[ View menu ]

The Last Two Runs of 2024 and the First Two of 2025

In the early hours of December 19, I started eating dinner at 3:10 AM, but still finished at 3:40 AM. Then, after getting up after the alarm rang, at 1 PM, I had the usual stuff, with the yogurt being an expired bio (organic) “Greek” one with 8% protein and 2% fat, while the sweet thing once again consisted of two of those nicer biscuits, with added honey. Since the reported temperature was 12°C and it held basically steady, I just wore the full running gear and an undershirt, leaving at 3:10 PM.
The time was 47:12.26, with sector times of 4:16.60, 5:05 (5:04.41), 5:51.47, 4:30.00, 5:01.12, 5:40.00, 4:23 (4:22.94), 4:55.44, 5:42 (5:41.18) and 1:49.10, making for lap times of 15:12.48, 15:11.12 and 15:00 (14:59.56). Since it felt like my right shoelace was coming loose and I looked at it multiple times on the first sector’s long straight, I feared a poor time on that sector, so I was quite pleased with what I saw at the end of it, but after two sectors I had doubts about staying under 48 minutes, and those doubts remained at the end of the lap. And then I actually stopped for a few seconds because of that shoelace on the long straight of sector one of lap two, but I pushed hard after that, so that sector’s time was probably pretty much the same as it’d have been if I’d have continued running normally. But after sector two of lap two I was quite worried, even if that sector’s time was good in itself, so from sector three of lap two I pushed really hard, being pleased with that sector’s time, as well as with the lap’s time. And after sector one of lap three I thought of squeezing under 47:30 and kept pushing in order to manage that, doubting that I’ll be safe at the end of the lap but finding at that point that I actually had a chance to get under 47:15 as well, which I also managed.
While I obviously still had to weave or go the long way around at times, I wouldn’t say that the people caused any notable problems, and I even used the lane more than I’d normally tend to, despite all of the damage. And there were no particular physical issues either, while the fact that it was sunny meant that I could also see the time well enough. So the only notable loss of time was what I already mentioned, when I probably slowed down a little while I kept looking at that shoelace on the long straight of sector one of lap one and then actually stopped for a few seconds in the same area of lap two, hoping to cut my losses by tightening it then and preventing it from actually getting untied later.

I picked up a few cans with the deposit symbol on the way back, then vacuumed in the kitchen, weighed myself and found that I had less than 45 kg, did a load of laundry and the day’s squats, ate lunch, changed, albeit leaving the running t-shirt and the undershirt on, went to pay the maintenance bill, and after dropping off the receipt I left again at 8:25 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol, and on the way to Penny I picked up two more, one of them being a pretty crushed can that I couldn’t do much about. But the recycling machine from Penny was sluggish, and when it took the first recyclable it just ate it, so I entered with the others, got what I wanted to get for dad and mentioned the issue to the guard after paying, and he seemed aware of it, but didn’t offer a coin for that eaten recyclable or anything, and only after I repeated that there should be a note about it did he use the radio… Not that I’m sure that it was for that, not hearing what he actually said, but when I walked out I saw some people in front of the machine, talking to the other guard. Either way, that meant adding that amount to what I had to recover from Penny at that point.
The next destination was Carrefour, but I first put in the remaining recyclables in the machine from Kaufland, even that crushed can being accepted without problems, and checked to make sure that it closed at 11 PM in that location as well. Then I entered Carrefour with the purchases from Penny and got some garlic and a bag of supposedly spoiling Florina apples, though they looked good, without charging myself for the bag when I used the self-checkout. And I was just paying when the closing announcement came, but I then took my time to arrange the purchases in the backpack, and also grabbed another recyclable with the deposit symbol, before walking out of that mall.
After putting that recyclable in the machine from Kaufland as well, I went to that Mega Image, entering with the purchases and seeing the employee placing the 90% discount labels, with a few other people around the cart, and when I meant to pick up one product one of them told me to wait until the employee was done, and that she was going to grab that one anyway. And when another product that I’d have been interested in showed up, someone else claimed it, so after the employee was done and asked us to wait until she also took a picture of all of those products, I just grabbed two bio (organic) yogurts.
When I finally reached Kaufland, I first added those two yogurts in the backpack, then washed my hands and entered the store, with everything, just before 10:30 PM, grabbing two bakery products that were discounted by 75% and scanning two other labels, which just confirmed that the regular bread had no discount and something else only had 50%. Then I looked around a little, grabbing an expiring product and considering getting some spoiling mushrooms, but eventually deciding against it, though there was an odd moment while I was looking at them, an employee calling out to me that the store had closed, so I called back that there were 15 minutes left and she muttered something about lying to the other one, but I’m not entirely certain what she said. Either way, I then went to the self-checkout, using the voucher for the single recyclable when I paid and then cashing in the other one, after which I took my time to arrange the purchases again before walking out just at 11 PM.
I got back at 11:25 PM, ate a banana and another piece of the cake, which I had taken out of the freezer before leaving again in the evening, put most of the purchases in their place, cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, and went to wash at 12:30 AM. I was done just after 1:15 AM, then I washed what was in the sink and cleaned a little after dad in the kitchen, put the remaining purchases in the fridge, rearranging the fruits in order to make them fit, and ate dinner between 3:25 AM and 4:05 AM.

