Cav's Place

Even though the announcement was made back in February and last year’s winners spoke out against the change right away, I just now learned, thanks to happening to see something about Mladenovic also speaking out, that the US Open is once again spearheading the sport’s continued march in that same awful direction by pretty much removing mixed doubles from the actual competition and turning it into what’s basically a demonstrative tournament, but apparently still considering, and rewarding, it as if it’d actually be part of the tournament.
Sure, I keep saying that my interest in tennis is pretty much completely gone because of the direction the sport’s been heading in for the past several years, and the fact that it took me so long to notice the news about such a change in a Grand Slam tournament, even if we’re talking about the one that’s always been clearly the least deserving of the title, just proves that yet again, so maybe I shouldn’t even bother to comment, but what the fuck? Yes, mixed doubles was generally overshadowed by the other events, but it was, and should be, a part of the tournament and, very importantly, there are players specialized in this, they train for it, they prepare along with their partners, and all of a sudden one of the major events of the year, so one that they work particularly hard for, is pretty much yanked from under their feet, being placed at a different time, which is likely to throw a wrench in the schedules of a fair number of players and also potentially harm tournaments taking place just before the US Open, and with exhibition rules, making for short matches that are more of a lottery than real sports, something like the equivalent of a football or handball match consisting entirely of series of penalties. And, of course, there’s the fact that half of the pairs are made up of top singles players, at least some of whom really will treat it as more of a demonstrative tournament than a real competition. And, of course, even if we leave the lesser ones aside, this last part also means that even the WTA 500 tournament from Monterrey can kiss goodbye to any of those top players taking part.
Granted, this is just the sort of thing that’s to be expected from the US Open, but the even bigger problem is that, like plenty of other changes that started from there, it’s likely to spread to the other Grand Slam tournaments and eventually, and probably sooner rather than later, become the rule. And then I wonder what else it’ll end up being applied to… I mean, it’s probably only a matter of time before five-set matches will disappear, the same holds true for replacing even the third set with a match tie-break, first for everything except seniors’ singles matches and possibly eventually even for those, and I wouldn’t put it past them to look into implementing the other fast tennis rules that will be used here, like making the first point after 40-40 win the game and reducing the number of games needed to win a set to four.

No Response is a free game that I picked up several years ago and, to be perfectly blunt, I finally played it today because I wanted something to write about quickly… Though writing even such a quick little review, if the term may even be used, takes much longer than playing it, since that only takes about 15 minutes. But I guess that’s long enough to tell the story, despite the perhaps rather unusual manner in which it’s presented and the minimalist methods, making each word, sound and graphical object count.
That said, I wonder whether something like this can even be considered a game, being a walking simulator with just about zero actual interaction or player agency, and even that very short duration is in fact obtained because of the slow walking speed. I guess there is one possibly optional spot to explore, where the path branches off, but the message seen there doesn’t seem to fit with the rest… Not that those seen before that point make that much sense either, considering the context that’s pretty obvious from the unskippable intro and made so clear in the tunnel that there’s little point in the game not ending right then. And, at least for me, the menu, whether the one that shows up when you press Esc or the one at the end, couldn’t be interacted with either, so just use Alt+F4 to quit.
I do think that walking simulators and games whose sole aim is to tell a fixed story or convey a message have their place, that it may be a way to use the medium as an art form, and I’m also aware that games made for game jams, such as this one, shouldn’t usually be expected to be more than little demos, but I see little reason to even watch a video of No Response, much less go through it yourself, perhaps in good part just because it’s so obvious. Then again, I saw comments from some who were surprised by the ending, which I find baffling but probably means that a target audience does exist.

