Cav's Place

Ever more ridiculously, the second part of the post about last year’s marathon remains far from complete, though some two weeks ago I at least managed to add something to it. But this week’s run marked the theoretical start of the preparations for this year’s half marathon and next week’s 16 km run will mark the practical start, and the first time I’ll run more than ten kilometers since the marathon, so in what by then will be four and a half months. So I guess I might as well catch up on the runs that I’m yet to write about, even if in a post that’s once again initially incomplete, only going as far as the part about the February 14 run, with the part about the rest of that day being added when I edited it the first time, in the early hours of Monday, while the part about February 19 was added when I edited the post again, in the early hours of Thursday.

In the early hours of February 4 I went to the kitchen several minutes after 1 AM and then also washed one part of the glass baking tray, so I ended up eating dinner between 3:20 AM and 3:45 AM, once again using a red onion in the salad, since I didn’t have green onions. Then, after being woken up first by some noise made by dad in the kitchen before he left and then twice, exactly two hours apart, by the landline ringing, making me wonder whether it was someone from the provider trying to confirm that everything was in order after the work done the previous day, I got up when the alarm rang, at 2 PM, and had the usual stuff, the yogurt being an expired “creamy” one with 5.1% protein and 5% fat, while the sweet thing consisted of a part of a mini panettone, with added honey. And I left at 4:30 PM, wearing the full running gear and that old training shirt that’s in a poor shape, plus that thing on my neck, the gloves, and the jacket on the way, tied around my waist as I ran. The reported temperature was about 4°C, dropping to 2-3°C by the time I finished.
The time was 48:42.45, with sector times of I think 4:17.73, 5:13 (I think 5:12.91), 6:07.22, 4:40 (4:39.46), 5:07.26, 5:58, 4:31, 5:07.48, 5:51.19 and 1:51 (1:50.65), making for lap times of 15:37.86, 15:45 and 15:29. The exact times for the first two sectors are probably correct, but there is a chance that they may be off by a few hundredths, since after sector two I realized that I was only really certain about 4:17.7 as far as the first sector’s time went. But the far more notable problem is that after sector one of lap three I realized that I couldn’t remember the exact time seen at the end of lap two at all, so I can only list the seconds for sector three of lap two, sector one of lap three and laps two and three as a whole. And the thing is that I was surprised that I saw that exact time properly at first glance and didn’t look again, which turned out to be a bad thing because I was also surprised that I stayed under six minutes on sector three of lap two after such a slow sector three of lap one and then spent most of sector one of lap three calculating what I needed in order to stay under 49 minutes, so I only realized after the end of that sector, when I wanted to calculate its time, that I could only remember the seconds. One possibility that crossed my mind is that the hundredths were either 86, just like at the end of lap one, or 84, making the exact time of sector three of lap two 5:58.26, either situation possibly resulting in my mind ignoring what might have seemed to be a duplicate record. But, of course, it’s just as possible that I came up with this idea just because my mind was using those previous times to try to fill in a blank.
Either way, the goal was to stay under 48 minutes and, seeing as I felt myself slowing down during the first sector, I was quite content with its time. But the following two sectors and the first lap as a whole were bad, sector three being so bad that, even though I had seen the time properly right away, I still slowed to a walk for a couple of seconds at the start of lap two, because I couldn’t believe that I had been so slow and wanted to make really sure. And, once I did make sure, it seemed like the realistic target was only to stay under 50 minutes, or perhaps 49:30 at best, sector one of lap two seeming to make that even clearer. But then I managed to push harder and after lap two I was wondering whether I’ll manage to stay under 49 minutes after all, so I kept pushing on lap three, hoping to at least give myself a chance… And being surprised that at the end of the lap I was already safe, the target then becoming to also squeeze under 48:45, which I did. But, of course, that’s still a poor time.
What makes it worse is that there were hardly any notable problems, the biggest loss of time being caused by slowing and then even stopping for a couple of seconds on sector three of lap three, in order to see the time. And then there was that moment when I slowed at the start of lap two and just one somewhat noticeable problem caused by people, on sector one of lap three, when I hesitated because of a little kid. But that was it, and I couldn’t identify any specific physical issues either, just the fact that I couldn’t go faster, at least on the first lap and sector one of lap two, and while things got better after that, it still wouldn’t have been good enough to get under 48 minutes. Yes, the low temperature made things uncomfortable and likely had quite a negative effect on my breathing, but I wouldn’t consider that enough of an excuse.