Before moving on to December 23, when I ran again, I’ll also mention that I had noticed quite some time before that the apartment was full of fleas, or more exactly I had finally realized that what I had been seeing for a long time were fleas. That was also the reason why I had vacuumed in the kitchen after the previous run, and I had previously used some regular bug spray in my bedroom, while on December 22 I did so again, around the bed… Not that it seemed to do much good.
Either way, in the early hours of December 23 I put peanut butter on most of the bread, finally finishing the opened jar, which had expired in September, and on the last slices I put some jam. Then I got up when the alarm rang, at 1 PM, and had the usual stuff, the yogurt being an expired bio (organic) one with 5.5% protein and 4.5% fat, and the sweet thing consisted of a large doughnut, with added honey. I left at 3:30 PM, wearing the full running gear and the thinner old training shirt, despite the shape it’s in, plus that thing on my neck and the gloves, and the jacket on the way, tied around my waist as I ran. The reported temperature was 3°C, dropping to 1-2°C by the time I finished.
The time was 48:05.66, with sector times of 4:18.85, 5:12 (5:11.35), 6:02 (6:01.93), 4:30.35, 5:11 (5:10.72), 5:49.28, 4:24.47, 5:04 (5:03.46), 5:44 (5:43.69) and 1:51.56, making for lap times of 15:32.13, 15:30.35 and 15:12 (15:11.62). I was feeling myself tiring even before the end of the first sector, so I wasn’t surprised by that time, even if I’d have obviously liked a better one. And after the second sector I was quite sure that I was looking at just staying under 49 minutes, and at the end of the first lap I was wondering even about that. So I tried to do a little better on lap two, and on sector three I actually pushed, being pleased by that sector’s time. And then, since after the end of lap two I started wondering about squeezing under 48:30, I kept pushing, and after sector two of lap three I thought that I was almost safe. But then, in part thanks to having a faster runner as a target, sector three of lap three was the fastest sector three of the day, and the lap was the day’s best as well, so at the end of it I was thinking that I’ll also squeeze under 48:10, which I did by a safe margin. But I was still on the wrong side of 48 minutes, and briefly stopping on sector two of lap three doesn’t account for that difference. It’s probably enough if you add the other moments when I lost a little bit of time, but that’s no excuse, so this remains a poor time.
Early on, I was thinking that the lack of energy that I was feeling was in part caused by that doughnut, being greasy, but the temperature was also a problem, as was the fact that fog was falling more and more as time passed. My fingers were frozen stiff by the end of lap one, so pulling the glove off to press the button, looking at the time and then putting it back on might have cost me a little more time than usual, and starting on the long straight of sector two of lap two I was noticing that the fact that my toes were also freezing, those from my right foot seeming to do worse, had some negative effect as well, though I might have corrected that on lap three. And a slight pressing need and also the feeling that I had to snap my back appeared at one point, I believe on sector three of lap two, but both faded after that. Otherwise, as I already mentioned, I briefly stopped on sector two of lap three, in order to see the time better, but on the other hand being passed by another runner, who then gradually pulled ahead despite being bundled up in a thick jacket, made me push even harder on sector three of lap three. And a surprising thing was that the lane wasn’t soggy, even though it had rained over the past couple of days… But it was still badly damaged, of course.

