Cav's Place

Unlike last year, this time around I did end up running today, and I didn’t even have to, this being the week’s second run, without the forecast for next week making it seem that I won’t have a chance, so I just added to the buffer just in case it’ll be needed at some later point. As such, if even last year this post ended up being about a run, this time around I’ll write about both today’s run and Monday’s. Still nothing else, and it definitely still feels completely wrong to write about anything else in such posts, but 2019 isn’t a milestone and, perhaps again thanks to the run, I don’t feel particularly down today. Was quite down, in good part for this reason, for the past at least two days though, and to some extent perhaps Tuesday as well.

Guess I’ll start with today’s run, which I did because the conditions were good and I wanted to add to the buffer. Woke up a bit later than I meant to, at about 1:55 PM, and was out the door two hours later, sort of aiming to stay under 48 minutes but thinking I’d be content with just staying under 48:30. However, I ended up with another time under 47 minutes, albeit only barely, 46:59.38. And I guess I’ll also take this opportunity to change how I list times, since remembering the exact ones is by now the rule, so as long as that holds true, I’ll just list the exact times if the seconds are the same, while if they’re different I’ll list the time that results if I just look at the seconds, with the exact one I saw added after it, between parentheses. Listed this way, the sector times were 4:23.34, 5:02.33, 5:56 (5:55.39), 4:23.02, 4:55.34, 5:43.28, 4:20 (4:19.44), 4:52.68, 5:43 (5:42.55) and 1:42.01, making for lap times of 15:21.06, 15:01.64 and 14:55 (14:54.67).
Controlled my pace a fair bit at first, and there was also a moment on the first sector when a kid cut me off on his bicycle, and that first lap was a bit behind the pace for 48 minutes, so I ran some numbers during the second lap’s first sector and then let myself loose from the second, ending up with a time after two laps that allowed me to consider getting under 47:30. It still seemed unlikely though, but I decided to just go for it, accelerating a bit even from the third lap’s first sector and really giving it everything from the second, ending up with a time after three laps that made me think I’ll fall just short of getting under 47 minutes as well. But I wasn’t exhausted, kept pushing as hard as I could and just made it, managing a fourth 1:42 on that final sector in order to do so. And the third lap also matched the fastest third lap so far, managed on the way to the record for 16 kilometers, if I just look at the seconds, but the exact time was actually faster, though of course this has to do with the exact moment when I happen to press the button.

As for Monday, I managed the third fastest time so far, 46:41.34, with sector times of 4:14.78, 4:55 (4:54.23), 5:43.89, 4:22 (4:21.19), 4:56.14, 5:42.30, 4:23 (4:22.84), 5:00 (4:59.97), 5:41.52 and 1:45 (1:44.48), making for lap times of 14:52.90, 15:00 (14:59.63) and 15:04.33. And that was despite having slept poorly, waking up plenty of times, after 11 AM or so also because dad was making noise. After the second time my door banged loudly, I slid that pile of old books and albums against it to take care of that, but I still heard when he was in the kitchen. Meant to get up around 12:45 PM, but gave it another chance, managed to sleep a bit more and woke up at 2 PM, when it was still raining lightly. But the forecast said it’ll stop after 3 PM, so I decided to eat something, still not quite what was the usual stuff since I’ve been replacing those wheat things for a while now, since they went up in price, and went out at 3:25 PM, also taking out some paper dad was throwing away and therefore washing my hands after getting to the park. With Serena’s match just starting when I left, I was hoping to get back by the time Halep’s would start, and I just about managed that, missing just the first game.
The reported temperature was around 25°C and the clouds were clearing, so it was sunny, but while the forecast and even the current weather report from our national weather service stated otherwise, the wind was an issue in some areas, making me hold on to my cap early on. It probably lessened later, and I also got more used to it, but I still felt it a fair bit in some areas. It obviously didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would though, since I only aimed to get under 48 minutes, albeit with a more controlled run, with little difference between the laps, and ended up with that third fastest time. Considering how I was controlling my pace and that strong gust of wind early on, the first sector was a bit faster than I expected it to be, and that was also the case for the second, since I only intentionally started pushing from the third. Even then, after that fast first lap and despite still pushing, my first idea was that I’ll be able to slow down more later if I’ll need to, though after lap two I started thinking of getting under 47:30. The idea of getting under 47 minutes got in my mind after lap three’s second sector, at which point I thought the time was exactly in between what I needed to have a chance to do that if I really pushed and just being completely safe in staying under 47:30 even if I took it easier. But I decided to give it everything, and the result was even better than “just” getting under 47 minutes.

So here I am, turning another July 12 post into a run report, if I may use the term. But I did run today, and twice this week, and both were very fast runs, and at least today’s, if not both, likely have much to do with my mood not crashing today, and probably being less down than I’d have otherwise been for the past few days. Keep thinking that I’m in a state that might be described as a sort of suspended complete crash, also because I haven’t really found anything new in quite some time, my worst fear is still what it is, and I’m obviously just worried about her in general… While I guess she made a point of forgetting that I exist over a decade ago… Or at least almost a decade ago, when she blocked me wherever she could.

As usual, it takes World Population Day for the problem of overpopulation and its connection to all other major environmental and social problems to get at least some lip service from world leaders and major NGOs. This time around they even launched a campaign, signed by 150 organizations, but even that’s just about access to voluntary family planning and I’m just seeing the same old fucking bullshit about it all being voluntary, without coercion, just let people have as many kids as they want and only offer measures to avoid unwanted ones, of course make very sure that other species are never placed above humans, and either way at best aim to slow population growth instead of a sharp reduction. You know, the sort of thing that might have made sense to be the focus in the 1950s, but at the moment, while ensuring this access remains necessary, compared to what actually needs to be done to solve the problem it’s the equivalent of, I don’t know, making LED lights available to people to stop climate change.
The population already is at least a few times, and possibly several times, above any possible maximum carrying capacity and we are trashing this world to this extent despite the fact that the vast majority of people live in poverty and should have every right to enjoy the same high standard of living as those who are better off in developed countries, without having their choices restricted if they’re not harmful in themselves, regardless of numbers. Or, more exactly, everyone who doesn’t add to the problem, doesn’t and won’t breed until and unless those of us already here will solve the environmental and social problems we and this world are facing, should have that right, while those who do, or try to, should be treated as the worst kind of criminals, guilty of the worst single crime anyone may commit under the current circumstances.
But, of course, you can’t say that, so there’s not even a whisper about taking any and all necessary measures, from carrot to stick to fucking cat o’ nine tails, to completely stop births for as long as necessary to know we’ll solve this problem this way, fully aware that it’s the last remaining chance to do so without needing to resort to killing people or, since this is already happening, continue to allow them to die unnecessarily due to lacking access to needed resources or services. Instead, we rationalize our basic instincts, continue to look away, lash out at the few who might say what needs to be said, not to mention anyone who might actually try to do something about it, and keep rushing straight towards disaster. We keep looking for other things to patch, for restrictions to impose in other areas, for all sorts of mitigating measures, discoveries, inventions, technological “miracles”, wasting so many of the already vastly insufficient resources of any and all kinds that are put towards solving major environmental and social problems on delaying the inevitable at an ever increasing cost, a cost that the other species we share, or should be sharing, this planet with are and have always been the first to bear.
Of course, when it comes to ignoring the actual, known solutions and instead looking for ways to delay the inevitable while preserving as much as possible of the status quo, it’s the same as our reaction to the day’s “popular” problem, climate change. The difference is that climate change is just a symptom, and it’s also a complex matter, while overpopulation is clear and simple, it’s absolutely impossible to argue that it’s not completely caused by humans, and intentionally at that, and the solution for it is equally clear and simple.

