Cav's Place

On November 24, after getting in bed at 5:20 AM, I got up when the alarm rang, at 1:30 PM, but after waking up around 11:45 AM, when dad was in the bathroom, I slept poorly, since I wanted to go to pee but couldn’t, so I got back in bed, apparently fell asleep again, woke up once more and did go to pee close to 12:10 PM, then got another brief nap before dad went out, and one more until a bad dream woke me again, seconds before the alarm rang. Then I saw that dad had brought my jacket back, after having it dry cleaned after planting trees, which was nice. He had also taken it there, and I meant to pick it up myself after the run, but then he said that he was going to make a detour before going where he had to go that day, since he was driving, and bring it when he’ll get back, around 6 PM. However, that was when he meant to wake up at 12:30 PM and leave at 1 PM, and he ended up waking earlier and leaving at 2:10 PM, so he used that time to pick it up and bring it back before leaving. Either way, 15 minutes after he left I realized that I had forgotten about the tea, being so relieved when I rushed to the kitchen and saw that some of the water had boiled off but without spilling and turning off the stove. On the other hand, when I checked the jacket, I saw that they had stapled a label to it, with three small staples, which obviously left some marks… But what was done, was done, so I had the usual stuff, albeit replacing two of the almonds with the last two apricot pits, and the sweet thing consisted of two of those nicer biscuits received after planting trees, with added honey, and I left at 3:45 PM, wearing the full running gear. The reported temperature was 10-11°C, holding steady, and it was overcast, but the walk to the park wasn’t as uncomfortable as I feared.
The time was 47:44.14, with sector times of 4:06.92, 4:59 (4:58.28), 5:52.66, 4:28 (4:27.97), 5:02.15, 5:51 (5:50.54), 4:29 (4:28.62), 5:08 (5:07.88), 5:54.22 and 1:55 (1:54.90), making for lap times of 14:57.86, 15:21 (15:20.66) and 15:31 (15:30.72). I wanted to stay under 48 minutes, but Carrefour’s campaign meant that two and a half weeks had passed since the previous run, so I doubted it. And when I pushed from the start and felt that I was already tiring before the long straight of sector one and slowing by the end of it, I was worried… Only to be shocked by that great sector one time. And sector two was really good as well. I couldn’t keep it up on sector three, but I still squeezed under 15 minutes for the lap. However, I still knew that getting under 48 minutes was the best that I could hope for, and lap two proved it, leaving me with a decent buffer for lap three but no more than that. I did have a passing thought of getting under 47:30, but that’d have required going faster on lap three and there was no chance of that, sector two proving it. But at least I was less than a minute slower than that previous run, and I was very content with that.
After having stumbled on an escalator on November 19, I still felt some pain, mainly in my right leg, but it faded as I ran. However, my left knee started giving some warnings from sector one of lap two, and on sector three of lap two I first needed to snap my back and then there were warnings from both ankles. Otherwise, I briefly stopped on sectors two and three of lap three, to see the time. As for people, I slowed a little on the long straight of sector one of lap two, behind another runner, because someone with a dog was next to the lane and I couldn’t overtake. Other than that, there was obviously some weaving and going the long way around, plus a little hesitation because of a dog and also when I went around another person with a dog who was edging towards the lane, but nothing notable, and on lap three it suddenly seemed oddly clear. But, since I mentioned people, I noticed that a guy who ran past as I was getting ready to start and whom I overtook after a while was wearing shorts and gloves, and after a while I realized that he rather had the right idea when it came to the gloves, because at least my thumbs were quite numb by the time I was halfway through the run. But I managed, and otherwise it was just fine.

After jogging back and having a quick look in the nearby Mega Image, I had lunch and changed, though I left the running t-shirt on, and left again a little after 6:45 PM. I first went to Carrefour, getting a number of things, which included a cheap knife that I happened to spot among the discounted products and one of those apple pastries that wasn’t among such products, because those pastries had a regular discount there those days that made the price only a little higher than the discounted one usually is at Mega Image. Then I put the purchases in a bag and left it in a cabinet when I got to Penny, just buying some sweets for my mother, since I asked about the biscuits that I wanted for dad and was told that none were left. And then, after retrieving my things, putting everything in a cabinet when I reached that Kaufland, going to the toilet and entering the store a little after 8:45 PM, I didn’t see any bread or anything that I could use as bread left in the bakery area even though no discount labels were placed yet, so I just looked around a little and then walked out, retrieving my things.
I was rushing to the other Kaufland, but since that took me close to a Mega Image that I don’t usually check, I decided to have a look, noticing that the listed closing time was 11 PM, though I was sure that it used to be 10 PM. Either way, I put the bag in a cabinet, but didn’t take the time to dig out a 0.50 RON coin, so I didn’t lock it even though it could be locked, thinking that I was just going to be in and out. However, an employee was just starting to make the bakery discounts… And they were of 90%! And, while there was no bread, two of those apple pastries were left, so I really shouldn’t have bought that one from Carrefour. So I asked if those were also going to get discounted and she said yes, but that she had to do them in order, so I picked up another pastry that already had the discount label and, after wandering around a little, returned there and started looking through the lists of ingredients… At which point that employee told me that I wasn’t allowed to look there! So I incredulously asked how could I not be allowed to check the ingredients, and after she asked a coworker whether it was allowed and he told her to let me read, she said that she had never seen anyone do that before. Either way, she eventually got to those apple pastries and let me know, at which point a woman also reached for them, then pulled back when she saw me reaching for them and the employee also said that I had been waiting for her to get to them. However, I told her that we’ll split them, and while she was initially reluctant, I said that I was just going to take one and the employee also said that I only wanted one, even though she couldn’t have really known that, so I took one and walked away. Unfortunately, I did so quickly, wanting to escape a situation that kept getting ever more awkward, so I grabbed the one which had already been bagged, so it had probably been taken by someone earlier and left somewhere in the store.
After retrieving my things, I put everything in a cabinet when I reached that other Kaufland, washed my hands once again, and entered the store when it was close to 9:40 PM, so it wasn’t surprising that the bakery area was almost cleared. However, while the listed discounts were lower, when the employee saw me looking she said that they actually were of 75%, but there had been no time to place the new labels. I tried to ask what something was at that point, but she had already left, so I scanned the label from that spot, confirming the 75% discount, and when she came out I also asked whether those products were what that label said, taking them, since I could use them instead of bread, when she confirmed. Then I went to get some green onions, which had an evening discount, and saw an employee tearing the tops off, so I got three bundles and a bunch of tops… And I was gathering those tops when a woman came to tell me that bananas had a deep evening discount… Only for my initial reaction to be to say that I wasn’t interested, which would have made it awkward if I’d have gone there right away, so I wandered around a little even though the store was closing soon, also grabbing some sugar at that point. But I did eventually go to the bananas as well, at which point I saw that they weren’t just very cheap, but also really good, which really doesn’t happen when they’re that cheap, so I grabbed a few whole bunches before making my way to the self-checkout… Which listed the full price for the sugar, and the employees ignored me when I raised my hand, so after a little while I just continued and saw that the discount applied at the end, so it was fine. Then I retrieved what I had in the cabinet and took my time to arrange everything in the large backpack.
I then continued to Auchan, entering with everything when it was close to 10:30 PM and just getting water and a few biscuits for dad. I was looking for one more kind of biscuits when a guard told me to go to the checkout, since the store was closing soon, so I did, but just three checkouts were still open, all of them manned, and I rushed to the one with the shorter line, but after nevertheless waiting for a while, when it’d have been my turn the employee noticed that I was pulling cash out and told me that it was only for cards, and I only looked up and noticed the sign as well at that point. But at least the others did accept cash, so I went to one… And ended up being the last customer, the other line moving faster. So the store was already closed by the time I was checked out and I just carried the water outside, taking my time to arrange everything after that, even though it was raining, as it had been since I had left again in the evening, albeit not badly. Either way, I was still there when a woman was forced out by the guards, but I didn’t really pay attention until the end of that event. And it was past 11:10 PM when I walked away, and then I had to stop a few times on the way.
I got back a couple of minutes after midnight, with 26.5 kg, though after eating a banana and cleaning the litter box, I went to throw a bag of trash down the chute. Then I spread out the purchases, ate the apple pastry from Carrefour, and went to wash when it was almost 1:10 AM. I got back in the kitchen 45 minutes later, put the purchases in their place, washed and cleaned what was in the kitchen, and finally started eating dinner, initially in the kitchen, at 4:20 AM, moving to continue in my room ten minutes later and finishing when it was past 5:10 AM. I got in bed at 6:15 AM, without getting on-line, so I only later saw that no visits were recorded on November 24.