I picked up a recyclable with the deposit symbol on the way back, washing it a little when I got here, after doing the day’s squats. And then I counted and sorted 90 RON in coins for Penny’s campaign, since dad had told me to also take most of the pile he had gathered, so that took a while and then I just ate some grapes and a pastry that was supposed to be sweet but didn’t taste like much of anything, except perhaps butter, changed, leaving the running t-shirt and the training shirt on, and left a little after 8:10 PM, taking all those coins and the recyclables with the deposit symbol, picking up one more on the way to Penny Titan and putting them in the machine from there before telling an employee that I was there for the coins campaign… Only for her to let someone know through the headset and then say that she had been told to tell me to come back the next day because nobody was available to deal with that at that point… And I wasn’t going to go back there the next day, so I told her that and muttered a little about having brought so much for nothing before having a look in the store and just getting some expiring roes, using the voucher received for the recyclables when I paid.
After adding the roes in the backpack, I considered continuing to the next Penny and trying to hand over the coins there as well, but I decided against it and turned back, grabbing a few more recyclables with the deposit symbol as I approached Carrefour and trying to put them in the machine from there… Only for it to display the message that no bins were available, and a man who was also there at the time said that the guy who was supposed to work there had already left. However, plenty of recyclables with the deposit symbol had been left in the bins, so I grabbed those too, then put my things in a cabinet, finding a 0.50 RON coin which had been left there, and then retrieving everything after checking the store, without buying anything. However, going there turned out to be quite profitable, seeing as I grabbed yet more recyclables from that mall, and a few more on the way to Kaufland, the bag getting so full that after a while I didn’t really look for more. And, with the exception of three cans which weren’t accepted, and which I kept, I put those, along with a couple more which I picked up from there, in the recycling machine from Kaufland, even those which had been crushed and which I wasn’t sure that I had straightened well enough on the way being accepted.
After putting my things in a cabinet and washing my hands, I entered the store just after 10:15 PM, initially seeing labels listing discounts of 50% at the bakery area, but then noticing the sheets of paper with the discounts of 75%, which had just been left there. So I took one and scanned one QR code from it in order to confirm that the listed price was the correct one, then grabbed three buns and two sweet pastries, plus six regular breads for dad, a problem being that I didn’t find any bread or anything that I could use instead of bread for myself. Either way, after having a look at the expiring products and grabbing something for dad and some more roes for myself, the price being the same as for those from Penny but the expiration date being a few days later, I made use of the great evening discounts for some vegetables. I wanted to get plums as well, but since several crates of them were still left when I got back to that area, I left them last, only getting back to them a few minutes before closing… And finding that area empty. The crates were stacked nearby, but when I started picking from them, the employee who was adding other crates to that stack told me to stop, saying that they had been discounted for over an hour and he was taking them to the back, so I just kept the few which I had managed to grab and made my way to the self-checkout, the closing announcement coming while I was still waiting in line.
After my turn finally came, the machine didn’t accept dad’s expiring product as the correct one, and a single employee was working that area, so it took a while for her to get to me and override that error. On the other hand, I found that the discount for dad’s bread had increased to 80%. But then I ended up waiting even longer before I was able to also cash in the voucher received for the recyclables, because pretty much as soon as I paid and grabbed my change, another employee brought a young couple to that machine, moved my products aside as I was trying to pick them back up, and let them use the machine, so I had to wait until they were done, stepping in before the employee who wanted to use the machine after them. He made a comment at that point, but I had been there first, so I didn’t even look at him. And then I retrieved my things and arranged everything in the backpack, walking away when it was past 11:15 PM.
It was almost 11:45 PM when I got back, then I put most of the purchases in their place, and it was 12:55 AM when I went to wash, noticing something that looked worryingly like the beginning of a yeast infection when I pulled back my foreskin, though I later realized that I had been slacking on washing that area every day and the problem went away after I started doing so again. But, to return to that night, after washing I wasted quite a few minutes to try to put something in its place, so it was almost 1:50 AM when I was out of the bathroom. And then I also cut my toenails, only finally getting back in the kitchen when it was past 2:10 AM. And I still had the remaining purchases to put in their place, which also meant arranging the vegetables, and some things to wash, and I also cleaned a little and moved most of the roes from Penny into a jar, so I ate lunch, on and off, between 3 AM and 3:40 AM and dinner between 4:20 AM and 5:05 AM. And I got in bed at 6:15 AM.