Not that I shouldn’t add them here someday anyway, but if I don’t want to have to use up one more of those old book reviews in order to create another personal “slot”, I’ll have to come up with something else for the week’s second post and will hardly have any time to do so, seeing as Sunday I’ll also need to sleep, or at least rest to some extent, after the Dream Trek. And, after ending up cutting the previous post short, this one should have continued from where that one left off, to finish covering those three runs. But that’s actually important and not written yet, while if I’m to write about this week, the relevant part is only at the end, about today, plus perhaps the part about cleaning my room, the rest being odds and ends that don’t matter much, except perhaps to explain why I’m tired. So I guess I’ll be using up what at the moment is the last remaining personal “slot” to write about this week, starting with the early hours of Monday, when I ended up eating dinner between 3:25 AM and 4:20 AM, after cleaning and washing plenty of things in the kitchen and also dealing with my bread… And I saw what were quite clearly flea bites on my legs again, though I didn’t notice any more since then, nor did I actually see any fleas. Either way, after cleaning some more of what dad had spilled on the stove, also talking to him some more, since he was also only going to bed then, spraying my feet with that expired repellent, and cleaning the litter box twice, Liza going after I had cleaned it the first time, I got in bed at 5:40 AM. But at least I really slept.

After getting up, a little after 1 PM, I checked myself and the bed and saw a bug on my pillow, and while it didn’t look like a bedbug and was likely a sow bug, it spurred me into action, so I vacuumed the edges of the mattress and part of its surface and of the part that’s under it, then also moved the bed to some extent to vacuum the part of the floor that’s under it and close to the wall, and after pushing the bed back I tried to vacuum under the rest of it to some extent as well, at which point I found a 0.01 RON coin. And then I also rearranged the munchies and in the evening I wiped the dust, meaning to clean properly but putting off vacuuming the rest of the place and changing the sheets, since I also put a load of laundry in the machine and then hung the clothes to dry and dad cooked, so I got some things ready for him and then cleaned up after him. And in the morning I got in bed at 5:25 AM.

After waking up for the second time at 12:15 PM, just as dad was about to leave, I eventually decided to get up, vacuuming the rest of my room, including moving the boxes and vacuuming behind them as well, and then quickly vacuuming the hallway, the small bathroom, where I noticed with quite a lot of concern that the ceiling is loose, and the parts of the kitchen that are easy to reach, though it’s obviously the others that need it more. Either way, since I had forgotten to do the squats the previous day, I then also did 200, if not 210, since I lost count at some point, and went out at 5:30 PM, with the regular recyclables, which I dropped off in a recycling bin on the way, and those with the deposit symbol.
I picked up just one more recyclable on the way to that store, in fact meters away from it, and then put everything in the machine, ending up with three vouchers, since I stopped after finishing with dad’s recyclables, which had been in the large backpack, waved someone else who didn’t have many ahead while I untied the bags, then the machine stopped after I put in the bottle on which I had placed a label with the symbol, and which was also dirty inside, but otherwise was exactly what the label was for, and either way the machine resumed on its own and I could finish without needing to call an employee. And the cashier was the one who previously gave me all of the money separately, as in the regular amount for each voucher and then the bonus amount, once again for each, yet that time she added it all together with a calculator… But ended up with an amount that was 1.2 RON lower than what it should have been, and I had told her the total, so I repeated it and she redid the calculation in front of me, that time ending up with 1 RON more, so just 0.2 RON short. But that was a whole number and if you just looked at what was being added, it was obvious that the total couldn’t be a whole number, and I also redid the calculation on my phone, but when I also redid it on her calculator, it came up with that same whole number, so she said that it must not work properly and just added those two coins, and I found myself apologizing, though I’m not sure what for.
I then continued to Kaufland, I think having a quick look in another store and picking up another recyclable on the way, though I’m not entirely sure about either. If I did pick up that recyclable, I added it in the cabinet where I put the bags in which I had carried the recyclables and the large backpack, and then I washed my hands and just bought some deeply discounted germinated wheat before retrieving my things, putting the purchases and the large backpack in the one with rope straps and picking up some more recyclables on the way back. But I didn’t come straight back, instead making a little detour to the Mega Image where I remembered having seen, and actually considered buying, expiring figs, since I had also seen a TV ad stating that they had a 25% discount if you used the store card, so I wondered whether I’ll still find some and whether the discounts stacked. And, after putting the gathered recyclables in a cabinet, without locking it, and entering with the backpack, I did see some of those expiring figs left, and then I went to a self-checkout and confirmed that the 25% discount did apply to the full price, the final price being half of that discounted one, though the discount label listed it as half of the full price. So I stepped away from the machine, since those don’t accept cash in Mega Image, and went to a regular checkout to buy those figs, without receiving a receipt. Then I retrieved my things and made one more stop on the way back, to also check Penny, once again putting the recyclables in a cabinet, still without locking it, but then just retrieving them and walking out.
I got back for the first time just before 8 PM, put the few purchases in their place, ate the banana that I still had, talked to dad a little, moved something for him into a bowl and arranged a few things, then left again just before 8:45 PM, also dropping some trash down the chute. And I had decided to get back to watch the match, so I just went to Penny Basarabia, picking up two more recyclables on the way, leaving them behind a car that was in front of the store, and buying some beer and mustard for dad. Then I retrieved those recyclables, picked up one more before reaching Mega Image on the way back, put the purchases and the recyclables in a cabinet that I did lock that time, bought a few things that were discounted by 90%, without being charged for the bag that the few spoiling onions were in, then retrieved my things and arranged the purchases. And I picked up at least one more recyclable on the way back from there, and since I got here early enough I decided to also have a look in the nearby Mega Image, leaving the bags behind some baskets and then just retrieving them and picking up two more recyclables.
I got back for good just before 10 PM, then cleaned the litter box and went to drop that little bag down the chute, put the purchases in their place, ate a sweet pastry that I already had and lunch, with a small bag of expired bagels instead of bread, and went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash, a few minutes before 12:30 AM. I was done a little before 1:40 AM, but then I talked to dad some more, and after getting back to the kitchen I had to wash the grill, since he had used it, plus a few other things, and since I had spent so much time doing that anyway, I decided to also wash the pot which had been in the sink for quite a while. And then I used the bagged salad which I had bought from Mega Image, but I obviously didn’t trust it to be ready to eat, as listed on the bag, so I washed it to some extent and then spent a long time picking and discarding what looked bad, which was most of one of the included vegetables, setting aside a small part of what looked good for the following night and also microwaving the rest a little, and then also adding what was usable from the onion that looked the worst, so I ended up eating dinner between 4:20 AM and 4:45 AM and getting in bed at 6:20 AM.