Yesterday morning I was woken up by drilling, or something of the sort, around 10:20 AM, and then decided to try playing that game on Carrefour’s site one more time, with the last unused receipt I had, after having tried with the other two before going to bed that morning, yet none of these three attempts worked, the game loading but not offering any way to earn points, meaning that this wasn’t a bug caused by trying to use codes which I had used but was unable to actually play with, as I first assumed. Either way, around 11 AM I got back in bed and eventually managed to get back to sleep, waking up again at 1 PM, though I’m not sure how much of that time I actually slept. Likely fell asleep one or maybe even two more times after that, but very briefly, so I doubt I got more than minutes longer even if I only got up around 2:35 PM. And then, in the afternoon, I actually started writing this, but with two weeks to cover and watching two matches last evening, there was no way to avoid another Sunday update.

At least there’s not much to say about last week. Monday night I tried that game again, and that was the second time it did work, but still didn’t win anything. Wednesday there was no hot water again and I needed a shower, and even if the site said that it’ll only be off until 10 PM I didn’t risk it, which turned out to be the right choice, and quickly washed below the waist in the afternoon, with what water came out of the hot water pipe, so paid as hot water but only a bit less cold than the cold one, likely due to the insulation on the pipes, and having low pressure and being somewhat brownish, as it tends to be when this happens. And Thursday I went through another annoying round of changing some passwords. Didn’t affect any important accounts, but it’s annoying to need to do this.

The one somewhat more relevant thing from last week happened Tuesday, or Tuesday and Wednesday if you consider the time, since I finally got around to uninstalling G DATA Antivirus then. The trial had expired quite a few days earlier and I had obviously been getting no more updates since then, but it actually appeared to still be completely active even if the notification that popped up a couple of times per day was saying that active protection is disabled as soon as the license expires, so I waited until I thought I could deal with it, and with installing ESET NOD32 Antivirus. But I actually installed that after midnight, and activated the trial at 1:01 AM, hoping to get another day that way, though the time it expires at doesn’t seem to be connected to the time when it was activated, as the number of days goes down by one when I update after a certain point in the afternoon. And I can say that I still quite like plenty of things in this, though I much preferred how the options were presented in older versions, but I’m still worried by how poorly it does in tests, always being among the last. Plus that I sent a support message to ask a few things and it didn’t seem to have gotten anywhere, as there was not even a confirmation that it was received, much less any actual reply.
There was also a weird moment just before installing that, the mouse wheel seeming to stop working, either scrolling in both directions or not at all. Since it happened as I was opening many tabs after having written a comment, at first I thought it was some browser issue, as there are moments when it doesn’t want to scroll until I close a tab, but then I tried to scroll the task list in BOINC and that also didn’t work, and at first it didn’t work when I opened a file in Notepad either. But then it just started working again and it seemed fine after that, so it’s obviously worrying, especially considering the occasional double clicks from that middle button, though I can’t say I noticed more of those lately, but maybe it was some software issue after all, something temporarily affecting the system and not just the browser.

Not counting June 30, when the timing of a replay meant an error margin of a few seconds, the time likely being somewhere between 2:25 and 2:29, the timed squats during this period were on June 27, 2:23, June 29, 2:34, yesterday and today, 2:26 both times… And new records on July 2, despite all the walking that day! Yes, I said records, because the first time it was 2:16 and I wasn’t sure I had counted correctly, wondering whether I had gotten confused at some point, since it seemed too fast, even if I believe I saw 1:11 at 50 and pushed even harder after that. So I tried again a while later, pushing like crazy from the beginning, definitely not doing them too correctly but thinking it was well enough to count, and ended up with an amazing 2:10! I think I saw 56 seconds for the first 50, though I may be wrong, but at 75 I was already exhausted and I don’t really know how I continued past 85, but somehow managed it, so I have a very clear new record now, shaving ten more seconds off what used to be the record before that day.

Last week’s run was on June 28, when I went out a bit after 2:40 PM despite having gone to bed at 5:45 AM, after watching a match. Since it had rained a bit earlier, around noon according to dad, it was getting cloudy and windy again and the forecasts were contradicting each other, one listing the chance of rain as increasing until 4 PM and clearing after 6 PM and another listing little risk before 6 PM but some rain from 7 PM, I couldn’t risk going out later. And also couldn’t wait for another day, since it was already Friday, even though some joints still bothered me a bit after the night run and my running clothes were still in the laundry, since my parents still hadn’t done anything about the leaky new washing machine and I didn’t want to use it like that. So I used that regular t-shirt that I tended to run in before and some shorts that I get sweaty in, those being pretty much the only option I had, and didn’t even eat what I usually do, having some toast with honey and marmalade instead, and some of that protein yogurt instead of the regular one, this last bit probably being the only change that helped.
The first lap was fine, except for a few windy places, but the wind became more of an issue in some areas after that. There were also drops of rain at the start of the second lap, building to a light rain as I was approaching the end of the first sector, then mere drops again pretty much until I finished the lap but also some sunshine on sector two and even more after the rain seemed to completely stop, on sector one of lap three. It was cloudy again on sector three of lap two and from sector two of lap three, but there was no more rain after lap two. Still, I tried to stay under 48 minutes, but despite giving it everything from sector two of lap three, that lap just didn’t work out, the time being 48:16, with sector times of 4:16, 5:04, 5:48, 4:26, 5:05, 5:56, 4:31, 5:14, 6:00 and 1:56, making for lap times of 15:08, 15:27 and 15:45. The exact times I saw were 48:16.54, with sector times of 4:16.59, 5:04.02, 5:48.35, 4:25.21, 5:05.51, 5:55.40, 4:31.27, 5:13.77, 5:59.90 and 1:56.52, making for lap times of 15:08.96, 15:26.12 and 15:44.94.