After getting back, I ate lunch, changed, albeit leaving the t-shirt and shirt on, and left again at 7:55 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol, and I picked up one more before putting them in the machine from Carrefour. Then I bought some expiring products, including a carton of bio (organic) eggs that included a few that had the coloring of duck eggs. There were many such cartons and other people tended to remove those and make cartons just of those that were clearly chicken eggs, even if the same information was printed on all eggs, regardless of color, but I took one carton as it was, after checking to make sure that none of the eggs were cracked, and actually found it interesting. On the other hand, the last self-checkout machine once again accepted cash, but apparently not for long, since I saw people using it when I got there, but by the time I wanted to use it, two employees were there and told me that it wasn’t working anymore, so I still had to go to a regular checkout, also using the voucher received for the recyclables.
I then continued to Kaufland, picking up a few more recyclables with the deposit symbol on the way and asking about a tea at a pharmacy, but being told that they didn’t have it in that location. Then, after putting those recyclables in the machine, putting my things in a cabinet and washing my hands, I entered the store when it was close to 9:15 PM, took the one box of expiring germinated wheat that was left and checked the lettuces, taking the two better ones that were left even if the evening discount wasn’t as high as I’d have liked… But at least they had that discount, while when I went to the bakery area I found what will become the rule, which was that there were no evening discounts, and I confirmed that by scanning one label at that point and another one later. So I also took two of those cheap yogurts, still at the slightly lower price, and the few better onions that I could still find, those also having an evening discount, and eventually went to the self-checkouts after seeing that there were no new or increased discounts even at 9:45 PM. But that expiring germinated wheat wouldn’t scan, and as I kept trying I ended up accidentally scanning the code with the full price, since the discount label didn’t cover it, so the employee who came after I raised my hand canceled that and entered the code manually. And then, after also using the voucher received for the recyclables and scanning the QR code for dad’s store app, which I won’t mention anymore since it pretty much became the norm, I took some time to work up the courage and, after the closing announcement, asked at the information desk whether they had received some of those 10 RON vouchers and the employee looked me up in that notebook, finding that she had misspelled my last name, and handed me the voucher which I had asked for on January 14. And then I retrieved what I had in the cabinet, arranged the purchases and walked out a little after 10:05 PM.
On the way back, I decided to check the Mega Image that closes at 11 PM, picking up another recyclable with the deposit symbol on the way and putting it, the bag and my gloves in a cabinet, but entering with the backpack… And just wasting some time, without finding anything to get, so I then retrieved what I had in the cabinet and came back, deciding against checking the non-stop Mega Image as well but picking up two more recyclables with the deposit symbol on the way.
I got back at 10:45 PM, then cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, ate an apple, put all of the purchases with the exception of dad’s expiring bread in their place, and it was a little past 11:20 PM when I went to shower, being done at 11:55 PM. I spent some time in my room after that, also noticing that my nose was quite irritated, even if it hadn’t seemed to be that bad after the run, but I was back in the kitchen before 1 AM. However, dad had used the grill, so I had it and a number of other things to wash, and I also ate something sweet, struggled to squeeze one of dad’s breads in the freezer and used the worse lettuce leaves, which also resulted in a salad that was too large, so I only ate dinner between 3:45 AM and 4:20 AM, during which time I also realized that my right foot felt rather numb. And I got in bed at 5:40 AM. And I’ll also mention here that the following two nights I finished dinner at 4 AM and got in bed at 5:20 AM, the difference being that the first time I started eating at 3:25 AM and the second time at 3:20 AM.

In the early hours of February 14, after dealing with the two breads that I was yet to deal with and rearranging some of the bread in the freezer, I ended up eating dinner between 3:20 AM and 3:55 AM, though at least I had green onions for the salad again, since dad had brought a little at some point. But when I wanted to put that bread in the freezer, before getting in bed, it was proven that I hadn’t rearranged well enough, so it took me a little longer, and then I did a couple of other things as well, ending up getting in bed at 5:30 AM. And when I got up to pee, just before 9:45 AM, I noticed that the hot water was completely off, though I checked the site and no problems were listed. And after dad got up I kept waking up, and after he left I was certain that the alarm was about to ring, yet when I waited a while longer, probably even getting another very brief nap or two, and it still hadn’t, I checked the time and found that it wasn’t even 1 PM yet, so I went to pee one more time, just in case, being relieved to see that the hot water had returned. But after getting back in bed I fell asleep and woke up so many times in that remaining hour that I must have switched between states at most every few minutes, and at times probably after mere seconds.