I’ll also mention here that in the evening of December 24 I started Milo and the Christmas Gift, just poking around for a few moments, but the game skipped the intro when I started it again, so I guess it counts. And there were no visits that day. And then, on December 25, I surprisingly won a giveaway on the GOG.com forums despite having a single entry and two others having six each, making me feel the need to apologize for that luck. But, with the prize being a free choice and seeing as I don’t want to be the reason why games that have regional price hikes are purchased, my options were very limited and I picked Balrum, which I then installed just to check that it started up. And later I actually played Milo and the Christmas Gift, in one sitting, also writing a quick review for it that night. And on December 26 I finished The Lost Metal, though I only wrote the quick review two days later, before starting Henry Halifax and the Tutori’s Cloak, which I finished two more days later, once again postponing writing the quick review, albeit for just one day in that case. And after posting that quick review I also finished the tutorial campaign in Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom. And I’ll also mention here that there were no visits recorded on December 31, and then I yet again ended up taking too long and got in bed at 5:20 AM. And on January 1 I also started Chains of Satinav.

To move on to the next run, in the early hours of January 2 I ate dinner between 3:20 AM and 3:50 AM. Then I got up when the alarm rang, at 1 PM, and had the usual stuff, though in case of the cereals I added some oats on top of what was mostly cereal dust left at the bottom of the bag of whole grains, while the sweet thing consisted of a slice of cozonac, with added honey. On the other hand, it took a long time to only leave a little in the toilet. But I had to run, so I left at 3:30 PM, wearing the full running gear, with some things in the pocket of my tights, plus that thing on my neck, and the jacket on the way, tied around my waist as I ran. The reported temperature was 11-12°C, dropping by what was most probably a couple of degrees by the time I finished, though I couldn’t actually check at that point.
The time was 49:49.70, with sector times of 4:31, 5:24, 6:11, 4:48, 5:21, 5:59, 4:40, 5:16, 5:45 and 1:54.00, making for lap times of 16:06, 16:08 and 15:41. I realized from the beginning that there was no point in looking at the exact times, so I didn’t, though sector three of lap three would have deserved it. But it was clear that even staying under 50 minutes was going to be difficult, after sector two of lap one it seemed next to impossible, and after the first lap I was wondering whether I’ll even squeeze under 51 minutes. That passable sector three of lap two, when I took advantage of the clearer lane to push more, changed things a little, the target becoming to stay under 50:30, and after sector one of lap three the thought of perhaps having the slimmest chance of staying under 50 minutes after all crossed my mind again, even though at that point it seemed purely theoretical. But after the following sector I realized that I might just have that chance, if sector three of lap three will also be clearer, and it was, so I really gave everything, being really surprised by the time. Not that merely being safely under 50 minutes wouldn’t be bad, but I was ready to accept it under those conditions… Though when I checked and found that the only worse times since the hospitalization were obtained under special circumstances, not conditions, I felt worse.
The main problem was that it was awfully crowded, one potentially dangerous moment being on what I believe was sector three of lap one, though there is some chance that it was on sector two of lap one, when I was weaving a path through the crowd when a cyclist who was coming from the opposite direction was doing the same and we barely managed to stop in time to avoid crashing into each other. But otherwise I kept having to find ways through, squeeze, go on the grass, slow or even briefly stop, the only exceptions being those that are obvious from the times, sector three of lap two, where I only had to deal with a couple of roadblocks, and sector three of lap three, where the lane was pretty much clear. The rest of the path was crowded on those sectors as well, but most people stayed off the running lane, so I had to use it way more than I normally would, but I could run. And I used the lane way more than I normally would throughout the run, to at least be able to claim some right of way, not that it did much good. So, compared to all of that, the fact that it was somewhat windy as well didn’t make much of a difference… But having fallen in Kaufland several days earlier did, and as I started running I realized that the pain that I thought was from my backbone was most probably from a muscle that I had done something to at that point, and at first it was quite a problem. It lessened after a while, but it still prevented me from sprinting to take advantage of any clearer areas, though it’s possible that the good time from sector three of lap three was also thanks to the fact that by then I had warmed up enough to not really feel it anymore.

