wasn’t accepted there either. I was mainly going there to get water for dad, and I had seen on the site that their anniversary sales were supposed to start the next day, so I didn’t initially mean to look for anything else, except perhaps a bag of corn puffs with powdered milk, as a small “reward”, but when I entered I saw that at least some of those sales had already started, and I quickly noticed that they included something else that dad wanted, so even though I had to hurry I did look around a little, though I didn’t get anything except a pack of water, a bag of those corn puffs and just one of those other things, using both the voucher received for the recyclables and the small amount that was on the store card at the self-checkout. And I initially tried to walk away with the purchases in a bag, hoping to save a little time, but that water was too heavy to hold in one hand, so after crossing the road I stopped on a bench and put everything in the large backpack.
When I got to Kaufland I once again saw that the large cabinets didn’t lock, but I could squeeze everything into one of the small ones, even if that meant taking the corn puffs and that other thing out of the backpack first. Then, after meaning to save a few seconds by using the toilets for disabled people but finding that there was no soap, I did go to the men’s room and washed my hands and face, since on the way to Auchan I had caught another spiderweb, and it was just after 9:45 PM when I entered the store, rushing to the bakery area and initially just grabbing two buns, since the price labels that were placed listed discounts of 50%… But then I saw the sheets of paper that listed discounts of 75% and took some more buns, including some that I meant to use instead of bread, and one of those breads with walnuts, initially thinking that someone else had taken the ones that I had seen and taking one that looked similar but was probably something else, then putting it back and grabbing one of those when I realized that I had been looking in the wrong place and spotted them again. But I scanned the label for a sweet pastry that didn’t have any evening discount listed and confirmed that it wasn’t discounted. And there were no evening discounts for fruits and vegetables either, but I did take some deeply discounted mushrooms that were among the spoiling products, then jogged to grab a small yogurt for myself and a bucket of “Greek” yogurt for my mother, since it had already been announced that the store had closed. And at the self-checkout I used the voucher which I had been left with after putting that last recyclable in the machine four days earlier, then took my time to arrange everything, walking away when it was past 10:10 PM and trying to put that bottle in the recycling machine from there as well. But it still wasn’t accepted, so I came back with it, and with one more which I picked up on the way.
I got back just after 10:45 PM, with 18 kg, and I only weighed 45 kg. Then I cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, left the bread and the buns on the table but put the other purchases in their place, ate lunch, with an entire large bag of corn puffs instead of bread, even did the day’s squats, took another pill, and it was almost 12:55 AM when I went to the bathroom, mostly wasting time on the toilet before washing. I was done just before 1:50 AM, but then I also gathered my clothes from the balcony and did a few more things, and when I put what I meant to cook the following evening to soak, I saw weevils in that bag as well, albeit far fewer and having done less damage, so they were probably the ones that had found that other source of food, which likely means that they’re in pretty much everything, since that was on the other side of the kitchen from the popcorn. Either way, I also dealt with the bread and those buns, having some of that bread at dinner, which I ate between 4:05 AM and 4:40 AM, with the last several minutes spent gathering what was stuck on the plate. I got in bed at 5:45 AM.