In the early hours of December 2, I ate dinner between 3:20 AM and 4 AM, in the kitchen, also having some of the old peanut butter on some of the slices of bread. But the large blister that has been under my tongue for quite some time bothered me again, and when I looked, after eating, it was as if another blister was developing on it or it had burst, so I bothered it a little and it filled with blood, but didn’t burst, so I used a little of something sent by my mother after dad had told her about it, even though I hadn’t wanted to use that until then, and I noticed that it’s mainly against candida. However, it seemed that the blister did burst while I slept, since there was a little dried blood there when I got up, after the alarm rang, at 1 PM, and while the place was sore, the blister was smaller and I could see through it, so I had probably swallowed whatever else had been in it. But it soon went back to how it was before. Either way, I had the usual stuff, with the yogurt being a “Greek” one with 10% fat and 5% protein, and the sweet thing two of those nicer biscuits, with added honey. However, I once again forgot the water on the stove, going to my room while dad was getting ready to leave, and he didn’t let me know either, so I only realized it when he was just about to leave, but we were once again lucky, because a fair amount of water had boiled off, but it hadn’t spilled and turned off the stove. And I put on the full running gear and left at 3:10 PM, when the reported temperature was 13-14°C, likely dropping by 1°C by the time I finished.
The time was 48:38.01, with sector times of 4:16.64, 5:02.34, 5:55 (5:54.91), 4:38.06, 5:08 (5:07.72), 6:04 (6:03.68), 4:31.16, 5:10.25, 6:03 (6:02.56) and 1:51 (1:50.69), making for lap times of 15:13.89, 15:50 (15:49.46) and 15:44 (15:43.97). It was Saturday and just after the National Day, so I started by thinking that if the park will be terribly crowded and I won’t even get under 50 minutes, I’ll continue to 16 km, but quickly realized that if I’ll be that slow, it’ll be entirely my fault, and each of the first two sectors were faster than I thought they’d be and the first lap made me wonder whether I could keep it up and get under 48 minutes. But the first sector of lap two made it quite clear that it wasn’t going to happen, and each sector that followed only confirmed it more and more, so I ended up just aiming to stay under 49 minutes, which wasn’t a problem. But it was a poor time, and the crowd wasn’t enough of an excuse, the notable problems caused by people being enough to say that I’d have gotten under 48:30 otherwise, but not more than that.
While it was less crowded than I feared, it did get somewhat worse after the first lap. On the first sector, I just went on the grass a little, but cut a turn while doing so. On sector two of lap two, a roadblock caused me to go on the grass once more and another to slow a lot and probably stop for just an instant, and then I also hesitated when a guy cut across the path in front of me. On sector three of lap two, it was a good thing that I had good “brakes”, because a girl was running with her dog and the dog suddenly cut across the path, to a guy on a scooter whom I was just passing, and I just managed to stop before all of us got tangled up. On sector two of lap three, I had to go on the grass and around a bench because of another roadblock, going slowly because that area is also somewhat sloped towards the lake. On sector three of lap three, I again slowed and likely stopped for an instant because of a roadblock. Plus various moments of weaving and going the long way around. Otherwise, on sector three of lap two I stepped in a hole that I didn’t know was there, under the lane, but just with my left heel. And I stepped in another such hole on lap three, though I’m not sure exactly where. Either way, it was also with my left foot, and it wasn’t that bad. But the notable physical problem was the pain I felt in my upper abdomen from the end of sector two of lap one, and I only started to gradually get over it on lap three. Some of it was reflected from my back, but probably not all of it, and it was hard to run like that, so it most likely slowed me a fair bit.

I quickly checked the nearby Mega Image on the way back, then ate a banana and lunch, even did the day’s squats, changed, though I left the running t-shirt on, and after going to drop a bag of trash down the chute and returning to wash my hands, I left again at 7:15 PM. I had dad’s metro card but didn’t use it, taking my chances nearby, first in Carrefour, also dropping off two burned out light bulbs that I had taken with me. And I did find one product that I could use as bread among the discounted ones, but only if I wasn’t going to find anything else, so I hid it and just got a discounted pastry, two expiring yogurts and a cabbage, putting them in the backpack and leaving it in a cabinet when I got to Kaufland. Then, after eventually making my way to the bakery area, I saw some products that were very similar to that one from Carrefour, but slightly cheaper, thanks to the evening discount which had just applied. But I still didn’t really want to get something like that, so I scanned a couple of other labels, but when I found that those products really didn’t have an evening discount, I just bought an expiring product, added it in the cabinet and returned to Carrefour. However, while I retrieved that product from where I had hidden it, I eventually just put it back among the discounted ones and hovered around the bakery area until just before 9 PM, wondering whether they’ll make more discounts. But there didn’t seem to be any sign of that, so I walked back out.
I washed my hands before entering Kaufland once again, but those similar bakery products were no longer there by then, and when the employee was moving everything that was left into one area, I asked her about that other product that wasn’t discounted and she said that it really won’t be. Still, I hovered around, eventually caught a moment when she wasn’t there and grabbed the two labels which I had scanned the first time as well, but scanning them again only confirmed that they had no evening discounts. But I did get a sweet pastry and three buns, including one that I consider to be too expensive at half price, but I found myself grabbing it right after asking about those other ones and thought that I could combine it with one that I already had and use them instead of bread that night. Then I grabbed a few more things, made my way to the self-checkout, and while I was uncertain that the price of the regular buns was correct, I didn’t comment because the labels had been placed over each other, I hadn’t really checked carefully, and the price that I thought they should have was only slightly lower.
After retrieving what I had in the cabinet, I was arranging the purchases when the closing announcement came, and then I went to that Mega Image as well, putting the backpack in a cabinet and entering with the bag that hangs from my neck… And doing so just in time, since an employee was grabbing all of the discounted bakery products, scanning them and throwing them in a basket, and the one bread that I could get from there seemed to be next, but I reached over when she turned to drop the other products into the basket and grabbed it. I then asked whether she was throwing those products away and she said yes, but it actually seemed like she was getting them for herself… Or that she was about to increase the discount, so I wandered around and waited, finding some bread with a 90% discount that I could get for dad, so I got one, and also some cheese for myself. That cheese also expired the next day, but the discount was still 50% at that point. However, more of it was left, I decided to have another look at the expiring products before making my way to the checkout, and at that point the remaining ones had new discount labels, listing 90%, so I left that one and grabbed one of those instead. And when I went to the checkout, I saw that the employee who had taken all of the discounted bakery products was dressed to leave. Then I retrieved my things and arranged the purchases.
I got back a little after 11:05 PM, put the purchases, with the exception of the cabbage and my bread but including some that dad had left scattered, in their place, talked to dad a little after he finished his bath, then ate the sweet pastry from Kaufland and went to wash when it was close to 12:40 AM, being done 50 minutes later. Then I put what was left of dad’s purchases and my cabbage in their place as well, rearranged the vegetables in the fridge, dealt with my bread, washed what was to wash, moved what I wasn’t going to eat that night of that expiring cheese into a jar, prepared some things for what I planned to cook the next evening, and eventually ate dinner between 4:30 AM and 5:20 AM. I got in bed at 6:20 AM, again without getting on-line.

I should have been able to finish writing everything that’s above before midnight, but I checked some five minutes earlier and noticed that I had gotten signed out, and my host just migrated the sites to another server and this seems to have messed some things up and the way I have things set up meant that I couldn’t sign back on normally, and it took me several minutes to figure out a solution, so it was actually a little after midnight when I posted what’s above, minus the last paragraph, though I did set the time to 11:59 PM. And then I edited the post in order to add that paragraph and this one a little later. But I meant to write about two more runs in this post, to really catch up, so I had to add the rest before the next run and managed to do so, adding what follows Tuesday evening.