After getting up, I did the day’s squats and then finished cleaning my room by changing the sheets and turning the mattress only around, just like two and a half months before, since it was still on the “summer” side. And then I had lunch and left at 6:35 PM, walking to Penny Titan, though I also had a quick look in that Mega Image first. And there were piles of expiring products in that Penny, but I just grabbed two for dad… And also wasted a fair bit of time because I saw some chicken breast of their store brand in the crate that the employee who was checking those products was putting plenty of them in, after scanning them, and when I tried to pick it up she stopped me, saying that it was “reduced”, and when I asked whether that meant that it had already expired she said that it expired the next day, but I couldn’t get myself to ask whether the discount would increase, or in fact whether she’ll bring those products back at all, ending up wandering around and waiting for a while. But after she came out of the storage room only to check out one person at a checkout that otherwise remained closed and then quickly help someone at one of the self-checkouts and I still couldn’t get myself to at least ask that question before she went back, I just gave up, buying only those two products and putting them in the backpack.
Since I had dad’s metro card, I then took the metro to the Carrefour that used to be Cora, at least gathering some recyclables, since otherwise I washed my hands when I got there, then put my things in a cabinet and then just retrieved them, not finding anything to get… But I had quite a reason for concern when I saw that the signs around the area for expired products listed the discount as 30%, which was also what I had been seeing for most products from Park Lake, instead of stating “up to 70%”, as before. The products that actually were there were mostly discounted by the usual 50%, and a few even by 70%, but the plan definitely seems to be to reduce the discount to 30%, which will be a huge problem.
Either way, I then walked to that Kaufland, putting my things in a cabinet and seeing that the radishes were already deeply discounted, and since only a few bundles were left and a woman in running gear was picking through them I rushed to grab two as well. And when I got back there later I put together what I considered to be two more bundles out of the incomplete bundles and scattered radishes that were left, though they were probably at least two and a half, if not closer to three. Either way, I also took some spoiling bio (organic) oranges that had a good discount and then grabbed some more discounted products for dad, by which time the bananas received a good evening discount, so I grabbed some of those as well, and by the time I finished selecting them the green onions had also received the deep evening discount, so I added three bundles of those. Then I retrieved my things and was arranging everything when the closing announcement came, so I walked out through the emergency exit.
I was uncertain where to go next, wondering whether to walk back and check that Mega Image on the way or take the metro to Dristor and check the ones from there, but since I had the metro card and hadn’t made much use of it, I eventually decided on the latter, picking up more recyclables and checking both of those Mega Image locations, putting the bags in a cabinet, entering with the backpack and getting products that were discounted by 90% from both. Admittedly, from the first one I only got a bread for dad, but from the one that’s next to Tei I got two sweet pastries and two pieces of bio (organic) ribs. And on the way back from there I picked up some more recyclables and also quickly checked the nearby Mega Image, which had changed its closing time to midnight, leaving the bags next to the door and then just retrieving them, seeing that they still don’t make bakery discounts in that location, even if the policy seems to be to get them to 90% elsewhere.
I got back a few minutes after 11:30 PM, then cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, talked to dad a little, put most of the purchases, with the exception of the radishes and the green onions, in their place, needing quite some time to arrange things in the freezer, also ate an orange, a banana and an old sweet pastry and washed some of what was in the kitchen, and finally went to wash a couple of minutes before 2 AM. I was done a little after 2:30 AM, but then I spent some time in my room and then made sure that Liza ate what was still on her plate, so it was past 3 AM when I even started to look at the bundles of radishes, to pick the few usable leaves and discard the rest, plus that I had more to wash and clean in the kitchen and also used a little of the germinated wheat for the salad, boiling it along with those few radish leaves, and washed the rest and put it in a jar, so I finally ate dinner between 5:25 AM and 6:05 AM and got in bed at 7:05 AM…