This week’s run was Wednesday, and it was worse. I had my running clothes again, but after getting in bed around 5:25 AM, again after watching a match, I was awake before 10:30 AM due to the guy coming to fix the washing machine and making noise. In addition, I was tired after all the walking around the previous day, the very little sleep then as well and the two series of awfully fast squats, and some muscles and joints hurt a bit, a bit more in case of my right hip. But the worst problem was probably the heat, the day’s reported high, in the shade, being 33°C, possibly reached around the time I finished the run, as the forecast made me go out pretty much during the worst of it. Storms were supposed to start in afternoon, there was even an “orange alert” because of that, so I went out just after 12:40 PM, started running at 12:55 PM, which means I finished at 1:44 PM, and I got back at 1:55 PM, the weather being very sunny and hot throughout that time, with no clouds to speak of and just a little wind in some areas when I started, which didn’t even help with cooling and later died down almost completely anyway. Saw some cyclists and a few on roller skates, but nobody else crazy or stupid enough to actually run in that heat.
The time was 48:50, with sector times of 4:08, 5:02, 5:54, 4:29, 5:10, 6:00, 4:38, 5:15, 6:13 and 2:01, making for lap times of 15:04, 15:39 and 16:06. The exact times I saw were 48:50.16, with sector times of 4:08.10, 5:02.45, 5:54.36, 4:29.02, 5:09.20, 5:59.90, 4:38.65, 5:15.08, 6:12.67 and 2:00.73, making for lap times of 15:04.91, 15:38.12 and 16:06.40. So the first lap worked out surprisingly well, though I started feeling a bit of pressure even early on, despite having been to the toilet before. But that first lap was probably too much, and I saw myself fall behind the target pace from the first sector of lap two and was struggling even before the end of its second sector, when I believe I also had to run right through the spray of two sprinklers. Not sure what effect that had, but they were on and there was a spot in that sector where two of them also ended up aimed at the path, and if I managed to avoid them the first time, the second time, which I believe was on lap two and not three, both were aimed straight at the path and I had no choice. And lap three was hard, really felt the heat, and also had to actually pay some attention to squeezing my butt so I won’t risk shitting myself.
In spite of that, and even if I had started with the idea that staying under 48:30 wasn’t necessary under these conditions, it’s not just that I aimed for it after that first lap, but that, despite the serious doubts I started having on lap two, even after sector two of lap three I still thought it’ll be very close, and if I’ll fail it’ll be by mere seconds. But that third sector was really bad, and then the final sector as well, as I hoped to at least manage 48:45 but failed even that, ending up pretty much just jogging up the stairs and then looking for shade more than for the best route, and not even pretty much jumping at the end, as I usually do. Would have likely at least been able to list 2:00 instead of 2:01 if I’d have done that…
Was hurting a fair bit after that, had a headache as well… And what likely made it worse was that I didn’t have to run during the heat, the forecast again being wrong. Admittedly, something did start around 5 PM, with wind and thunder and possibly some hail as well for a little while, and later there was some heavier rain for a while, but after that it was fine, much cooler and cloudy but with no more than a few occasional drops, if even that. So I could have gone after 7 PM, or better yet around 8 PM. As it was, at 8 PM I crawled in bed for a brief nap, and in the morning I again went to bed around 5:25 AM, again after watching a match.