On December 4, after once again being terribly slow in the kitchen, I ate dinner between 3:25 AM and 4:10 AM, then got in bed at 5:20 AM and got up when the alarm rang, at 1 PM. I then had the usual stuff, with the yogurt being another “Greek” one with 10% fat and 5% protein, but I had checked the apples the previous evening and noticed that a huge Red Delicious one, possibly the largest one received from Carrefour’s campaign, looked like it was going bad, so I took that one and realized just how bad it was getting when I cut into it. It is possible that it had been up against the back of the fridge before I had checked them and frostbitten as a result, I couldn’t recall, but I could only recover a few small pieces of it that looked more or less fine, and at least those were really good. I did also try a couple of small pieces that looked quite bad and I didn’t notice any foul smell or taste, but I didn’t dare to eat more. Either way, the sweet thing consisted of two nicer biscuits, expired months ago, with added honey, and I left just before 3:35 PM, wearing the running gear plus the shirt from the old running suit, two pairs of socks, the gloves and that thing on my neck, pulled up on the way, and I obviously also wore the jacket on the way, keeping it tied around my waist as I ran. The reported temperature was 3°C, and 2°C when I finished.
The time was 49:41.79, with sector times of I believe 4:25.29 and 5:23 (5:22.82), then 6:07.43, then I believe 4:46 (4:45.88) and 5:18.37, then 6:10 (6:09.94), 4:39 (4:38.94), 5:10 (5:09.53), 5:50 (5:49.81) and 1:53.78, making for lap times of 15:55.54, 16:14.19 and 15:39 (15:38.28). I’m quite certain that I saw the correct time after the first sector, but that awful time for sector two made me wonder whether the first sector hadn’t actually been ten seconds slower, and I had actually been surprised by that time, since I had felt particularly slow from the start. But I know that I was particularly slow on the long straight of sector two, and I’m pretty sure that I was faster on sector two of lap two, so the times are probably correct. But then I was also confused about sector one of lap two, finding after sector two of lap two that I could no longer remember whether the total time after sector one had been 20:41.42 or 20:42.41, but I remembered thinking that I had been 20 seconds slower in terms of the exact time, which I consider to be the normal difference between sector one of lap one and sector one of lap two when things aren’t going well, so I assumed the first option. If it’s the second, the time for sector one of lap two is 0.99 worse and that for sector two of lap two is 0.99 less bad.
Otherwise, I expected to be slow, running in those conditions and dressed as I was for the first time in a long time, so I already mentioned that the first sector seemed oddly fast, if I saw the time correctly. But then the times ended up as bad as I thought they were going to be, sector two of lap one standing out as really awful, again assuming that I saw that first sector time correctly. I struggled to get under 16 minutes on lap one and at least I managed that, but after that I was thinking that I’ll have to push to even stay under 51 minutes, 50 minutes seeming quite impossible. However, after lap two I thought that I should get under 50:30 and pushed from the start of the lap, and pretty much gave it everything on its third sector, wondering whether I could get under 50 minutes after all, and being surprised to find myself safe at the end of the lap. An awful time, of course, but under those circumstances I wasn’t particularly disappointed… Even if, without counting three that were obtained in entirely special circumstances, I have to go back before the hospitalization, when I was so anemic and weak, to find worse times.
I slowed because of a roadblock on sector one of lap two, but otherwise there were unusually few people, so that can’t be any sort of excuse for such a time. And I found myself avoiding the damaged spot on the lane that was a risk of tripping without even really noticing. But there was once again pain in my upper abdomen from the end of sector two of lap one, again starting to lessen only on lap three. Otherwise, I slowed for a few seconds on sector three of lap one, to see the time, but after that I got better at looking at the stopwatch under the new circumstances, with the glove that could cover part of it and the long sleeve that made its position slightly different. Taking off the left glove to press the button and then putting it back on probably cost me a little time, however, as I only kept it off on the final sector. And, on the topic of clothing, as I was making my way to the start location, going down the stairs, a man was running up in just a t-shirt and shorts, and while the shorts would have been too much and at that moment I was amazed, since I was shivering despite the shirt and jacket, after the first lap I was thinking that I could have also been running with just the t-shirt on, though it would have been a problem until then. But I didn’t overheat as I was. And my nostrils were tightening a little at times, because of the cold.

After getting back, I ate a banana and lunch, changed, though I left the t-shirt and shirt on, and left again at 7:15 PM, with a bag of trash which I dropped down the chute and a few dried out pieces of cat food that I left for some cats outside. I first went to Carrefour and bought a few things, putting the bread in the bag that hangs from my neck and the rest in the backpack, then went to Kaufland, very quickly checking another store on the way.
At Kaufland, I tried several cabinets but found no free one that locked, so I used the toilet and entered with everything, at 8:50 PM. There were bakery discounts at that point, but of 45%, yet when I saw that one of those breads was left, I took it, then scanned some labels, found that the products that had regular discounts didn’t have evening discounts but some buns with no discount labels did have them, so I took a sweet pastry and two buns, then got some more things. I spotted another one of those breads left by someone among the refrigerated expiring products, but neither grabbed it nor took it back, and at 9:30 PM bakery discounts of 70% were announced, yet when I went back there I saw the employee coming out with labels listing discounts of 75%, so I stood around for a while and then rushed to a self-checkout to check, confirming those discounts for other products but seeing that they hadn’t increased for that bread and that sweet pastry, since I had taken the last ones. Maybe if I’d have taken back that bread which had been left by someone and nobody’d have grabbed it right away, I’d have had the higher discount for mine as well, and I could have also changed that sweet pastry with one that had the higher discount, but in the end I kept what I had taken and added two more buns of one kind and another of another kind. Then I waited for 9:45 PM before going to the self-checkout, but the discounts didn’t increase again. And I was arranging the purchases when the closing announcement came.
As I left the store, a man asked me for money to supposedly buy food for his little girl, and he had a stroller, and I was meaning to give away the two buns I initially took and one of those picked up at the end, but I wanted to give them to a homeless person, not to someone openly begging, and definitely not to someone with a kid, so I walked away and, after a little while, moved the other two buns and the sweet pastry into the bag with the bread and left those three in the other.
Then I went to the Mega Image that closes at 11 PM, put just the bag that hangs from my neck, with all of the bakery products, in a cabinet, and just got some eggs. The guard had apparently gotten sick and the cashier asked whether she should call the ambulance just before my turn came, but I turned to look and didn’t see anyone, so I wondered what that was all about until I walked out, after retrieving that bag and putting the eggs in another, and saw the guard on a bench, looking like he was in a pretty bad shape, and what looked like some explosive vomit on the sidewalk.
I gave those buns to the first homeless man I saw on the way back, though another man was talking to him just then and he also had a soup. I saw another homeless man just after crossing that street, but he was smoking and drinking, so I wouldn’t have cared, yet when, a little later, I saw one more, sleeping on a bench, I thought that he might have needed those buns more than the first one, but there would have been no way to know that when I saw that first one.
I got back a little after 10:50 PM, put some of the purchases and some things brought by dad in their place, ate the sweet pastry from Kaufland and went to wash a little after 12:10 AM. I was done just before 1 AM, but then I put the other purchases in their place, arranged in the fridge, saw that dad had left a mess on the balcony that you couldn’t even get past and did a little about that as well, also washed a few things and dealt with my bread, so I only ate dinner between 4 AM and 4:55 AM. And I got in bed at 6 AM, once again without getting on-line. And the following night I might have finished eating at 3:40 AM even though I’d have started a little after 3 AM, but I cut myself pretty badly and it seemed like dad had taken all of the band aids, so after searching around and doing what I could, I took it easy and started eating at 3:35 AM, and took it easy while eating as well, so it was past 4:30 AM when I finished. I got in bed at 5:35 AM, after meaning to make a bandage but finding that dad had also taken all of the opened gauze and I didn’t want to open a new one, so I gave up.