It wasn’t even 9:25 AM, so I most likely hadn’t even gotten two hours of sleep, when I was woken up by some power tool being used above. But at least it didn’t last long, and at 10:10 AM I got back in bed, after spending some time on the computer, and I could sleep until a few minutes before noon, when some other kind of power tool was used. Then again, dad wanted to talk to me then, since he had to leave but the water dispenser that he had ordered was getting delivered, he wasn’t expecting it that day, and he apparently couldn’t see the delivery guy’s phone number on the page he received a link to until I pointed it out to him multiple times. Either way, I got back in bed yet again at 12:45 PM, after he left, and while the noise continued, it was occasional, brief and not too loud, so I might have even slept through some moments, and otherwise I got right back to sleep after it stopped… Until that no longer happened. That was probably a little after 3 PM, but I really couldn’t say for sure, since quite some time passed before I looked and saw that it was 3:33 PM. And, while I didn’t get any more sleep after that, I only dragged myself out of bed at 4:15 PM. But I did get another nap late in the evening, sleeping for an hour and a half or so, and then I did 200 squats, to create a buffer, but after gathering my clothes from the balcony and putting them in their place, cleaning the litter box because dad told me to do it then instead of before going to bed and accidentally breathing in when all of that dust was in the air and then coughing for some time, and also going back to my room to do so when dad blamed me even for that, and then spending quite a long time talking to him about various things, I ended up eating dinner between 4:20 AM and 5:10 AM and getting back in bed at 6:15 AM.