And now I’ll get to the mess that was this Tuesday, when I woke up to pee at 6:35 AM and decided to do what I had set my mind on doing when I went to bed, leave for Auchan whenever I’ll happen to first wake up, considering the announced high of 36°C, even if that meant getting only probably about half an hour of sleep. It was too early to wait for the free bus too, since I took the plastic bottles and went out at 7:40 AM, so I walked there… Only to see the recycling machine off. Not completely off, not full, not displaying an error, not temporarily stopped, not rebooting, but displaying a message simply stating that it was off. Don’t think I ever saw that before. So I had to just leave those plastic bottles there as well, I think 31 or 32 of them, so I bothered to go all the way over there both then and the previous time and didn’t even get the just over 1 RON I should have gotten if you put the two together, at these new greatly reduced values. It was rather funny that someone else had gotten there before me and seemed to have gotten increasingly frustrated while leaving their bottles, since most were of the same kind of water but on one side of the machine they were more or less arranged, with a plastic bag among them, while on the other there were some just thrown there, with a plastic bag on top, and yet others still in a third bag.
Next, once inside I went to look for bread, but found none of the kind I prefer. So I assumed that’s baked a bit later and wandered around for a bit, got the cat food that was running out, and when I got back there I saw a different kind of bread in that place and the label for the kind I wanted turned over, quite clearly meaning that they won’t bake that kind too soon, or perhaps even not at all that day. As such, I got some of another kind, then went out a few minutes after 9 AM, taking the free bus and meaning to get off rather quickly, at a stop that should let me quickly get to that farmers’ market. However, nobody else got off there and I didn’t really know where that stop was to get to the door in time and let the driver know, and when I saw the place it seemed too late to just rush forward, so I waited for the next stop, or at least the next I was aware of, since there may be another in between. Either way, I then tried to find my way, going around before finally finding the place.
First went to that store for another bucket of that bio (organic) yogurt, but didn’t see any and the woman who was there was on the phone, apparently either ordering products or telling someone the stock. When she finished, I actually asked and she said she didn’t have any because she didn’t “have the warehouse”, and she repeated that explanation, as if it’d mean anything for me, when I asked if she knew when she’ll get some again. So I meant to walk away at first, but then ended up getting a bucket of regular yogurt from that same brand for only a little less, though I could have gotten something from hypermarkets instead, either regular yogurt for even less or 400 g cups of that bio yogurt at a price that was quite similar to what the bucket would have worked out to, and doing so would have also meant not keeping it out of the fridge for some four hours.
After that, since I had already had a look around the farmers’ market and knew where I wanted to get each thing from, got some apricots and cucumbers, though I later saw cucumbers, also from Romania, for less in Kaufland. And also got two small cabbages, since I saw the price listed as 1 RON and assumed it was per kilogram, as cabbage is priced anywhere. Also noticed that the people who seemed to be selling it had one of those old scales, with weights, so assumed they’ll trick me to some extent, but also assumed it’ll still be better than the 1.50 RON / kg I had seen at one or two others, or the 1.59 RON / kg I had seen at Auchan, not to mention the even higher prices elsewhere. Well, when I picked two and asked how much they’ll be, the older woman who was there actually asked the person at the next stall, who told her those are 1 RON each, not per kilogram… And I felt cornered and got them anyway instead of backing off, or at least picking somewhat bigger ones, and when I weighed them when I got back I saw they weighed just under 1.3 kg together, therefore working out to about 1.55 RON / kg, almost the price from Auchan, where I would have been able to pick without having to deal with people.
Was thinking to drop stuff off after that, and then go back out to this Carrefour and Kaufland, especially considering that yogurt, but ended up deciding to go straight there, thinking that I’ll put my stuff in a cabinet at Kaufland and it’ll at least be out of the heat that was outside. But since things kept going wrong, it was only to be expected that when I tried to cut a bit through some alleys I ended up in a dead end. Might have been able to go through a building, since doors were open, apparently because they were cleaning, but I didn’t dare, so I went back to find my way again, possibly losing a bit of time instead of gaining anything.
With things still going wrong, I also hit my head in the open door of a cabinet on the top row as I was getting up after putting my stuff in one from the bottom one. Then checked prices in Kaufland, finding some mosquito repellent of the kind dad had asked for that was cheaper and also seemed better than the specific one he had asked for, at least according to what it said on the package. Then went straight back out to check in Carrefour as well, finding that repellent there as well, for a bit more than the listed price in Kaufland, but the price label was folded, employees were working in that area and I didn’t scan it to check. Also looked for something else for dad, finding it weird that I couldn’t find any of that specific kind, so at first meant not to get anything, but eventually ended up getting some bread, asking for 800 grams and the person there first saying that if I bought that kind before I should know how much that means, cutting what ended up being less than 500 grams when I said I didn’t. Then she said she’ll just slice that and put it in a bag for someone to buy directly and cut me another piece, but that other piece was only slightly larger, still well under 600 grams, and she said she couldn’t estimate based on weight. Still, just took that one, and also a cheap ice cream… Which just about melted as I waited for a long time in line, seeming like all other lines were going much faster, people getting in them well after me getting out sooner. And just when my turn finally came, the paper roll finished too, so had to wait a little longer for the cashier to replace it, and then also to void a transaction for someone else, since she could apparently do that.
That left me with a melting ice cream that I had to figure out how to eat then and there, being in a paper pack, like butter. So at first I sat down near the exit of that mall, in full sight, and struggled with it, which was made worse by the fact that I had grabbed a 0.05 RON coin from that moist sponge thing in front of the cashier, since she had given me 7 RON as change when it should have been 7.05 RON and that coin was there to let me sort out the matter that way, but that meant I really didn’t want to put my right hand on the ice cream after touching that. And since I wasn’t really thinking anymore, my brain tending to freeze when I need to act quickly, I didn’t go to the bathroom to wash first and at least sort that problem out. So, when I saw how difficult it was and that it was going to drip on me, I got up and walked to the elevators from that area, which are more out of the way, between stores that actually have that side blocked, so those who were in there or looking through couldn’t see me either. A few people did pass through, but I was nevertheless far less visible than I had been while sitting down, and I eventually managed to eat it, and pretty much pour what had already melted in my mouth, getting some on my hands and a bit on my face as well, but less than I feared. Finally went to the bathroom to wash after that.
Back to Kaufland, got toilet paper and that repellent, but when I scanned it I saw that it scanned at a higher price than the listed one, higher than the one listed in Carrefour too. But I hadn’t scanned the product there to be sure, and either way I had pretty much forgotten about it and it was still cheaper than the specific kind dad had asked for, the price for that actually being the highest in Kaufland, but that actually being the only option if I’d have gotten that, since they had one last box on the shelf, while both Auchan and Carrefour had been completely out. Popular stuff! Either way, also took the price label and scanned that as well, confirming that it was for the same product and the listed price was just wrong, so I looked for an employee but someone else got the attention of the one who passed through that area and he took some time, so I darted away and couldn’t find her anymore when I got back. Still, eventually found another and asked about the difference, but she said she didn’t know and told me to go to the information desk, which I did, being asked where I got it from and having a hard time answering, since she said it should have been with the other products of this type but it hadn’t been, instead being on some branded shelves, with repellents just from this brand, oddly placed at one end of the area with pet food, which I couldn’t remember anymore, brain again freezing since I had to interact. Either way, she said the prices must have been switched, but I don’t know whether she blamed me, or some customer, or the staff, and I couldn’t get myself to tell her to scan the price label as well to see that nobody had switched that, in case that was what she thought.
Having forgotten about the possibly lower price in Carrefour, I decided to buy that anyway, and also grabbed those other things for dad which I couldn’t find there, the store brands of both having the same price. However, I guess I looked at the price of the kind I wanted and ended up grabbing the bigger ones, being surprised when I was told a price that was 3 RON more than it should have been. And since I was already pissed over the higher price of the repellent, I snapped a bit at the cashier as I told her to take those things off, and then at the person who came to scan her card for that, telling her to check their prices… Before suddenly realizing what I had done, taking my stuff from that cabinet and moving it all to a bigger one so the toilet paper would fit as well and rushing back in. Then I quickly grabbed the correct products and rushed to checkout, seeing that employee who had scanned her card walking back from there and awkwardly smiling at her and saying it had been my fault, then standing in a long line to get to the same cashier in order to be able to apologize to her as well, not wanting to be “that customer”.
It wasn’t over though, since I then realized I had forgotten to get onions from Carrefour. That proved to have been a bad choice anyway, since just one day later they were cheaper and also from Romania in Kaufland, but I didn’t know that then, so ran back to get those too, and ended up waiting for quite a long time in line yet again, lines going even more slowly since due to a problem they couldn’t accept payments by card for a while, and again the other lines going faster than the one I was in anyway. At least the woman, with a baby in a pram, who had left a pile of bio (organic) stuff there in order to get some cash and returned just as it would have been my turn noticed that I just had the onions and told me to go ahead, so I didn’t have to wait for her to get checked out as well. Would have been quite pissed if she’d have gotten back ahead of me, even if it’d have pretty much followed the pattern of that day. One more thing that did, on the other hand, was the fact that those right in front of me had several of those things dad wants, which I couldn’t find there the first time, and they were 50% off, expiring soon, so I guess they had cleared the newer ones off the shelf to get rid of those expiring ones first, but hadn’t put those out yet when I first looked, since I obviously checked. So I could have gotten them for half the price if I’d have waited, since he goes through them quickly anyway…
Then I ran back to Kaufland to get my stuff from that cabinet, walking out at 1:13 PM and taking half an hour to get back here, struggling with that large bag on the way. Its size and that of the straps make it drag on the pavement when there’s something heavier in it, and that got even worse after I switched hands, so I kept trying to find other ways to hold it and it kept tripping me as a result. It was only when I switched back that I figured out that it had been worse because I was holding the bag with the bread, which has those large straps that I put around my neck, under my right arm and hadn’t switched that as well, so my left arm obviously hung a bit lower.
After finally getting back here, I found some greasy packs of cat food in the bag, spotting one that was a little bit torn as I was looking for the cause. No idea whether it had been like that when I bought it or the corner of another pack caused that, but I just pointed it out to dad and I guess he gave it to them anyway. As for me, as I was looking for something to put the apricots in, I saw an old clay pot that had a fair bit of mold on it, and also a spider sitting in the web it had made in front of it. So that hadn’t been touched in a while, but I washed it in the bathroom and used it for that, though after this it’ll probably be better to use it for some of the plants on the balcony or something of the sort. On the other hand, I was quite pissed when I actually read the ingredients of that bread I bought, which was supposed to be whole wheat and had that listed on the label that was there, but on the one placed on the bag the first ingredient is white flour, with whole wheat flour just being one ingredient of a mix that’s listed as making up 20% of it… And there’s sugar there as well, albeit the last ingredient. Oddly, it’s not the first time I buy that kind of bread and I definitely don’t remember seeing that before, or I’d have obviously made a mental note to never touch it again. But there was nothing to do about it then, and at least it was all over, and at 5:10 PM I finally crawled in bed too. Woke up when dad got back, but waited a bit more and got up at 8:35 PM.