On December 12, I got up when the alarm rang, at 1 PM… And found that there was no hot water, and when I checked the site and saw that it was going to be off until Friday morning, I obviously couldn’t have known that it was actually going to return sooner, being worried that it might not even return then, plus that the forecast for Friday wasn’t good for running anyway, so I decided to go ahead with the plan to run and had the usual stuff. I just wasted time on the toilet, however, despite feeling that I had to go, so I eventually cut my losses, had two of those expired nicer biscuits, with added honey, as the sweet thing, and left at 3:25 PM, wearing the running tights, but the t-shirt and undershirt that I was wearing inside those days, plus that thing on my neck, and also the jacket on the way, tied around my waist as I ran. I also took some bags and money. The reported temperature was 9°C, and it should have been 7-8°C when I finished, but I had asked dad to check for me and he forgot, and I didn’t rush to have a look when I got back, when I’d have at least been able to see what it had been at 5 PM, so I just know that it was 4°C at 7 PM, which doesn’t say anything about what it was earlier.
The time was 48:38.10, with sector times of 4:21.01, 5:11.34, 6:00 (5:59.69), 4:35.13, 5:10.68, 5:55 (5:54.47), 4:35.22, 5:05 (5:04.78), 5:55.56 and 1:51 (1:50.22), making for lap times of 15:32.04, 15:40.28 and 15:35.56. I started somewhat hesitantly and the first sector’s time was better than expected, but the rest of the lap was poor and, if I didn’t think that I’ll get back under 48 minutes in the first place, that first lap didn’t just make that a certainty, but also made me doubt that I’ll even stay under 49 minutes. Lap two gave me some hope, however, so I pushed on lap three and after sector two I wondered whether I could manage a really good sector three and even get to 48:30. But there was no chance of that, so I had to settle for just being closer to 48:30 than to 49 minutes.
I might have slowed a little in order to see the time better on sector one of lap three, and definitely did so on sector three of lap three, but that was pretty much it. On the other hand, I was a little worried about the jacket, since it started turning at some point, I think on lap two, and from the start of lap three it felt like it was slipping and pulling my tights down, since the t-shirt was tucked into them, so it wasn’t sliding over it. But the tights were tightened well, so I’m not sure whether the jacket would have slipped any lower anyway, but at least that made it settle into a position soon enough, and from sector two of lap three it seemed stable. Otherwise, it was quite wet, but oddly enough the lane didn’t feel particularly soggy in most places. There were, however, two damaged spots that were a risk of tripping. So I avoided what I could, but I could use the lane as well.
The strange thing was that all of the other runners bar me and one guy had jackets on, even if one guy had a jacket and shorts. But that one guy was topless! He had a large backpack, but was only wearing pants, and he was running in the opposite direction, so we kept passing each other. I saw him the first time moments after starting and obviously looked surprised, since he nodded at me, so after that I tried to ignore him, but I was trying to figure out where we were going to pass each other again, he was slower than me, and it was hard to be certain that he’ll get to what for me is the end of the lap before I’ll finish the third one, yet the fact that I didn’t even see him coming at that point made me think that he might have stopped by then. Still, he covered at least three laps like that, or more if he had started earlier.

I didn’t take a mask, so I just pulled that thing up when I entered Park Lake and just got an expiring sweet pastry from Carrefour, put it in the jacket’s inside pocket and continued to the new Penny, just quickly checking two other stores on the way and then getting some garlic and some more roes from there.
I got back a few minutes before 6 PM, seeing that dad had already put water on the stove, and he took it to the bathroom as well, and then I washed with it. After I was done, I ate an orange and another piece of that pie that dad had brought, I think made by his sister, and then made mamaliga, with some fish which had also been brought by dad in it, and that was one large piece of fish. But I also poured in the water that I had boiled carrots in quite some time before, which I had kept in the fridge since then, and while it looked fine at the top, I didn’t look at the bottom of the jar, and when I poured it I saw something dark fall in, and there was some whitish slime left in the jar, so I wonder whether that had been black mold or who knows what crap. I tried to see whether I could dig something out, but I couldn’t, so I have no idea what it was. Either way, I also did the day’s squats, late at night.

This is a collection of short stories with fantasy elements that generally take place during the current invasion of Ukraine. The one exception, in terms of setting, is the first one, which is still presented from the point of view of a Ukrainian, but takes place in an alternate, dystopian reality, where Russia seems to pretty much rule the world. And that’s also one of the better ones in the book, and it makes a good point as well. And the same can be said about the third, though it probably overdoes the effect of state propaganda on Russians, at least at this point. On the other hand, I’m not quite sure what to say about the fifth, since it’s basically Doctor Who fan fiction and those familiar with that universe would be much better placed to comment, but it does look like quite a lot of effort was put into it… Though somebody “managed” to lose count of its chapters…
All but one of the rest are little bits of imagination that don’t aim too high, but at least the fourth and the seventh are good enough overall, at least for such short stories. The sixth is less so, and I wouldn’t even consider it as having a fantasy element, plus that “managing” to misspell National Geographic made me raise an eyebrow, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it bad either. I will do so when it comes to the second and the eighth, however, and while that eighth one is just a little thing that might not have really been meant to make much sense anyway, the second one seems to have aimed higher but failed, dragging on for a while without saying much, being written in a style that I’m not fond of, and having fantasy aspects that hardly make any sense whatsoever.

Rating: 3/5

On October 30, I got up when the alarm rang, at 2 PM, but it was hard to sleep after 9:30 AM. I saw 9:29 AM when I went to pee and heard workers shouting at each other, and while I initially managed to quickly get back to sleep, it was only 9:51 AM when I woke up again. After once again getting back to sleep, I was woken up one more time around 11:40 AM, when things were being thrown down from the top of the building, and when, a couple of minutes later, I decided to pee one more time, dad was in the bathroom, so I waited until he was done before going, and then it took me longer to get back to sleep… Only to wake up yet again and see that it was 1:37 PM, so I decided to pee once more, hoping to improve my chances of at least getting a little more sleep, but then somebody was at the door, just ringing and knocking briefly, and other noises continued, so I just waited for the alarm. Then I had the usual stuff, with the sweet thing being a slice of cozonac, with added honey, and left at 4:10 PM, wearing the full running gear. The reported temperature was 26°C, dropping to 23-24°C by the time I finished, but it felt like it was less than that, maybe because the hour had changed and evening was coming.
The time was 47:51.45, with sector times of 4:20.64, 5:01.06, 5:52.25, 4:29 (4:28.25), 5:07.44, 5:56.34, 4:29 (4:28.22), 5:06.69, 5:46.06 and 1:45 (1:44.50), making for lap times of 15:13.95, 15:32.03 and 15:21 (15:20.97). I doubted that I’ll stay under 48 minutes again, but tried to push from the start and that first sector time seemed a little slower than it should have been. So I kept pushing and the second sector seemed better, but I was thinking that if I won’t get under 5:50 on sector three I quite clearly won’t stay under 48 minutes, and I didn’t stay under 5:50. And after sector one of lap two I was thinking that I had already lost more than I could afford to over the entire lap, and then sector two wasn’t that good either, so I was wondering about at least staying under 48:30, though after the end of the lap I decided to just give everything from the beginning of lap three, go as far as I could while pushing, and maybe end up no more than a minute slower than the previous run, so 48:10, and the first two sectors of lap three seemed to get me more or less there. But then I told myself that I’ll just use every last shred of energy, still having a faint thought of getting under 48 minutes and not wanting to fail because of lack of trying, so I really pushed on sector three and was amazed by the time, though I worried that I’ll still just miss the target because I’ll be too tired for that necessary 1:53 on the final sector. But I just kept pushing and the final sector time amazed me just as well.
I had abdominal pain from sector two of lap one, probably reflected from my back at first, but by the end of the lap it probably wasn’t just that anymore, and it continued, even getting worse at times. Otherwise, a pressing need appeared at some point, maybe on sector two of lap two, but then it went away, maybe returning on sectors two and three of lap three, but it was faint at that point and it didn’t matter. And people didn’t cause notable problems, though I did weave and go the long way around a fair number of times. As for the lane, there was one damaged spot that created a risk of tripping, but otherwise I’d say that it was better than it tends to be. And maybe there were a few moments when I slowed a little in order to make sure that I saw the time properly, but that shouldn’t have caused a significant loss. I definitely wouldn’t have managed to stay under 48 minutes if there would have been any notable problems, as it took everything even so and I was utterly exhausted when I finished, rather falling forward for the last few steps and then having to stop and regain my breath, and even my bearings to some extent.