At 10:20 AM, after some three and a half hours of sleep, if even that, I woke up and wanted to pee, but I saw that dad was in the bathroom, him getting up having probably been the reason why I had woken up, so I got on the computer until he was done, and got back on it for a little while after peeing as well, getting back in bed at 10:40 AM, just before he left… Only for noise to once again start coming from upstairs moments later, and while the moments were brief and with pauses between them, always making me think that I had a chance to at least fall asleep if I just stayed in bed, I just couldn’t, only eventually getting a couple of brief naps that couldn’t have lasted more than mere moments. And then, even though the noise largely stopped around 1 PM, I couldn’t get back to sleep at all after that point, so just before 1:30 PM I gave up and got up… And my digestive system was also quite obviously dealing with something, probably the nicer bagels which I had munched on during the previous day’s match, since I had kept putting off eating them and they had expired on April 27, and I actually have one more bag like that.
Either way, I did get back in bed early in the evening and managed to sleep for up to an hour and a half, split in two, before once again being unable to get back to sleep and eventually getting up after wasting another three quarters of an hour in bed, after waking up the second time. But that also meant starting to make the pasta later than I meant to, and only finishing eating lunch a little after 1 AM, and then I also talked to dad a little more, sliced that bread which I had bought for him as well, and ended up making less salad than I meant to, since I only remembered that I still had all of that germinated wheat after planning to put other things in it and then I put too little of it to boil to replace the other vegetables that I put back in the fridge. Then again, I had meant to put most of that germinated wheat in the pasta, along with the last few green olives, and I had forgotten about those as well. Either way, since it was already late when I set that germinated wheat to boil, I turned the stove up and ended up burning the kettle a little, so I then spent a few minutes trying to clean off that mark, without really managing it, and finally ate dinner between 3:20 AM and 4:05 AM, at least finishing that peanut butter which had expired on September 1, putting it on all of the bread. And I’ll also mention here that I saw that there had been no visits recorded on June 20, that I only did the day’s squats after dinner, and that I then shaved as well.

At least I could sleep much better on the day of the run. I woke up three times, going to pee and getting on the computer for a little while on each occasion, but the first two times I got back to sleep right after getting back in bed. That was no longer the case the third time around, and the occasional noises coming from above weren’t helping either, even if it wasn’t hammering or drilling or anything else particularly loud anymore, but I did eventually manage to catch one last nap, so I got a total of at least seven hours of sleep, and probably more like seven and a half, before waking up again, seeing that it was 3:14 PM, and deciding to turn off the alarm, which was set to ring at 4 PM, just to be safe, and get up, though I took it slowly and only actually got out of bed at 3:30 PM… At which point I also saw that there was a little something in the corner of my mouth.
Seeing as I forgot that before the Dream Trek I usually eat lunch first, having the usual things that I eat before a run shortly before leaving, I ended up having the usual stuff first, with both the apple and the yogurt being bio (organic), though the apple was imported, then I ate lunch, consisting of pasta and salad, between 5:15 PM and 5:50 PM, so much later than ever, two years ago being the only time when I finished later than I now started, though eating those other things earlier meant that I wasn’t running quite as late as it seemed. So I stuck to the plan and also took a quick shower after going to the toilet, then got everything else ready, splitting what I was taking with me between the pocket of my tights and the running belt, also ate the last three of those wheat things, with glucose between them and honey on top, drank most of the tea, taking a Smecta and one of those pills against gas with it and putting what was left, which included some of the Smecta, since I had mixed it straight in the kettle, in a small plastic bottle that I also stuffed in the running belt, quickly sprayed myself with that repellent, even though it expired over two years ago and I didn’t also use it on my legs, and now I’m posting this and then I’ll be going out, wearing the full running gear, with the t-shirt from last year’s marathon, since it’s brighter, and one armband. The forecast lists about 22°C when we’ll start the run and a low of about 16°C.

Since the placeholder for the post about the half marathon only grew from one to two paragraphs since I put it up a week ago, posting what’s basically yet another placeholder really is a new low, and the odds of finishing both next week seem slim to none, seeing as I want to rest for this year’s Dream Trek Summer Edition and watch some matches, and I should also go to the dentist, to replace the filling that fell out in the early hours of Monday, while eating dinner, and which I’m pretty sure is the one which had also fallen out in May of last year and was replaced on the 15th of that month, so it barely lasted a year. But this is all I can do at the moment, since all I have so far about the actual runs are a few quick notes, and the same’s true when it comes to the other odds and ends, so the initial form of this post just included this paragraph and the first two that follow it, though I made a first edit and added one more paragraph after midnight. However, after writing nothing else until then, in the early hours of Friday I decided to only cover the first run of the series in this post, changing the title to reflect that at that point and adding the two paragraphs about the issues in the afternoon.