Still, 2 PM eventually arrived, the alarm rang and I got up, having the usual stuff, with the apple being one of the two truly huge spoiling ones that I had purchased at the start of the week, and which I found was actually only spoiled on the surface, so what was left was probably the size of three or so regular apples, but which ended up being a plain Idared after all, even though they had been labeled, and priced, as Fuji, so I had paid a little more. Either way, the sweet thing once again consisted of a part of that mini panettone, with added honey. And I left at 4:25 PM, wearing just the full running gear and that thing on my neck, since the reported temperature was 11°C, dropping to 9-10°C by the time I finished.
The time was 47:20.45, with sector times of 4:08.95, 4:59 (4:58.50), 5:43.53, 4:30 (4:29.18), 5:02.32, 5:48 (5:47.53), 4:30.44, 5:02 (5:01.65), 5:47 (5:46.97) and 1:51.38, making for lap times of 14:50.98, 15:20 (15:19.03) and 15:19.06. I clearly aimed to get back under 48 minutes and pushed from the start, being really pleased with the first sector’s time and then wondering whether I’ll be able to cover the lap in less than 15 minutes, so I kept pushing and managed that by more of a margin that I thought was possible. However, I was worried that I had drained myself in order to do so and the goal remained to just squeeze under 48 minutes, but if sector one of lap two was a slight reason for concern, the following two sectors and the lap as a whole put me more or less at ease and at the start of lap three I wondered whether I could actually squeeze under 47:30. So I kept pushing, being surprised by how close the times on each sector of lap three were to those of lap two, and then by the fact that the lap times were also basically identical, which also meant that I was already safe at the end of the lap, which I didn’t think possible until that moment. So I managed to cover another lap in less than 15 minutes for the first time since the end of November if you just look at the seconds, though in terms of the exact time I did also just squeeze under 15 minutes on December 19, which was also the last time when I was faster over ten kilometers.
The thing is that I still thought that I should have done a little better, because the conditions were good and there were hardly any problems to speak of. I mean, sure, there was some weaving and going the long way around, because of both people and the damaged lane, but the only notable issue was that I was getting lightheaded on sector three of lap one and sector one of lap two, and possibly a little on sector two of lap two as well. Admittedly, the feeling was concerning at the time, but once it passed everything was just fine.

On the way back, I checked the nearby Mega Image and picked up a recyclable with the deposit symbol when I walked out. Then I did the day’s squats, ate lunch, changed, albeit leaving the running t-shirt on, and beeped dad from the landline to find out where he was, and when he called back and said that he was nearby and about to get back I waited, though I had already stepped out by the time he got here and we met in front of the door, so he gave me the metro card and two empty recyclables with the deposit symbol that he had with him, since I had taken the others as well, and I actually left at 8:25 PM.
I took the metro to Kaufland Basarab, putting those recyclables, including what I had picked up on the way, in the machine, though two of those that I already had and one which I picked up from there weren’t accepted, so I kept those. And on the way to the recycling machine I had seen a cart with the coin in it, which was still there when I was done, so I connected it to others and retrieved the coin before going to wash my hands, dashing to the women’s for soap, and entering the store a few minutes after 9 PM, with the remaining recyclables with the deposit symbol, which at that point included one more, which I had picked up on the way in. And, while there were still no evening discounts in the bakery area, I considered taking a sweet pastry that had a regular discount those days, but the fact that plenty of them were left made me leave that for later and check the fruits and vegetables, where evening discounts increased or appeared a little later, probably at 9:15 PM, so I took some carrots and a handful of those Moldovan grapes, and later I also decided to get one banana, even if those just had the regular discount that they had those days. And I also took several cans of bean spread that were at half price for some reason, though they weren’t expiring and nothing seemed wrong with them, and one more of those cheap yogurts. However, by the time I got back to the bakery area, the employee was throwing everything that was left into bags and she seemed to have started just with those sweet pastries, so I couldn’t get any anymore. Either way, I used the voucher received for the recyclables at the self-checkout, and the closing announcement came seconds after I left the checkout area.