Finally moving on to Thursday, that was when I had scheduled myself to volunteer at the Botanical Garden, between 4 PM and 8 PM. So I had my alarm ring at 1 PM, meaning to leave at 3 PM or so, but was just starting to eat at 2 PM, when I got an SMS from Anca, letting me know that due to a medical matter the gift shop will close at 3 PM that day, so there will be no access to tools. And there had been three of us scheduled for that evening, including the one who goes most often, so we could have gotten more done… And since this was the only time I had scheduled myself, I’m wondering what to do next, since I only want to go when more experienced volunteers, most preferably two of them, are also scheduled, and then there’s the weather, the metro card, the days when I want to run, those when I want to watch something… That evening checked all boxes and I’m not sure when another like that will come along, but I really want to go at least once this month, and most preferably twice.
Still, I was already eating something I had set aside for that day, thinking I’ll need the energy, and had the metro card, and dad had left some more money, so I went out to look for something else he had asked me to get, and dental floss at a better price for myself, and was wondering about that cat food for Rocky too, since it could fit in what he had left and I had seen a good price for that brand at Kaufland. So I left at about 3:35 PM, taking out the recyclables as well, and first checked two Carrefours and three Kauflands. In the process, confirmed that Carrefour now just has a 50% discount on all expiring products, since it’s like that at the one at Obor as well, so no more higher discounts and exact prices listed on those products. Also saw whole wheat bread, or what I hope is whole wheat bread, for less at that same Carrefour, so I could have gotten that instead of what I had bought from the other one two days earlier. And if the Carrefour at Obor was the first of the five hypermarkets that I got to, that bigger one was the last, getting there after walking to it from the Kaufland at Basarab, since it was faster than taking the metro, and that was the only place where I found that thing dad had asked for or the dental floss I was looking for, at a good price too, though I had admittedly forgotten to look for it at the first Carrefour. Kaufland had neither, nor that specific kind of cat food Rocky likes, not even at full price, and the price for it was too high in Carrefour.
But I got nothing then, thinking to check Supeco as well… And getting rather lost on the way, since I got off the metro one stop earlier, to avoid needing to switch, and somehow lost my way and ended up walking all the way to the next stop anyway, actually crossing the street to it too before realizing I shouldn’t have done that and crossing back. That meant I finally got there some 15 to 20 minutes later than if I wouldn’t have gotten lost, but at least I found that thing much cheaper there, and with an additional 10% discount if you bought more than one. Didn’t get it then though, not wanting to go in Auchan with it, and either way wanting to learn that route, so wanting to return there and get back to that metro station, while if I’d have finished this route at Auchan I’d have used their free bus to get back.
So I then walked to Auchan, passing through the Pepco that’s also there on a whim and finding cheap clothes hangers of the kind dad wants, and he had again mentioned needing more. So I made a mental note of that, then checked Auchan, found nothing at a better price, and didn’t find that dental floss at all, walked out, then remembered I had seen cheap lemons there before and running back, but quickly running back out after seeing that the price had increased by a lot. Then got back to that Pepco for the clothes hangers, then walked back to Supeco for that other thing, getting two of course. And I did manage to walk back to that metro station without getting lost again, so I hope I learned that route now… Though now that I checked the map I saw that a much shorter one is available, and this may well explain why I got lost, because the route I knew was this longer one but I was actually trying to cut through those little streets to go in the direction I knew I had to head in, and that resulted in conflicting directions.
Did consider getting back to that Carrefour for the floss, but it’d have been really tight, considering when I had to give the metro card back to dad, and as I was on the metro I realized I also didn’t have a coin for the cabinet at Carrefour, to put my stuff in there, so I decided to get off at the next stop… Only to immediately realize that the cabinets at that particular Carrefour don’t require coins, and the doors of the train actually opened again after closing, so I could have gotten back on, but I decided against it, and got back here a few minutes after 9 PM. Then I made myself mamaliga at night and burned that pot even more, ending up seeing something shiny when I scraped some of that off, so I guess that’s another place where the enamel came off and that’s the metal underneath… Though in other spots, where it’s all burned off, so including that layer that I see there, what I see underneath is black. I probably shouldn’t be using it anymore, but it’s the one I ended up using for this and for popcorn after dropping the one that was actually meant for this and since there’s none that would actually be suitable I’ll burn any I use for this anyway, and have done so already.

I’ll end this huge post with Friday, when it was the storm that first woke me up. Went to pee at 10:15 AM and managed to get back to sleep after that, but I didn’t sleep much more, getting up at 12:05 PM but having been awake for a while before that. Was out the door half an hour later, meaning to get that dental floss, first thinking to go straight to the Carrefour I had seen it at, but then deciding to have a look at the one at Obor after all, since I was thinking of apples as well and that gave me a chance to get it all done in one place. And since I did find floss there, at the same price, that actually proved to be the case, even if I didn’t get apples, since those selling fruit seem to have switched to others and few had cheap apples, and they really looked nasty.
Also looked for lemons, but they were too expensive at both Carrefour and Kaufland, since I checked there as well, and I had seen them cheaper in the farmers’ market, so I got one kilogram from one of the two that had the cheapest ones, rather out of the way. Couldn’t really afford that if I still mean to get some apples next week, would have meant to ask for 800 or, at most, 900 grams, but I thought that’d have sounded weird and the guy looked rather intimidating, which was why I didn’t even try to pick them myself, and forgot to even give him the plastic bag I had. But at least I stood my ground when he first asked whether 6 RON, so the price for about 1.2 kg, was fine or he should take some off, and then whether I’m getting cheap over 1 RON when I did tell him to take some off. Not sure whether the bad ones were added then, as he switched some around, but the bag he used was black, I guess on purpose, and it was only when I got back, around 2:25 PM, that I saw that three of the seven were moldy, albeit two of them only slightly. The worse problem was a fourth, however, which had a brown spot and when I cut it I saw that I needed to remove a fair bit of it, being like that inside as well. But what I’m left with should still be more than I’d have been able to buy with the same amount from one of the hypermarkets.

We’re in the second half of the year and I hadn’t added anything in this series, so it’s about time. Had been meaning to for a while, especially since I need non-personal posts, plus that the Power of Female Fronted Metal group became much more active recently and I therefore stumble into new bands more often than I had been in a while, but kept putting it off. In fact, I was about to give up on the thought today as well, but in the end I set my mind to it, at first thinking I’ll stop after just three entries if I’ll have to. Got to five after all, but it’s rushed and I tended to mostly, with one exception, just listen to what was posted officially on YouTube, not including any live recordings, making my usual two picks from that instead of out of everything that could be found.

I’ll start with Enemy Inside, which doesn’t even have an entry on Metal Archives yet but which I know I listened to before, YouTube listing their previous videos as watched as well. I think it was the heavy sound and that trace of something oriental in two of them, quite clearly coupled with me rushing or being in a bad state of mind at the time, that put me off, making me dismiss them until today, when I happened to listen to Phoenix, which therefore needs to be my first pick. If I eliminate those two and the one that’s a live video, and since I didn’t listen to the rest, the second needs to be Oblivion, but I may actually prefer that one. And those I had previously dismissed did also catch my attention to some extent now that I listened to them again, and if you read the descriptions you’ll see that they actually have a point to make too, with all their songs.

It’s a somewhat similar story for Nightqueen, which has a power metal sound that seems brought from as far back as the ’80s and which I was aware of but had dismissed until today, when I happened to listen to Wall of Sorrow. Now this genre isn’t what I’m usually looking for, but their current vocalist makes all the difference, truly having what it takes for it. You’ll likely notice the difference if you compare with an earlier song, like Lady Fantasy, which isn’t bad but simply lacks this sort of voice, in my opinion at least.

Moving on, Tigersclaw is an actual recent find, having first heard of them less than a month ago, and I actually recall being quite blown away by Force of Destiny at the time. Listening to it again now, I’m not that impressed anymore, but like the voice well enough. They could do with better recording, which may be a matter of being able to afford it, and a more complex sound, but they seem to lack the members for that, so it’s nice enough for a band this size. For an earlier song, I’ll go with Eternity, which may actually sound better.

Another band I only heard of recently, Lureaway, is the one exception to what I mentioned above, only listening to official videos posted on YouTube. In fact, they seem to me to pick what to post there, or even make a video for, quite poorly, so the links will be from Bandcamp as well, the first pick being Aflame. As for the second, though there may be another that’d get closer to following my rule of having the two picks from different albums if possible, being the only one of the four older songs listed as having been re-recorded for the recent full album, I’ll nevertheless go with In Bed with the Beast as my second pick. I think these two songs show what they can do, and why I like how they sound the best out of the five bands included in this post.