I checked the garbage room when I got back and spotted one of those bottles that granted two products in Carrefour’s campaign, so I took it, then ate a pumpkin pie brought by dad and lunch, changed, and went back out a little after 7:30 PM. It was the commemoration of the Colectiv fire and, while I was going to walk there, since dad was back by then I did take the metro card, hoping to be able to use it to also check Kaufland before it closed. And I also took the mask received three years before, when the human chain was formed, which I had kept just because I was planning to use it again on such days, but I didn’t put it on until after I walked away from that area. Either way, I also took the new camera, that being the first event that I attended with it, and in fact the first event that I attended at all since losing the old one. And I got there at 8:15 PM, took some pictures, lit a candle, and that was about it. In fact, people already seemed to be starting to leave when I got there. I saw after I got back that there had been a march, but I hadn’t seen any announcement about it, so I guess that it had just finished and the participants had returned there by the time I arrived.
It was 8:50 PM when I walked away, putting on that mask while walking and grabbing another one of those bottles on the way to Carrefour Unirii. But I didn’t find anything to get from there, and the guard asked whether I had purchased anything when I walked out, so I showed him that I had the camera in the jacket and he didn’t ask about the backpack. Then, after initially walking, I ended up jogging to the metro station, getting off at Dristor and then jogging to Kaufland, even so only managing to enter the store when it was already past 9:45 PM, after washing my hands. There was no bread left in the bakery area, but the discounts where of 75% and I did find something that I could use as bread for one day. I also got a bundle of green onions at what I’d call a regular evening discount and some green olives that were already packaged, though the price was a little bit more than what it should have been, according to the catalog. Either way, I was almost done at the self-checkout at closing time, then I arranged everything more carefully and walked out at 10:05 PM.
On the way back, I checked the Mega Image that closes at 11 PM, entering with everything, and got an apple pastry, taking a little time to check what I had in my pockets before leaving. I then also checked the non-stop Mega Image, putting the bag that hangs from my neck in a cabinet, but then I just walked back out and retrieved it. And that evening I also spotted the newest Penny location from this area, but even though I saw products when I looked inside, it hadn’t actually opened yet. Either way, I also explored that area a little, and when I got here I also entered the nearby Mega Image, once again with everything, but while I did spot something that I thought dad might have been interested in among the expiring products, I wasn’t sure, so I didn’t get it.
I got back just before 11:15 PM and meant to ask dad about that product, but he was taking a bath, so I only told him when he came out, and while he said that he would have wanted it, I was already undressed. I also washed some of what was in the kitchen, talked with dad a little more, got some things that he wanted to use out of the fridge and freezer, put the few purchases in their place, with the exception of those things that I was going to use as bread, ate an old orange that I had kept for a very long time, and it was past 12:40 AM when I went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash. It was almost 1:45 AM when I was back in the kitchen, and there was a lot to clean, and I also had to rearrange what was in the fridge, since dad had cooked and wanted to cook more the next day, so an hour and a half passed before I even started working on the salad. I also moved something, and licked some of it in the kitchen, but I actually started eating dinner at 4:20 AM and was otherwise done at 4:55 AM, but I had used those other things instead of bread, there were a lot of breadcrumbs stuck on the plate, and I only finished getting those as well, in the kitchen, at 5:10 AM. I got in bed at 5:40 AM.

In between these days when I ran, on November 1, I cleaned my room a little, also changing the sheets and starting to use the blanket again, the last time I had cleaned having been on September 21. Then, on November 3, I got up when the alarm rang, at 2 PM, after actually being able to sleep better. I have no idea whether the drilling was only brief and I mostly slept through it or it only happened at those moments, possibly being what caused me to wake up, but I did hear drilling for a few seconds the first two times I got up to pee, around 8:45 AM and 11:20 AM. But I quickly got back to sleep both times, waking up again around 1:15 PM and once again needing to pee, so I eventually got up to do that again. Still, while I feared that I won’t get back to sleep after that, a little before the alarm rang I did manage to, so I got at least another brief nap. Then I had the usual stuff, with the sweet thing being a slice of cozonac, with added honey. I left at 4:05 PM, wearing the full running gear. The reported temperature was about 19°C and it was very cloudy, just about overcast. I forgot to check the temperature after getting back, but since it was 16°C at 6 PM, when it was dark, it probably wasn’t less than 18°C or so when I finished running.
The time was 46:51.83, with sector times of 4:20.67, 5:04.28, 5:48 (5:47.72), 4:20 (4:19.49), 4:50.57, 5:43 (5:42.75), 4:20.47, 4:54 (4:53.81), 5:45 (5:44.97) and 1:47.10, making for lap times of 15:12.67, 14:53 (14:52.81) and 14:59.25. At that point, it was the best time since March, and the first under 47 minutes since then, and it was also the first time I had two laps in less than 15 minutes since that same run. And those were also the first laps covered in less than 15 minutes since July, and lap two was the fastest lap since then as well, and it included a great sector two. And to think that I was initially quite sure that I won’t even stay under 48 minutes…
The first two sectors were just all right, but then I pushed more and the third sector was better than I thought it’d be, and the lap was just a little faster than the previous run’s first one. So I started wondering about what I’ll manage and kept pushing, the good sector one of lap two giving me hope, but it was that shockingly fast sector two of lap two that really made things look good. I couldn’t even believe that time, wondering whether I had misremembered or miscalculated something, but it was quite clearly correct, so instead of just giving everything towards the end of that sector, for a reason that I’ll mention below, and then lowering the pace, I did my best to keep it up, wondering about covering the lap in less than 15 minutes and managing it. And it was then that I started wondering about getting under 47 minutes, knowing that I’ll likely need to get under 15 minutes on lap three as well and really not thinking that it was possible, but just going for it, and pushing even more on sector three of lap three, managing to just squeeze under 15 minutes on that lap as well. And then I also had a very good time on the final sector. But I was still slightly disappointed at the end, because I missed beating the previous run’s time by a full minute by mere tenths and I had noticed myself slowing down towards the end of the final straight, so I wished to have forced myself to do just a little better on those final steps.
Other than weaving and going the long way around, on the first sector I first slowed in order to squeeze through what was almost a roadblock, which included a dog off the leash and I wasn’t sure which way it was going, and then, on the long straight, there was just an opening through a roadblock, and a dog was once again there, and a cyclist came through that space from the opposite direction and had to avoid the dog, so I had to go off the path. It’s a good thing that I could do so in that spot, but I was on the grass for a few seconds. And on the long straight of sector one of lap two I once again slowed a little, when another woman with a dog cut me off. But when, on sector two of lap two, I had to go very wide because a man, yet again with a dog, was right on the lane in a turn, I wanted to show him that he had slowed me and pushed hard, which didn’t just result in that great sector time, but also gave me the confidence that I could push that hard, so the overall impact was clearly positive. Otherwise, there was a little wind, but after the first lap I no longer felt it. And there was a little abdominal pain, quite clearly reflected from my back, on sector three of lap one, but I didn’t really notice anything else after that, just pushing and being able to do so. And I used the lane more than I usually do, even in some areas where it was wet.

After getting back, I cleaned the litter box and also put a few other things in a bag which I then went to throw down the chute. Then I ate the apple pastry that I already had and also drank the protein milk that I still had, changed, and eventually left again at 7:30 PM, also taking a torn cable and dad’s old headphones, which I had forgotten to throw away until then, and grabbing two more of those bottles on the way to Obor, since I needed bread and thought that I’ll certainly find some discounted one that I could get for myself from that Carrefour after 9 PM, if not also at least something that I could use as bread at that Kaufland.
However, I first went straight to Penny… Only to waste some time, since I couldn’t find anything to get from there. So I then went back to Carrefour, peed, washed my hands, put on the mask that I had taken with me, and initially grabbed a few expiring products, including two breads that’d normally be for dad, but under those circumstances I was thinking that I could use one myself if necessary, despite being white and containing some ingredients that I wouldn’t really want. I also got the toothpaste for dad, and then I checked the bakery area… But I only saw a few discounted products and no bread among them, everything else being bagged but with labels listing the full price, and I took a bread to a price checker and confirmed that price. On the other hand, I found a nice sweet thing with October 21 listed as the expiration date, so I handed it to an employee and told her that it was long expired and she took it away. And I saw another one of those products that was expiring the next day, and it wasn’t discounted either, but I didn’t ask that employee whether she could discount it. So I just bought those things, using two of the three vouchers that I had, from previous purchases.
Then I went to Kaufland, with the expiring bread in my hand and the other things in a pocket. I put the purchases in a cabinet, dropped the cable and headphones into the proper bin, washed my hands again, and entered the store a couple of minutes before 9:30 PM, when not much was left in the bakery area. Two breads were left, but those had a regular discount those days and when I scanned the label I confirmed that they had no additional one, so I moved on and only got some yogurt, plus a lettuce with root that had a good evening discount which stacked with a regular discount that applied if you used the store card, so I did. And, on the topic of expired products, I saw some walnuts with chili that were listed as having expired back in July, so I handed them to an employee, but when I passed by that spot again I saw that she had put them back, even though the date was clear and listed as the expiration date, and the other similar products from the same brand clearly had the expiration date, which was in the future, listed in that spot, so it couldn’t have been the production date. Either way, I was arranging everything in the backpack, deciding to put the bread there as well and taking out the bag with those two bottles which I had picked up, when the closing announcement came, but it was close to 10:10 PM when I finally walked out.
Instead of coming right back, I then went to that Mega Image that closes at midnight, hoping to find some discounted bread there. So I put that bag with the bottles in a cabinet, without locking, and entered with the backpack, but there was no discounted bread of that kind, so I just got some spoiling peppers and another expiring bread for dad. The total should have been 2.01 RON and I handed the cashier 2 RON, but on the receipt I saw that I had, in theory, also been charged for the bag that those peppers were in, even though that hadn’t happened since they started listing the price on expiring and spoiling products. But it didn’t matter, since the cashier didn’t ask me to add that amount, just taking what I had given her.
After retrieving the bag, I made my way back, stopping on a bench in the park to add those purchases into the backpack and then using the older route and making the small detour to another Mega Image. However, even though the lights were still on and there were employees inside, it was past 10:40 PM when I got there and the listed closing time was 10 PM, so I didn’t try to enter. But I did enter the one from Iancului, which closes later, leaving the bag on the cabinets and then just retrieving it. And I also checked this nearby one, leaving the bag on a bench, outside, and then retrieving it.
I got back at 11:25 PM, put what had to be refrigerated into the fridge, ate an apple and lunch, with an entire large bag of corn puffs instead of bread, while staying in the living room in order to watch the recorded broadcast of the qualifying for the race, and only went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash, at 1:25 AM. I was done at 2:20 AM, then I cleaned up in the kitchen, put the remaining purchases in their place, only started working on the salad around 3:25 AM, and ate dinner between 4:50 AM and 5:25 AM, using the last piece of that bread which I had made back in August, and which had been in the freezer since then. I didn’t get on-line that night, and got in bed at 6:15 AM.