After the run I went to Kaufland, since it closed at 6 PM that day, though I also had a quick look in the Mega Image that’s next to the farmers’ market on the way. And I picked up a recyclable with the deposit symbol, so I put it in the machine from Kaufland, then washed my hands and entered the store a little after 5:10 PM, once again finding few products left in the bakery area and a woman who was just about to reach for the nicer buns, but that time around I was there just in time and reached over to grab two of those, even if they were still quite expensive, only being discounted by 51%. And I also saw one last bun of a cheaper kind, which was smaller and worse than those cheap ones that I tend to get and almost as much as their full price at half price, but I took it anyway, since I was going to use the three buns instead of bread for two days. On the other hand, there were no evening discounts for fruits or vegetables, but I eventually grabbed a few apples of a kind I hadn’t tried before that were among the spoiling products, even if they were expensive even with the discount. And then, after looking around a little longer, I took my place in the long line for the self-checkouts, using the voucher received for that recyclable when my turn came and then arranging the purchases.
I then jogged to another Mega Image, putting my things in cabinet, without locking it, and getting one of those apple pastries, two breads for dad and one more thing for myself, all of these products being at half price. And, after retrieving what I had in the cabinet and arranging everything properly, I wondered which other Mega Image to check next, since those closed at 7 PM that day, and while I initially walked, meaning to go to that one that’s next to Tei, after a little while I decided to come straight back, once again jogging, since I wanted to make sure that I had time to at least check the nearby one without being rushed out in case I’ll somehow find something else to buy. But I didn’t, so I just put my things in a cabinet that didn’t lock and then retrieved them again.
There was nothing new in the litter box, but dad had forgotten the bag which I had left in the morning, so after getting back I went to drop it down the chute. Then I put the purchases in their place, ate one of those apples from Kaufland and the apple pastry, did the day’s squats, took a bath, ate lunch, with some expired salty pretzels instead of bread, and easily stuck to the dinner schedule at night. And I’ll also mention here that no visits were recorded on January 3.

I didn’t have green onions for the salad made in the early hours of January 9, so I used a red one. Then, after getting up when the alarm rang, at 1 PM, I had the usual stuff, though I didn’t open a new bag of whole grains, so I just put regular oats in the yogurt, which was a smaller but nicer one, “creamy” and with 4.6% protein and 5% fat, while the sweet thing once again consisted of a slice of cozonac, with added honey. On the other hand, I just wasted time on the toilet, despite feeling that I had something to leave there. Either way, I left at 3:30 PM, wearing the full running gear. The reported temperature was 16-17°C, only dropping by about 1°C by the time I finished.
The time was 48:23.01, with sector times of 4:19.01, 5:08.69, 5:58 (5:57.81), 4:34 (4:33.68), 5:07.70, 5:54.06, 4:30 (4:29.59), 5:05 (5:04.81), 5:53.00 and 1:55 (1:54.66), making for lap times of 15:25.51, 15:35.44 and 15:28 (15:27.40). I was hoping to get back under 48 minutes, but that muscle, if that’s what it was, made it unlikely, and after the first two sectors I wondered whether I’ll even complete the first lap in less than the 15:20 that’s the target lap time for 48 minutes… And I didn’t, which made me think that even staying under 49 minutes won’t be easy, the first sector of lap two making that even clearer. However, after the end of the lap I wondered whether I could squeeze under 48:30, even if that required no worse than the exact same time on lap three as on lap two. So I pushed from the start of lap three, to at least know that I did my best, thinking that I was going to have that chance after two sectors and already being safe at the end of the lap. But that’s still a poor time, and while that muscle offers something of an excuse, I should have still done better.
As I already mentioned, what I guess was that muscle which I hurt after falling in Kaufland was still hurting, being a problem from the start, and while the pain gradually lessened, it shot through that area when I put my left foot sideways on the long straight of sector one of lap two, to avoid stepping on a damaged spot of the lane, once again being worse for some time before lessening again… Until it shot through that area once more right at the end of sector two of lap three, when I wasn’t aware of having done anything which might have caused it. It wasn’t as bad as the first time, but then my left hip was giving warnings, so I tried to be careful on sector three of lap three. And there was pain in my abdomen as well, along with the need to snap my back, at least since sector three of lap one, only lessening on lap three and never actually going away. Otherwise, the lane continued to be damaged in all sorts of ways and a number of areas were also wet, what struck me as strange being that a couple of sizable areas of the path around the lake were wet as well. But at least the people weren’t much of a problem, still requiring me to weave and go the long way around plenty of times but only causing one notable problem, on sector one of lap one, when I slowed and hesitated because a kid on a bicycle moved to pass someone on the inside just as I was catching him and almost moved right in front of me. I also had to take to the grass right at the end of lap three, slowing while doing so, but since I cut that turn in the process, it probably didn’t make a difference in terms of time.