As for the fifth band, that’s Sin7sinS and it seems that they recently returned after a few years, Prayer for Night Eternal being their first song after the hiatus and catching my attention when I heard it. From what I listened to out of their older songs, I guess I wouldn’t have exactly been interested, and it is in fact quite likely that I heard of them back then and dismissed them, but there are a few exceptions, the most obvious out of what I listened to again now being Bittersweet Dreams.

As I already mentioned, this was a rushed post, not doing justice to the bands, but at least I managed to write it, and post it before midnight as well, to at least have a chance to avoid another Sunday update, though I somehow doubt I will. Either way, even these few words about each are better than nothing, though it hardly makes a dent in the number of bands I really should post at least this much about. It doesn’t mean all that much even for those that caught my attention after being posted on that group I mentioned over the past few months, since the activity picked up as it did. But if I could write one, I hope I’ll manage more, sooner or later. As usual, definitely mean to write at least one more by the end of the year, and hope for two more, so let’s see how that will work out.

Friday the organizers put up the post about the event, which is in Romanian but includes plenty of pictures, though oddly enough not the group shot from the start, so I guess I should finally get to the part I skipped in the previous personal post, starting when I left, at 8 PM, and minutes later realized I had forgotten that thing to put on my arm to wipe sweat with. Didn’t come back for it though, so I was there well before 8:30 PM, when we had been asked to arrive, I think spotting the few who were already there at 8:23 PM, and also spotting and grabbing a 0.10 RON coin as I was walking towards them. Then I just sort of stood around for a while, but used the time to rearrange my things, putting the energy bar and garlic in one pocket and the flexible water bottle in the other, closing each pocket with two safety pins, and leaving only the other things in the bag I held in my hand, with rubber bands around it just to be sure. Actually used all four rubber bands at first, but one broke as I was putting them back on after taking them off at the first scheduled stop and I just used two after that, leaving the third remaining one as a spare, like I had three spare safety pins as well. None of those were needed though, even if at least the safety pin I opened most often when we stopped got badly bent quite a few times, since I could straighten it well enough and it didn’t snap.

After we moved to the area where we were supposed to gather, where there was a stage as well, I grabbed one of the protein yogurts offered by the sponsor and drank it, then went to the toilet, looking for one on the floor below, and got back just in time for the start of the warmup, which I did take part in, albeit rather hesitantly. It was 9:40 PM when, after taking that starting group picture, the 75 or so, maybe up to 80, of us got going. We couldn’t run at first, being in that mall and needing to get down to the ground floor and exit it first, but after that we could get going and I was part of the group that was breaking ahead, eventually, I think at Obor, needing to make the first of many stops to wait for the others. With nothing arranged with the authorities, we had to run on sidewalks and wait at stoplights anyway, but it wasn’t just the light that we had to wait for, and when Radu, who can be said was the organizer, finally caught up, leading those others, he said we were going too fast and the rest couldn’t keep up, and that we should stay with the group if we wanted music, but also repeated the route and told those who wanted to go faster to wait for the rest at that first scheduled stop, at a club in Charles de Gaulle Square. This call to stay with the group followed by being asked to at least wait for the others at the next planned stop, including the locations selected for group pictures, would be repeated multiple times until Carol Park, where those of us who could do better were released to a greater extent, and someone who had stayed with the larger group until that point said he had gotten quite upset at those of us who kept pushing ahead, but the others were pretty much walking a good part of the time, a fact made obvious by calculating their pace.

I seem to remember reaching that club at 10:43 PM, and since we had been scheduled to reach that place at 11 PM, that stop was a long one. We were offered water, apples and more protein yogurt, the yogurt being poured into small plastic glasses, making Radu remark out loud when he also reached the place that they had been saying something about not using plastic, which had in fact been the case and the reason why the participants had been required to bring something for water. But what we brought was just used for the water offered by this group that organized the event, while the sponsor continued to use piles of those glasses at the second and third refreshment stops as well, and there were yet other, larger, plastic glasses for what I gather was iced lemonade at the second stop, and I saw a few other larger plastic glasses used as well, though I’m not sure who had brought or offered those. Either way, I went to the toilet there again, then a talk about nutrition, focusing on proteins, took place, and during that talk the little girl who also took part at least in that first part of the event was munching from a bowl with various kinds of nuts, so after it was put away in the room where the water and apples were offered after the end of the talk and I saw someone else grab a few from it, I did the same before we finally left, I think at just about 11:30 PM, after taking another picture and wearing glowsticks, which we had been given before exiting the club. Another guy helped me put mine on my wrist after I had been struggling with it for quite some time.

Since Radu led us away but it was again just those of us who were faster who were quick to follow, the others taking their time even then, while we were waiting he led us around that first area with flowers at the entrance of Herastrau Park, and I will insist on using that name for it, so that added another little bit, though perhaps only about 100 meters or so, to the distance covered. Then, as we went almost all around the lake, some of us again went way ahead, and I was in that group. It was a much smaller group than it had been before that first planned stop, however, at least after we ended up running in the dark, the light carried by one of the two who were leading seeming to be the only one, so there were seven of us maintaining that pace as first, but as first one and then another dropped back, they couldn’t see where they were stepping and stopped to wait for the rest. Then, since I gathered that the second one to drop back and stop and one of those still ahead were together, he and one other guy soon stopped to wait for her, leaving me to run in the dark, led by two people I didn’t know. And since I was uncertain of the route and had no idea how well they knew it, at a fork in the path I stopped as well, waiting for the others to catch up. However, once we were back together and we reached areas where there was some light again, the same five of us pushed ahead again, finding those two waiting on a bench as we stopped close to the exit. A couple of others, who had ended up between groups, arrived some time later, and we spent a long time waiting for the rest, voicing our frustration at their pace and one even leaving then, saying he’s getting bored when they’re so slow.

Coming out of the park at Arcul de Triumf, even the group had to wait for quite some time for the last few, who were said to have stopped at a confectionery, though I don’t know whether that was a joke or not. Another group picture was also taken, and then we kept going to the second planned refreshment point, at a club in the Old Town, stopping for pictures in a couple more places on the way, Radu announcing the next such stop each time, so those of us pushing ahead would know where to wait for the rest. And we arrived at that club more or less together, at 1:35 AM, just five minutes ahead of schedule, leaving again close to 2 AM. On top of water and protein yogurt, and I’m pretty sure also apples, though my memory is playing some tricks on me when it comes to that, we were told we’ll also have iced lemonade there, but I guess there wasn’t enough of it and by the time I realized where to go to get the stuff, there was none left. So I made do with the other stuff, went in to go to the toilet, saw the line, went back out to reapply the lotion against mosquitoes, then went back in and could go to the toilet and wash my hands just in time, getting back out as the rest were getting ready to leave. Can’t find myself in the picture taken there and I’m pretty sure I really am not in it, as it was likely taken while I was at the toilet, or waiting in line for it, or maybe even applying that lotion.

The part between the second and third refreshment points was rather uneventful, going most of the way around the Palace of Parliament and then, after crossing through a bit of Izvor Park, using the sidewalk next to the river meaning narrow sidewalks and little room to pass. Even so, there was some waiting to regroup when we entered Izvor Park, and Radu again asked us to take it slower as we’ll run along the river in order for the guy taking pictures to be able to do so. And I did try to do that, letting others get some way ahead and ending up sort of in between groups for a little while, before eventually giving chase. There were some other places where we had to stop and wait, but since we were again on sidewalks, stoplights went some way towards keeping us closer together.