The previous day, the drilling had started just after 7 AM, but on November 7 it was strangely quiet, so I got up to pee three times, but otherwise slept well until the alarm rang, at 2 PM. Then I got up and had the usual stuff, with the sweet thing once again being a slice of cozonac, with added honey. It felt like I had more to leave in the toilet, but I had no time to wait for it, and there was also a mosquito in the bathroom, so I did what I could and left at 4 PM, wearing the full running gear. The reported temperature was 20-21°C, dropping by 2°C by the time I finished.
The time was 46:48.01, with sector times of 4:19.95, 4:59 (4:58.81), 5:50 (5:49.29), 4:23.46, 4:56 (4:55.50), 5:43.35, 4:21.06, 4:51 (4:50.84), 5:36.60 and 1:50 (1:49.15), making for lap times of 15:08.05, 15:02.31 and 14:48.50. I mixed some numbers during the run, ending up calculating 5:00.84 for sector two of lap three, but I sorted things out when I checked, at night. So this is now the best time since March, and these runs marked the first time I got under 47 minutes twice in a row since last November. And lap three is now the fastest one since July. And it’s not just that the initial goal was just to stay under 48 minutes, but I once again doubted it, being prepared to allow myself to just stay under 49 minutes. However, that nice sector two of lap one got my attention, and after the first lap I was thinking that I had better chances to stay under 48 minutes and even gave a passing thought to getting under 47 minutes. That seemed pretty much impossible at that point, but sector two of lap two once again got my attention, and the lap made me wonder whether I could actually do that. It required less than 15 minutes for lap three as well and therefore still seemed impossible, but I gave it everything. If I’d have calculated sector two of lap three correctly, I’d have had more hope, but even so, I was thinking that if I could keep pushing like that I might just have the slightest chance… Only to be surprised to already be safe at the end of the lap, and end up a little faster than I had been the previous time in the end.
There weren’t many people and they didn’t cause notable problems, though there were a few annoyances, at least two of them done on purpose, one being on the long straight of sector one of lap two, when I headed towards a couple and she moved off the lane and pulled him along but he stepped back on it, in front of me, and pretended to run in place, and the other being just before the end of lap three, when a kid stretched out his hand as if he wanted to high five me and then jerked it away just when I reached him, so it’s a good thing that I ignore these things. On the other hand, there was also a moment that stood out in a good way, on sector one of lap three, under the bridge, when I was catching a mother and her daughter, I guess, each of them having a dog, the one the girl was leading probably being bigger than her, and I didn’t hear what the mother said but they obviously had an agreed signal, since they both immediately stopped, pulled the dogs towards them and held them between their legs as I ran past, which was outstandingly thoughtful. Otherwise, some warnings appeared in my right leg on the long straight of sector two of lap one, but they were too diffuse to pinpoint the actual source, and then they faded anyway. On the long straight of sector two of lap two, however, they were clearly from that calf muscle, and towards the end of lap two there were some from that knee as well, but then they went away. As for the lane, on top of the areas that were wet or too uneven, a few tiny patches were repaired, with bands just placed on them, held down by rocks, so I avoided what I could.

After getting back, I ate some koliva and lunch, with those bio (organic) snacks taken after the Dream Trek instead of bread. Then I changed and left again a little after 7:35 PM, first checking Carrefour and considering some cozonac that seemed all right, according to the ingredients, and had a really good price, but eventually deciding against getting any, since dad had brought plenty of sweet things that I had to get through quickly. After walking out, I realized that I could have frozen it, but I didn’t go back, continuing to Penny and deciding to get something for dad from there, then stuffing that product in the jacket’s inside pocket and, after washing my hands, entering Kaufland with it just before 8:50 PM. And I finally found a discounted bread that I could get for myself, so I got one, plus a number of other bakery products, also gathering some sunflower seeds along with the pretzels that I was getting for my mother. And I did check the labels, to confirm the discounted prices, even though I had to look for a functioning price checker in order to do so, the three that were closer to the bakery area being off. Either way, I got some expiring products as well… Or expiring and expired products, since the garlic sauce was already expired, having probably been forgotten under everything else that was in that pile, but the price was low enough that I didn’t comment and still got some for dad. I noticed the next day that the one that was left, since dad had used one right away, was slightly open, but he wasn’t bothered by that either. Either way, I carefully calculated the total, not wanting to have to break the large bill which I had taken, so not buying that cozonac from Carrefour ended up being a good thing from that point of view. And I used one of those tables that are outside to arrange the purchases, walking away a little after 10 PM.
I got back at 10:45 PM, ate some walnuts, spread out the bakery products and put the few other purchases in the fridge, and it was a little after 12:15 AM when I went to the bathroom, basically wasting time on the toilet and then washing. I was done after an hour, then I washed what I had to wash and cleaned up in the kitchen, sliced dad’s breads and also dealt with mine. I started eating dinner at 4:25 AM and otherwise finished a little after 5 AM, but there were once again many breadcrumbs on the plate, those being from dad’s breads, and I only finished getting those as well, in the kitchen, ten minutes later. Once again, I didn’t get on-line, and finally got in bed at 6:20 AM, after struggling for a long time to stop the toilet from the small bathroom from leaking, after dad had obviously used it without even letting me know. In the end, the only way to do it was to leave the tank open, with a bottle of laundry disinfectant holding down the plug, or whatever that thing is called. And I felt soiled, even if I had just worked on the tank, especially since I had done that just before bed and in my pajamas…

After getting up, I updated Emsisoft Anti-Malware and it once again asked for a reboot, since they had apparently consolidated their own definitions one more time, so EAM was once again the reason why I couldn’t have a longer uptime. Now the streak had to end at 86 days, so at least it didn’t prevent me from extending the record, like it did the previous time it asked for a reboot, but since I didn’t have to reboot again since then, I would have extended it by now. Either way, Comodo Firewall also forgot its HIPS settings once again after that, and I needed to import them a few times before it worked, despite waiting for over five minutes before the first attempt.

This is quite certainly this year’s last post in this series, and it’s the 11th, so I won’t get to 2021’s record of 14, but I did also have one that included five bands, which was also the case in 2021. This one will just include three, and it’s once again rushed, which should unfortunately go without saying, but at least all three bands are from the same country, Switzerland, they all have recent releases, and one is even an actual new find, since I had to search for a third band to add after finding myself discarding the third Swiss band that was on the list and had new material for good despite the interesting sound of their old songs, since the new releases had a lot of growls.

I’ll start with Illumishade, since happening to spot their recent release, Here We Are, among the recommendations, led to starting to write this post and look for other bands from the same country. Even if the voice itself could be better, there is something that I find particularly appealing in the vocal part, mainly in the chorus, and the instrumental part is nice enough as well, with the exception of those harsher moments, which really don’t seem to fit. So it’s unfortunate that those harsher sounds appear on many of their other songs as well, but Rise, which is my second pick, isn’t marred by them. They have some ballads as well, but I preferred Rise because the vocals seem to break on those. Either way, the part about the harsher sounds is a matter of preference and some may like those parts as well, and I found things to like in spite of them.