After getting back to the metro station, I arranged the purchases in the backpack and then took the metro to Unirii, picking up some more recyclables with the deposit symbol but finding that the recycling machines from that Carrefour were already off by the time I got there, so I put my things in a cabinet, went to pee and wash my hands, and then found that the nicer kind of the cheap buns actually had the 50% evening discount in that location. The much higher regular price meant that they ended up being less than 25% cheaper than they were at Kaufland at full price, but I took some, along with two sweet pastries that also had the 50% discount… And then I saw that a tea that I was looking for was listed as being discounted, even having the sign that marked it as being part of their campaign of reduced prices compared to a previous period. But I had actually checked recently, finding that the price had actually increased slightly in other locations and on-line, so I scanned one at a price checker, what showed up being that higher price. But they do promise to offer the listed price if it’s lower than what shows up at checkout, so I grabbed two, took a picture of the price label and then called over an employee when that higher price showed up at the self-checkout, and while she initially said that she could only remove them, because those who could check leave at 10 PM, when I said that I had a picture she asked to see it and then told me that if I paid in full I’ll then receive the difference from the information desk. So I did just that, showing the picture at the information desk as well and then receiving that difference, after being asked for my name and being told that the problem was caused by electronic price labels that run out of battery and fail to update, though that employee had no reply when I pointed out that the product was even marked with that discount sign.
What makes the whole thing stranger is that I have been back there since then and, while I didn’t try to buy more, I checked and saw that sign still there, that lower price still listed, but the higher one still showing up when scanning the product, so I wonder how many times they had to refund that difference and what’s actually going on. Either way, to return to that evening, it was already a few minutes past 11 PM by the time I was done with all of that, so I retrieved what I had in the cabinet and took the metro back to Dristor, where I obviously couldn’t switch anymore, so I decided to also check that non-stop Mega Image, putting my things in a cabinet and then just retrieving them, without finding anything to get. But I picked up some more recyclables with the deposit symbol.
I got back a few minutes before midnight, put the purchases in their place, ate the banana and a sweet pastry that I already had… And something crunched in my teeth, all I could pull out being a tiny black piece, so I’m thinking that there was something in the pastry, but I was also worried that a tooth might have chipped, and a few teeth did bother me a little after that. Either way, I also washed what was in the kitchen and it was almost 1:25 AM when I went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash, being done just after 2:10 AM… And then I once again made too much salad, that time out of cabbage, and I ate dinner between 3:55 AM and 4:50 AM, getting in bed at 6:05 AM.

In the early hours of February 19, I once again didn’t have green onions and used a red onion in the salad, and I started eating dinner at 3:20 AM, but still managed to finish at 3:40 AM. The alarm was set to ring at 1:30 PM, but after being woken up by noise made by Liza and dad just before 9 AM and going to pee, I couldn’t get back to sleep until after dad left, and when I did fall asleep again I must have woken up after mere moments, since when I checked the time it was only 10:08 AM. So I went to pee once more, just in case, which made it so I didn’t have to go again before the alarm rang, but then I kept waking up, and the first time I was certain that the alarm was about to ring and checked the time, I saw that it was only a little after noon, and after getting back to sleep I woke up again at 12:30 PM and 12:56 PM, at which point I was so certain that far more time must have passed that I even checked the time on the computer, wondering if something wasn’t wrong with my phone. But there wasn’t, so I caught another nap until the alarm finally rang and I got up.
Then I had the usual stuff, but the apple was the other utterly huge spoiling one, which was even less spoiled than the one eaten the previous week, so what was left was at least the size of three regular apples, and it also tasted better, so it might have actually been Fuji, and the yogurt was a bio (organic) one and before putting the cereals in it I also mixed those with seeds and buckwheat with the others. As for the sweet thing, that was the last piece of that mini panettone, with added honey. On the other hand, with the forecast having listed a high of -2°C, I had prepared accordingly and stuck to that plan, putting the training suit over the running t-shirt and tights, another t-shirt and an undershirt, and also wearing the gloves, that thing that I pulled up to cover more than just my neck, at least until it slipped lower as I ran, plus the jacket on the way, tied around my waist as I ran… Which meant that I felt concerningly comfortable as I walked to the park, because the day’s high actually ended up being 2-3°C and the reported temperature when I left, at 4:20 PM, was about 1°C, dropping to what seems to have been just below freezing, maybe -1°C, by the time I finished. Either way, considering the snow and ice, and also the fact that this run marked the theoretical start of my training for this year’s half marathon, I took the better shoes again, hoping that they’ll offer me better traction and reduce the risk of slipping or hurting my ankles.