On the way back, I had a quick look in the nearby Mega Image, leaving the recyclable with the deposit symbol which I had picked up by then outside and then retrieving it. Then I ate lunch, did the day’s squats, changed, albeit leaving the running t-shirt on, and left again at 8:10 PM, with the plastic and metal, which I dropped off in a recycling bin on the way, and a few more recyclables with the deposit symbol, which I put in the machine from Kaufland. Then I washed my hands, and it was a little after 8:40 PM when I entered the store, seeing that bakery discounts of 50% had already been made and some of those nicer cheap buns were left, so I took three of them. Then I asked another employee who seemed to be getting some things for herself and then started talking to another customer whether she could tell me what a kind of bread was, but she said that she couldn’t, so I waited until I could more easily get the attention of the one from that area and asked her, which made her come out, find the proper label for that product and place it there. But that label didn’t list any discount, and I didn’t see anything else to get, so I then had a look at the fruits and vegetables, not seeing good evening discounts but eventually getting some bananas, which got an evening discount after 9 PM, even if it wasn’t that good. Otherwise, I also got some salt and some expiring beer for dad, and when I got back to the bakery area I scanned a couple of labels, but there were no new or increased discounts, so I eventually made my way to the self-checkout, accidentally entering four buns at first and needing to call the employee to remove one. Then, after needing to call him again to authorize the sale of beer, I also used the voucher received for the recyclables, and the closing announcement came while I was arranging the purchases.
I walked out at 10:05 PM and initially just meant to check the non-stop Mega Image on the way back, but I had dad’s metro card and when I got to the metro station I decided to take the metro to Carrefour Unirii, putting my things in a cabinet when I got there. Then, even if I hadn’t washed my hands again and they aren’t as wasteful as those from Obor in that location, so they don’t bag the bakery products when they make the discounts, I took a sweet pastry with the 50% evening discount, plus an expiring bread and some expiring bean spread for dad. Then I retrieved my things, added the pastry and the spread in the backpack and walked away with the bread in my hand, grabbing a recyclable with the deposit symbol on the way back to the metro station. And, since I wouldn’t have been able to switch at Dristor anyway, since it was past 11 PM, I got off there and checked that non-stop Mega Image as well, putting my things in a cabinet and then just retrieving them.
I got back at 11:55 PM, then I went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, put the purchases in their place, ate a banana and a cake which had been brought by dad some days before, washed what was in the kitchen, and it was 1:15 AM when I went to wash myself, being done at 1:55 AM. The problem was that my other training suit had only been washed the previous night and it had been on the rack for just under 24 hours at that point, so it was far from dry, but I put it on anyway, then I sliced dad’s bread, and I ate dinner between 3:45 AM and 4:40 AM, with the last several minutes spent getting what was stuck on the plate. And, while they were much better than the training suit, my pajamas weren’t quite dry either, the shirt being more or less fine but the pants a fair bit less so, yet before getting in bed I put those on as they were as well.

0 Comments

No comments

RSS feed Comments | TrackBack URI

Write Comment

Note: Any comments that are not in English will be immediately deleted.

XHTML: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>