Next is Deep Sun, and they actually released another song earlier today, but I’ll stick with Eternal Love as my first pick, while For Eternity is my pick of an older song. Some may find that they don’t really stand out, but this is the sort of sound that I tend to be drawn to and in this case I definitely have no complaints about the vocals, nor about elements that don’t seem to fit with the rest. They’re a solid, competent band who seem to know just what they want to do and keep doing it well over the years.

As for the new find, that’s Green Labyrinth, who seem to have returned after a change of vocalist, their second album, released this summer, following no less than eight and a half years after their first one. I’ll go with Haunted as my first pick, since it seems to be put together better. The two other recent songs that I listened to gave me the impression of being made up of disjointed elements, even more so than in case of Illumishade, but that one shows some real promise, and the vocals are also quite good. On the other hand, if I’m to pick an older song, I guess I’ll go with the one that’s almost self-titled, The Green Labyrinth. That first album was obviously recorded in poor conditions and the quality of the songs also varies quite a lot, but you can notice the potential there as well, in spite of that.

Since I couldn’t get myself to write about the actual run in the previous personal post, I’m forcing myself to do so in this one by including the next run in it and writing that part first, so I will need to edit the post and complete this part as well over the coming days. But I am going to write something before midnight as well, somehow, beginning with the fact that I had 1:37 as the start time, but the official one was 1:39. Either way, I then had 5:32 for each of the first two kilometers, which was better than expected, especially in case of the first one, which I thought was going to take me some six minutes, considering how crowded it was and the fact that I tried to avoid weaving too much, so I won’t add to the distance.
I obviously pushed more once the crowd started to clear, but I had the distinct impression that the marker for three kilometers was placed too early, so I have serious doubts that I really covered that kilometer in 4:45, especially since I then appeared to have a significantly worse time on the following kilometer. I didn’t write down exactly what it was, I probably didn’t even remember by the time I got back, but I remember that much. Either way, it is still possible that the marker was placed correctly or at least that the error resulted in a difference of less than ten seconds, which would make the third kilometer the fastest one. Otherwise, the fastest would be the fifth, which I covered in 4:55, pushing in order to gain a few seconds before the refreshment point, where I slowed to a walk, grabbed a cup of water and one of that other drink, drinking a little of the water first, then pouring the rest into the other cup and drinking it like that, plus a piece of banana, which I ate after I resumed running. And that was the rule for the regular refreshment points, at least until I was in too much trouble.
What followed was a period of getting my head down and covering the distance, with my eyes on the 3:45 pacemakers, whom I had been closing on before that first refreshment point and then found myself needing to do so all over again. And, despite that bad slope from the end of the seventh kilometer, where I actually lost less time than I thought I would, I arrived at the second refreshment point, which was on the 11th kilometer, pretty much with them… Only to obviously fall back once again, so I pushed to catch up and covered the 12th kilometer in less than five minutes. And I think that it was the last time I managed that, because I remember thinking that the 13th kilometer should be the last fast one, the route and the accumulated effort making it quite clear that I was going to get slower after that, but probably finding that it wasn’t quite that fast because I moved from one side of the road to the other a few times over the course of it, most of the others staying on the side that I hadn’t chosen at first because it was shaded, so that probably cost me.
While the 14th kilometer wasn’t that fast overall, since it ended with that short but bad slope, when the route returns on Victoriei, it also included the corresponding slope that goes down, when the route turns off Victoriei, and I made full use of it in order to actually get ahead of the 3:45 pacemakers. Not for long, of course, since on top of how much that slope slowed me, I also dug one of the bars out of the running belt, but if the original plan had been to eat it on that slope, I ended up only losing even more time, since at that point I decided to leave it for later and just moved it to the pocket of my tights. And then there was another refreshment point in Cismigiu Park, and that was when I stopped being able to keep up with those pacemakers, so they pulled ahead and the distance kept increasing after that, and as I was returning on Elisabeta, back past the park and towards Victoriei, so I was climbing another slope that, while not steep, is quite long, they were starting to even get out of sight. And that was also when I started to realize that drinking two cups at each refreshment point wasn’t such a good idea, since I was starting to feel too full and some liquid was even coming back up.
In spite of that, I did the same thing at the following refreshment point, and while the problem didn’t worsen right away, I was thinking about it and decided to delay eating that bar one more time, albeit not for long, since the initial plan was to eat one more thing right after the halfway point and I then meant to eat it after 22 kilometers, also in order to get a better time at that point, remembering that I had managed to get there in less than two hours last year… And this time around I did significantly better, I believe managing to get there in just under 1:57, or something along those lines. It might have even been just under 1:56, I can’t really remember. Either way, the road does climb a little in that area once again, as the route gets back to Constitution Square, so after 22 kilometers I slowed and finally ate that bar… Which I found to be nauseatingly sweet, though I believe that the nausea wasn’t really caused by the bar.
I was surprised to see another refreshment point, albeit offering only water, when I got back to Constitution Square. At the time, I was wondering whether the organizers had given some thought to the question posted by someone who had asked whether they’ll follow the recommendations that apply when the temperatures are expected to exceed 25°C, which was the case for that day’s high, and offer at least water every 2.5 km, at least for the second half of the race, but now that I think about it, I realize that it was probably a point set up by the sponsor that offered the water, since the only other one that was in between the regular ones was set up by the nutrition sponsor. Either way, I did take a cup and drank it, which might have helped with the nausea but probably contributed to the fact that soon after that, as I was reaching 23 km, a certain pressing need started to appear. And that 23rd kilometer was also the first one that I covered in more than six minutes.
I got back under six minutes on the following kilometer, but went over six minutes once again on the 25th, which included another refreshment point. However, that pressing need, which had gone away soon after it had first appeared, didn’t return at that point, and that might not have been such a good thing, because it meant that I continued past that gas station that’s right at 26 kilometers, where I went to the toilet two years ago. In itself, that was just fine, so I returned and stayed under six minutes per kilometer until the 29th kilometer, which was the first one that I covered in more than six minutes without slowing in order to eat or drink. So I guess that my body was sending me a pretty clear message, but that pressing need hadn’t returned, so I just kept going when I then passed by that gas station once again, the route having turned on the 28th kilometer.
It wasn’t long after that when it became painfully, desperately obvious that doing so had been a big mistake. I was starting to feel the need for something that would help me a little more, and I was obviously slowing quite significantly, so at 30 kilometers I took the first liquid magnesium… And my belly rebelled, that pressing need returning suddenly and with a vengeance, which led to awful times on the next two kilometers. There was also a refreshment point on the 31st kilometer and, while I’m tempted to say that I kept doing what I had been doing, since that need had just reappeared and I was hoping to be able to withstand it, if not that it’ll even go away again, I’m not absolutely certain of it. Either way, I know that I didn’t even calculate the times for those two kilometers, but that I went over eight minutes on each of them… And I also passed by a couple of restaurants, thinking about dashing in to use a toilet but not doing it. And Radu and his group, who had been well behind me, also rushed past me at that point, I believe a little before returning to Unirii Boulevard, so at least a kilometer earlier than last year. And, while I then somehow managed to push a little more despite looking around ever more desperately for one of those more proper public toilets and delayed that moment until after I passed that marker, after 33 kilometers the 4:00 pacemakers overtook me as well.
There were some more restaurants on Burebista, but I passed by those as well, since at that point I was feeling somewhat less desperate and also had another gas station in mind, if necessary. And I did gradually recover to some extent, so by the time I reached that gas station, at the end of Decebal, I passed by it as well, especially since I wasn’t even certain that it had toilets. However, it was obvious that, if I wanted to have any chance to keep going, I had to avoid eating or drinking anything else, and that was also a part of the reason why I discarded the bars when I reached the spot where the nutrition sponsor was offering various products. I actually stopped there for a moment and initially reached for the bars, but I still had the one taken during the half marathon which I had taken with me, the one I had eaten being one which I had purchased, and I was obviously going to go back with it, and at that point I wasn’t thinking about taking some more for later use, so I just grabbed a gel and a vial of liquid magnesium… Unfortunately, I only had a better look at the gel after moving on, at which point I saw that it was one with high caffeine content, and while that, in itself, may be useful during such a run, especially when I’m running on next to no sleep, caffeine also has certain side effects that I definitely didn’t need at that point, or in fact at any point, so I put it away then and I’m not sure whether I’ll use it in a future “official” run either, so I may end up using it during the next long practice run.
Still, while I put that gel aside, at 35 km I did have the one which I had taken with me… With the obvious result, my body reacting pretty much instantly and making it absolutely clear that I wasn’t going to be able to even reach that gas station again, much less finish, without going to the toilet. But I was in this area that I know well, on Basarabia, and set my mind on going in a certain restaurant, ignoring a couple of others that are before it even if I had never been to any of them, including that one. However, when I saw that the marker for 36 kilometers was just after that restaurant, I wanted to reach it first, and then I obviously didn’t want to go back, not even a few steps, so I continued to the place where the route turned, which wasn’t far ahead, desperately clenching my butt, and I finally dashed into the restaurant on my way back.
As soon as I approached the door, I was asked whether I needed help, and if I just rushed past the person at the entrance, when I was asked again after stepping inside and having a quick look around, I asked about a toilet, apologizing and saying that I couldn’t make it anymore, and I was pointed to it, so I rushed there, hearing comments behind me along the lines that it’s not surprising, when you run so much. But the pleasant surprise, after holding it in so much and then letting loose in such an explosive manner, was that there was no blood. I was there for several minutes, however, since it just kept coming; there were a couple of moments when I thought that I had gotten rid of enough to be able to get back, only for more “blasts” to suddenly come when I meant to wipe. But I was eventually able to wipe, albeit obviously without taking the time to do it well, and get up, then quickly washed my hands and left. I apologized once again on my way out, but I probably shouldn’t show my face there again, since I have no idea what state I left that toilet in, since I just flushed and walked out, and that’s even without taking the smell into account…
Calculating from the moment when I stepped off the route to the moment when I got back on it, I lost pretty much exactly ten minutes, but I had really recovered, the result being that I returned below six minutes per kilometer and could just keep it up. Of course, there were two more refreshment points, in fact only some three kilometers apart, the one which should have been around 35 kilometers having probably been pushed farther back by that one set up by the nutrition sponsor… Or maybe not, since I think that it was more or less in the same place last year as well. Either way, it came soon after I resumed running, which was a really good thing for me, since I could actually make use of it, though I’m once again not entirely sure that I did the same thing I had been doing before the situation got bad. I believe so, but I do think that I had a piece of orange instead of one of banana at one of the points and I couldn’t say which one it was, and I’m not even absolutely certain that I did so at all or, in that case, whether it really was a piece of orange and not one of apple. Either way, the two kilometers that had refreshment points were obviously slower than the others, but not by much. And I had taken both vials of liquid magnesium with me, so when it seemed that some cramps were once again about to come, as I approached 39 kilometers, I could drink one more and still have one left for later use, since I had also taken that one from the point set up by the nutrition sponsor. And there was enough time for it to kick in before the end, so I covered the 42nd kilometer in 5:43, which is similar to what I managed last year. And then I had 1:03 for that final portion.