The time was 52:41.85, with sector times of 4:45, 5:45, 6:23, 4:58, 5:38, 6:19, 4:53, 5:40, 6:22 and 1:58 (1:57.87), making for lap times of 16:53, 16:55 and 16:55. When the target was only to avoid a new slowest time, there was obviously no point in memorizing the exact times, so I didn’t even look at the hundredths. But I was actually quite pleasantly surprised by the first sector’s time, under those conditions… Sector two counterbalanced that to some extent, but the target for the first lap was to stay under 17 minutes and I managed it by a safe margin. And then I was once again quite pleased by sectors two and three of lap two, which were less slow than those of lap one, and by the fact that I stayed under 17 minutes on that lap as well. That made me quite certain that I’ll at least stay under 54 minutes and think that I might even have a chance to squeeze under 53 minutes if there won’t be any notable problems on lap three, and after the end of the lap I aimed to also squeeze under 52:45, which I did. And I’d say that the almost equal lap times show that this was pretty much what the conditions allowed, but it obviously remains an absolutely dreadful time in itself, the tenth slowest ever over this distance, and the ninth slowest through the park, since the slowest was on the track. And, while I only have to go back to June for the last time when I was slower, in fact that being the slowest run through the park, it was the second run on a very hot day and after wandering around after the 16 km run before it, so without even some rest in between, and then I have to go all the way back to January of 2019 for two more runs that were slower, and those were while I was struggling to recover after a bad flu, under treatment and having other problems as well.
The first and only piece of actual winter we got this “winter” obviously meant that the park was quite crowded and plenty of children, and not only children, were sliding down slopes, being pulled on sleighs or otherwise playing in the snow, but under more normal circumstances I’d have said that the only notable problems were a brief stop on sector three of lap one and, maybe, a moment when I hesitated on sector three of lap two. However, the uneven and not that well packed layer of snow that covered most of the path around the lake and the slippery areas made any change of direction a risk and a loss of time, since I had to slow and be careful, so what would have otherwise only been a fair amount of weaving and going the long way around had quite a massive impact. And, of course, most of the time pretty much every step meant slipping a little, lacking traction, sector two being the worst from this point of view, though the puddle of slush that was on sector three, where I guess I should now say the ship’s dock used to be, also caused a significant loss of time on each lap. But, even though running in those conditions was definitely tiring despite having to take it easy, I was spared of any notable physical issues, with the exception of the fact that I was overheating at least starting from sector two of lap two.

Since when I got there I spotted a plastic bottle that I assumed had the deposit symbol in the garbage bin that’s next to what for me is the start location, after the run I turned around and went back there, but somebody else had unsurprisingly taken it by then. But, since I was there, I then decided to train a little on the stairs, using the straight ones that are near that spot and running up them three times, and obviously also running down twice. And then I wandered a little on other paths before leaving the park and getting back, picking up a recyclable with the deposit symbol on the way. And after getting back I ate a bag of peanuts, getting some 950 calories just from that, changed, albeit leaving on everything but the training suit’s pants, and left again at 7:50 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol.
Since I once again had dad’s metro card, I took the metro to Obor, picking up another recyclable with the deposit symbol on the way and then putting all of them in the machine from Carrefour, from where I bought some expiring bread for my parents, a little garlic, and some bread and sweet pastries for myself that had the evening discount, also using the voucher received for the recyclables. And then I continued to Kaufland, putting my things in a cabinet, going to pee, which was rather tricky because of all the layers of clothing, and wash my hands, which also meant dashing to the women’s for soap, since there was none left in the men’s, and entering the store just after 9:35 PM. And at least I found two expiring products to get, along with some of those cheap yogurts, the closing announcement coming as I was using the self-checkout, which didn’t accept one of the expiring products as being correct, so I called over an employee and she just logged on to override the error without checking anything. And then I retrieved my things and decided to also check that Mega Image that closes at midnight, once again putting everything in a cabinet when I got there but just wasting some time before retrieving my things, also grabbing a recyclable with the deposit symbol which had been left there, and then taking the metro back, just missing one and then waiting for over ten minutes for the next one, and grabbing one more recyclable with the deposit symbol after getting off at this station.
It was several minutes after 11 PM when I got back, and then I spread out the bread and put the few other purchases in their place, ate one of the sweet pastries, washed what was in the kitchen, and did the day’s squats. It was 1 AM when I went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and shower, the water not being good enough for more than that, so I was done just after 1:35 AM, but then I also dealt with one of my breads and put it and those bought for my parents in the freezer, making them fit taking a while, washed a couple more things in the kitchen, and finally ate a combined lunch and dinner between 4 AM and 5:10 AM, though the last several minutes were spent carefully gathering what had been left stuck on the plate. I got in bed at 6:30 AM.