The third refreshment point was at the entrance of Carol Park and I reached it at 2:40 AM. However, I can’t say that it was reached 20 minutes ahead of schedule, since the schedule listed it at 3 AM, but after the park, and according to something Radu said, the original plan included ten minutes of going up and down the stairs in that park. Either way, on top of water, apples and yogurt, we also had protein bars there, and since there were two kinds, I took and ate one of each… And I’m uncertain whether I took “only” a few of those glasses of yogurt or a bottle as well. It was getting to be a bit much though, and the fact that both the bars and the yogurt were sweet was making me slightly nauseous as well, but I knew I needed the energy, especially since I dreaded the stairs that were to come. However, after a guy worried me by first asking about the route after that point and then, after I quickly answered and also mentioned that the refreshment point was supposed to have been after the park, said that he wrote that schedule and even he doesn’t remember it anymore, Radu called for a “technical meeting”, since the pace and the exhaustion of those not pushing ahead made it clear that we won’t be able to complete the planned route together. But, as he was trying to work out a shorter route, someone, possibly even that guy who had supposedly written the schedule, said that we should just give it a shot, since we had covered 28 kilometers already, so only had about 12 left, and he hesitantly agreed, saying that we should “honor the stairs” by just going up, down and then back up again, and then push the rest of the way, with shorter breaks. It would appear that this was a first, as the planned route hadn’t been completed in either 2017 or 2018.

It was about 3 AM when we got back to running, heading straight for the stairs and, as planned, going up, down and then up again. I tried to time myself on those stairs and I think it took me 2:22, but I was mainly focused on the woman ahead of me, watching how she ran on the way up the first time, then staying close on the way down, almost falling at one point and barely managing to avoid it, and then applying what I had noticed to get past her without exhausting myself too much as we went back up. Then we waited for the rest to catch up, Radu pointing out that there were some toilets and a public fountain nearby, and some did use the toilets while I just used the fountain to splash some water on my face and wash my hands before eating two of the three cloves of garlic I had with me as we were getting ready to leave again. Noticed that we were much fewer by then, commenting out loud that we had “rather halved”, though I didn’t count. Another guy who was next to me said that indeed plenty had left by then.
Soon after leaving Carol Park, we entered Tineretului Park, with Radu leading the way at first, but soon dropping back again to stay with those who needed a slower pace. Before doing that, however, he told those of us pushing harder to keep going around the lake while he’ll lead the rest on a shorter path, having this conversation while running, at first seeming to have a hard time finding someone who knew the park well enough to be able to lead this group. But eventually it seemed to have been sorted out, and somebody produced a light as well, so we could keep going once we got to the dark areas, without worrying about the rest anymore. I think there were about 15 of us in that group, or maybe not even 15, possibly even closer to ten, not sure anymore, but the pace was good and it actually felt nice, running through a park, not worrying about other traffic, not wondering whether anyone in my group knew the route or worried about going against the organizer’s wishes anymore.
Despite taking that longer route, when we reached the exit we still had to wait for several minutes for the others, and then there was another brief discussion about the route, Radu saying that those who can’t do much more should just go straight to the National Library, where we were supposed to finish, and that doing the whole thing would require pushing awfully hard and there is a way to cut that route short as well… Even though we had less than eight kilometers to go, actually closer to seven now that I check, and it was only 3:55 AM when we got going again. But there was the fourth refreshment point ahead as well, as we’ll reach Unirii, so I said that we should get there first and then decide, and I guess there was some agreement on that, though it wasn’t actually stated as he hurried to lead us away, this time staying with those of us pushing harder and really pushing us. I do believe we were 14 or 15 and it was the first time I struggled, feeling that this pace was a bit too much, at least at that point. I obviously wasn’t going to be able to keep that up all the way to the end if that was what he had in mind, but I could hold on to the back of that group and he seemed thrilled when we had to stop at the stoplight at Unirii, saying that we were an amazing group and it had been like a sprint for bonus seconds in the Tour de France. No idea why he associated running with cycling…

I seem to remember reaching that fourth refreshment point at 4:02 AM, and that’s pretty much what it works out to as well, considering the distance and pace after leaving Tineretului Park. Seeing as it was where it was supposed to be and the schedule listed us as reaching it at 4:15 AM, I was expecting to be able to recover after that sprint and was waiting calmly for those offering stuff to get ready, since they weren’t yet. However, Radu quickly said that those who want to go straight to the end can take their time and then just wait for us there, but there’s no time to waste for those who want to keep going, prompting quite a flurry of activity. So I went to have my water bottle filled and drank it quickly, also kept grabbing pieces of apple as I was passing by the guy rushing to slice them, and when Radu said we’ll leave in two minutes, I think at 4:09 AM, I just took a bottle of yogurt, and I’m uncertain about this but I think a protein bar as well, straight from the back of the truck, since they hadn’t managed to take them out yet, stuffing myself with it or them as fast as I could, and others did the same. There was a bit of a tense moment then, as Radu asked for someone to lead those wanting to take that shortened route he had mentioned when leaving Tineretului Park, only to University Square, and an older man who had been running in circles around the slower ones and when we were stopping and had apparently also commented a lot offered and Radu refused him, saying he doesn’t know him and he talks too much, prompting a bit of an exchange between them which Radu impatiently cut short, naming the person who had held that talk about nutrition for that “position” and saying those of us meaning to complete the entire planned route will need to stick to five minutes per kilometer, 5:30 at most, and do it all in at most 50 minutes, so there will be no waiting for anyone who can’t keep up.