I know that there was a small difference between what I had and the official time, but I didn’t even write down what I had, so whether it was one second or two, and whether it was more or less, I can’t say anymore. But it doesn’t really matter, what matters being that the official time was 4:16:18 and the recorded real time was 4:14:40. That’s my second worst time, only the first one, from 2018, being worse, and I was slower than last year even if you deduct those ten minutes, since last year was the only time when I didn’t have such problems. But, with that in mind, if you also take into account the fact that I lost at least six or seven minutes, and likely even more, over the course of the nearly seven kilometers that I covered while struggling not to shit myself, it would mean that I could have been faster than last year if I’d have somehow managed to avoid this problem one more time.
Since I didn’t avoid that problem, those calculations are pretty pointless… Though it is quite obvious that waiting so long and then having that gel and needing to go after all was the worst option, the best having probably been either to anticipate what was going to happen and dash into that gas station when I ran past it the second time or at least go into the first restaurant I passed by after things got really bad. Of course, I wouldn’t have maintained that sort of pace all the way to the end if I’d have gone several kilometers earlier, but I’d have certainly gained quite a few minutes overall. And just digging in and not eating or drinking anything else until the end might have also been a little better, since I’d have probably been slower by one or two minutes per kilometer, but I went some 5.5 kilometers before the end and it wouldn’t have been two minutes on each kilometer, to add up to more than the ten minutes I lost. But, of course, in that case I risked to still end up needing to go, in which case I’d have lost even more time.
What’s clear is that this was, at best, my next to last chance to reach that goal of having an official time of less than four hours for a marathon before I turn 40, and this assumes that the race won’t be pushed back next year as well, since at the moment the date is October 13. However, on top of not getting any younger, next year the Bucharest Marathon will host the World Masters Athletics Marathon Championship, so I’m thinking that start sectors will be reintroduced then, and there may even be a slight delay before the amateur runners will be allowed to start, behind the professional athletes. And these times would get me in sector D, if the thresholds will remain the same, or even worse if they’ll want to offer more space for the faster runners, so my start time will be quite a few minutes worse. And my target is unquestionably the official time, not just the real time, so I won’t just need to be faster than last year, but make up for those lost minutes on top of that… And I don’t see any of that happening.

Before midnight, I only had the first three paragraphs of what’s above, though I also already had the entire part about October 27 as well, as I already mentioned. So I then had to somehow get myself to add the rest as well, even if it’s not just hard to think about those moments, but also quite hard to be sure of the details, or to recall some of them at all, seeing as I don’t have that many notes, and in fact, past a few things about the early part of the race, pretty much all I have is an e-mail I sent to my mother on the evening after the race. But I finally managed to get myself to write the rest of it, editing the post in order to add the rest Saturday evening.

Despite obviously not deserving any break, Carrefour’s campaign meant that I really couldn’t run on the week that followed the marathon, at least not unless I wanted to do so while being exhausted and end up even more depressed because of the result. As such, I only ran again on October 27, when I woke up seconds before the alarm rang, at 2 PM, and got up after it did. Then I had the usual stuff, but once again replaced three almonds with apricot pits, and the sweet thing was a slice of something brought by dad, with added honey. It was probably some chec and had apparently been sent by my mother, but it was bought, not made by her or by that friend of hers. Either way, I left at 4:40 PM, wearing the full running gear, getting back to the old running shoes. The reported temperature was 23°C, but it was overcast and I think I even felt a few drops, and by the end of the run it was about 21°C.
The time was 47:10.54, with sector times of 4:21.26, 4:58.66, 5:49 (5:48.65), 4:22 (4:21.82), 4:59 (4:58.87), 5:44.22, 4:23.06, 4:59.13, 5:44 (5:43.75) and 1:51.12, making for lap times of 15:08.57, 15:05 (15:04.91) and 15:06 (15:05.94). I started at a somewhat controlled pace and the first sector was a little faster than I thought it’d be. Then I pushed, reaching a pace that I didn’t think I was going to maintain even over the course of sector two, and when I saw what pace that was, it was no surprise. However, I did maintain it, the times continuing to be good and, in fact, very steady, with the first lap ending up being the slowest. But I was just aiming to stay under 48 minutes and over the course of the first two laps I kept thinking that it was going to be difficult, only starting to wonder whether 47:30 was possible after finishing lap two. It still seemed really unlikely, but after two sectors I was thinking that I’ll even be safe at the end of the lap. And I wasn’t just safe, but at that point I knew that I should even get under 47:15, which I clearly did. Maybe with a clear track I might have even had a chance to squeeze under 47 minutes, but I’m not sure, since I don’t think that I had any more to give and probably didn’t lose more than ten seconds because of people. But add the fact that I possibly lost a little in order to check the time and maybe it would add up. Either way, at that point it was my best time over this distance since March.
Other than some weaving and going the long way around, whether because of people or in order to avoid some wet or too uneven parts of the lane, over the course of the first two laps I only slowed once, on sector two of lap one, because of a woman with two dogs, one of them and its leash blocking the lane. However, on lap three it suddenly got more crowded and I slowed three or four times only on its first sector, and a few more times after that as well. And then, at the start of the final sector, on the stairs, I had to go to one side and then the other, and then on the outside on the curved part. But the overcast sky definitely made it seem cooler than the reported temperature, and there was hardly any wind to speak of, so that really helped. However, that same overcast sky made it rather dark and I probably slowed a few times in order to see the time properly. But what was really important was that there were no physical problems and I could just keep going.

On the way back, I had a look in the nearby Mega Image, then finished the watermelon. I had wanted to keep a little of it until the end of the month, or at least until October 30, when I was going to run again, but it was going too soft and souring. And the pasta was also clearly going bad, so I finished that as well. Then I did the day’s squats in the bathroom, before washing, and after that I made the salad and ate dinner earlier.