I couldn’t understand that, as it was 4:12 AM when we got going again and we had no more than six kilometers left, so it wasn’t a question of getting to the end at 5:30 AM, as originally planned, but even getting there in those 50 minutes he mentioned only required a jogging pace, eight minutes per kilometer. But there was no time to say anything and I had to give everything just to hold on to the back of the group, 12 of us being there at first, becoming 13 as a girl caught up when we had to make a brief stop at a stoplight, saying that she didn’t know whether she’ll keep up at that pace but ending up being able to after all. One more guy tried to follow, but after getting close when we briefly had to stop that time, he fell back again and at the next such stop Radu said there’s no way he’ll keep up and didn’t wait again, so 14 tried, but we never really were 14. However, it was at such a stop, at 4:18 AM, as we were getting close to University Square, that I said the pace was unnecessary and Radu replied that sunrise will be much earlier and we should get to the finish around that time, not at 5:30 AM. But we were going too fast even for that, and he agreed to at least go down to 5:30 per kilometer, and then likely slowed down even more as he struggled to get the speaker to work, so I could keep up somewhat better. It was still too fast to go like that all the way, but it at least meant hitting the wall somewhat later, as if I’d have had to go all the way to Romana Square at the original pace I knew I’d have had to pretty much walk after that.
I seem to remember seeing 4:28 AM at Romana Square, but I’m uncertain whether we reached it at that time or, perhaps more likely, that’s when we were leaving, after taking a group picture there as well, though this time Radu took it, the photographer who had followed us on a bicycle having apparently said at that last refreshment point that he couldn’t keep up anymore, since I heard Radu ask him to take one last picture of us at Cocor, so just some 200 meters after Unirii, before turning around to wait for us at the finish. Either way, one more guy left then, so we were down to 12. Also, we really could almost walk from that point and still reach the National Library at 5 AM, since we only had a little over three kilometers left, and I said as much.
Well, we didn’t walk. The pace was slower, but I was pretty much out of energy, which really hit me after we passed by Gradina Icoanei. It was then, in fact surprisingly late, also considering all the yogurt, that I also started to feel a certain pressing need, but it still wasn’t as bad as I expected. The exhaustion was the worse problem, so it was just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other and somehow holding on to the back of the group, taking advantage of any brief stop made when crossing a street and feeling quite relieved when Radu asked us to go slower and form a tight group for another picture that he wanted to take of us actually running, the guy who was at the back of the actual group, as I was a few steps behind by then, actually turning and seeming to mean to say something before changing his mind as I pushed with some energy I didn’t really have anymore to draw level. And there was also the fact that a girl, I think the one who had said that she didn’t know whether she’ll be able to keep up, stopped to buy herself a bottle of water from a store and Radu asked us to go slower to allow her to catch up, and he and at least one other guy fell back, so for a while I wasn’t last anymore. Also remember Radu pointing out some toilets and asking whether anyone but him needed to go, then saying it’s out of the question to make us wait for him of all people when the others offered to do so, so while I don’t think he dropped back for long enough to do that, I guess it’s not entirely impossible, if he was really fast and then really sprinted to catch up again.
Thanks to this reduced pace, I was still holding on at 4:49 AM, when we were some 500 meters from the end, Radu actually saying 400 meters then, and either finally realizing or perhaps merely finally admitting that we’ll get there too soon. However, instead of either getting there a bit sooner or pretty much just walking that last bit, he asked whether we wanted to do one kilometer more and while I said I’m pretty much done, just that guy who had turned to look for me at the time of that last picture seemed to pay attention, at least in the sense that he looked at me and again seemed to want to say something. Can’t say I noticed what, if anything, anyone else said, but I guess most agreed with the suggestion and just got going right away, continuing on Matei Basarab all the way to Traian instead of turning on Mircea Voda, and all I could do was struggle to somehow keep up. Did manage to say that this extension was rather messed up when we briefly stopped at a fountain and I splashed some more water on my face after others drank, but a girl just said that “we voted”, as if that was supposed to make me be able to keep up any better. I mean, even if being part of this group can be said to have implied agreeing to Radu’s stated goal of completing this last part of the route in 50 minutes, so reaching the finish at 5:02 AM, it hardly seems fair to just change the goal like that on the spot, so close to the end.
I did try, and I guess I’d have just about managed it, squeezing out some final drops of energy for those remaining 200 meters or so, if it’d have indeed been just one more kilometer. However, I see that the route was extended by some 1.3 kilometers, and after we turned and Radu shouted that we only had some 500 meters to go, I really hit the wall, so those were some very long 500 meters for me, as my pace suddenly dropped to about half of that of the others and all I could do was struggle to still somehow put one foot in front of the other while watching them drift away. Did also notice that same guy, who was again at the back of the group and actually dropping a few steps behind the rest, turn to look towards me a few times, and I have no idea whether he said anything to the others, but they stopped at the last stoplight before the National Library and I could catch up again. There were just seven of them there though, eight including me, and since I heard Radu shout that it was red and we needed to wait I assume that the first four went ahead, since I’m quite sure all 12 of us had kept going on this extended final part of the route and I highly doubt they had decided to break from the group at a later point. But, either way, on top of being one of at most 11, since Radu had led those taking the shorter route through Tineretului Park earlier, to have completed the entire route, plus this added part at the end, I don’t know how but I somehow found one more sprint in me there at the end and managed to finish ahead of the other seven. It sure hurt, but at the same time, it felt quite good.

It was 5:01 AM when we reached that place, where the others were waiting for us, so we also managed to complete this final part of the route, including the added portion, in just under 50 minutes. I also tried to keep track of the actual time spent running, stopping my stopwatch whenever I stopped, however briefly, and it listed 3:57:44 at the end, but that should be seen as a rough estimate, since there was always a question about the exact moment when I should stop it or start it again, there were short distances covered while walking, without starting it, and there were also a couple of moments when I forgot to start it and a couple of others when I forgot to stop it. Tried to make up for those moments, stopping it again later if I had forgotten to start it or starting it later if I had forgotten to stop it, but those were obviously more very rough estimates. So let’s just say I covered that distance in about, and probably just under, four hours of actual running.

Once there, we did the stretching exercises, which hurt even more, and when at one point Radu said that we’ll hate him for the next one but if it won’t hurt so bad that we won’t want to see the next day it means we’re not doing it right, I wasn’t exactly joking when I told him not to worry because we hate him already. It was, however, quite funny when he had us squat and a guy next to me said that he remembered that position from certain other locations, I added “especially after all that yogurt” and another guy said that if he’ll have to stay like that much longer he might get other ideas. There were comments about changing underwear as well, but not sure whether also then or earlier, and there were of course plenty about how we all smelled.
Some 40 people were there at the end, maybe 45 but that included a few who didn’t actually run, and there was a draw for a Garmin Forerunner 45 then too, just those who had registered ahead of time being entered, so not including anyone who just came directly, in case there were any who had done so, and only those who were actually there being eligible. As such, the first name was discarded, the person in question not being there, but the second was indeed there and she won it. As for the rest of us, after taking the final group picture, we ended up grabbing more protein yogurt and protein bars, as well as pieces of apple. The sponsor had brought quite a lot of their products, a table being filled with what was left, with a few more boxes full of those bars around it as well, and Radu said he’ll get upset if anything’s left, so I grabbed four yogurts and four bars, and an older woman actually got a full box of bars after a guy told her more than once to do so as she was looking at the few left in the opened boxes. I also grabbed several more pieces of apple… And ate most of them right there, before realizing that my hands had been on the pavement during the stretching exercises and putting the last two away, at first meaning to wash them if I’ll find a bathroom at the metro station but failing to find one and only eating them after getting back here, which I did at 6:15 AM. Also ate that final clove of garlic after getting back here, though it’d have been more useful around Gradina Icoanei, or perhaps before that, right after leaving Romana Square.

Radu’s tracker lists 38.3 kilometers, and since he did take that shorter route through Tineretului Park, those of us taking the longer route covered even more, but I’m not sure how much to trust it, since it seems to go all over the place and some other data is quite obviously wrong. Still, the route was supposed to have “about 40 kilometers” and we extended it by more than one, so it was probably still just short of a marathon, but not by much. It was indeed covered in a very long time, with plenty of breaks, some of them long ones, especially until we got more serious, starting in Carol Park, and with a lot of yogurt on top of the water and apples and bars that would normally be consumed during such a run. I was actually a bit nauseous because of all of that, but I’m sure it also helped a fair bit, especially when I did it while being so unprepared, just learning of the event on Monday, actually signing up Thursday and taking part in it Saturday night. But it was at night, when I function a whole lot better, instead of in the morning, on next to no sleep and also without being able to take a shit first, as the “official” runs are. Did carry some of the things I had with me for no reason though, as the only things that were useful were the flexible water bottle, the metro card and that lotion, which did indeed keep the mosquitoes off me while others complained a fair bit, though I’m not entirely certain that I did need to reapply it, so I might have gotten away without that as well. Since dad was still awake when I got back, I wouldn’t have even needed the keys.