With the plan for June 12 being to start the final part of my preparation for this year’s Dream Trek, so two runs in one day, the previous day I meant to mostly rest, but between the occasional noises from above and my parents getting back, mother being here and having gone to the hospital in the morning, when I woke up after what were at best four hours of sleep, I knew that getting right back in bed would be pointless, so I stayed up for a couple more hours, then did get some more sleep, two hours or so, but mother once again cleaning and breaking things that were just hanging on ensured that I couldn’t get back in bed yet again in the evening, as I had initially planned, and the fact that she moved and changed things really messed me up, I was just whimpering when I looked around, and I couldn’t even take a crap, putting it off until after midnight and then just wasting time on the toilet when I did go, nothing coming out even though I had felt a fair bit there all day. And at night I ended up eating dinner, with peanut butter on all of the bread, between 3:25 AM and 4:10 AM.
At least I could sleep quite well, at least until the second time I got up, just after 12:40 PM, when I went to pee again and then took a while to get back to sleep, since my parents were up and making various small noises. And then I was woken up once more by some noise they made, but I got back to sleep yet again and slept until the alarm rang, at 2 PM, after which I helped them make sure that they weren’t forgetting anything and put what they were taking into bags, since mother was going to the hospital for the treatment that afternoon and then back to grandmother, and I also washed some things in the kitchen, so it took a while before I started getting ready. But I eventually ate a huge and tasty apple which had been brought by dad, and while I’m not sure what kind it was, I’m thinking that it might have been Jonaprince, since it seemed redder and I’d say that it also tasted better than Jonagold. Either way, I also mixed the cereals, the baked almonds with Himalayan salt, and the last of the raisins in dark chocolate, into a bio (organic) yogurt and ate that as well. And after going to the toilet I also ate three of those wheat things, adding honey between them, and went out at 5:30 PM, wearing the full running gear and with some things, including the large expired protein bar that I still had, in the pocket of my tights and the protein shake that was in the race kit for the half marathon in the running belt, since I took that as well. The reported temperature was 26-27°C, and while I couldn’t check after that, the forecast stated that it should have held pretty steady over the course of the first run.
The time was 1:17:51, with sector times of 4:20, 5:02, 5:51, 4:30, 4:59, 5:55, 4:35, 5:09, 6:01, 4:38, 5:16, 6:06, 4:36, 5:09 and 5:44, making for lap times of 15:13, 15:24, 15:45, 16:00 and 15:29. I initially only aimed to stay under 1:20 and controlled my pace quite a lot on the first sector, so that time was better than I expected, and sector two probably surprised me even more, which made me actually mean to push, aiming to finish the lap in less than 15:20, which I managed by a safe margin. That made me want to see whether I could keep the average below 15:20 over the first two laps, which I also managed, sector two of lap two being particularly good. So, after lap two I started wondering whether I could finally squeeze under 1:18 once again, and while sector one of lap three wasn’t exactly a good sign and going over six minutes on sector three of lap three was even more concerning, the thought was still crossing my mind at the end of the lap. That changed after I went over what would be the sector targets for a 16-minute lap on the first two sectors of lap four, so I was just hoping to push the moment when I’ll fall behind the target times to lap five. And I did, though I was frustrated when I saw that I covered lap four in exactly 16 minutes, so I hadn’t stayed under that time on each lap, especially since slamming into a guy on sector three had quite clearly made the difference. But I still had one second to spare, at least compared to the 15:36 that’s the target lap time for 1:18, and I didn’t want the failure to be for lack of trying, so I pushed and, even if sector one of lap five was several seconds off the required pace and I lost a couple more seconds on sector two, I really gave everything on sector three, managed a great time, and made it by a very safe margin, making this the first time I got under 1:18 since October.
I briefly stopped on the first sector’s long straight because, just as I was catching up to a family, the mother stepped aside and the kid, on a tricycle, went towards her, cutting across the lane and getting right in my way. And on lap two, at the end of that same straight, that same family caused me to hesitate, the kid seeming about to cut me off yet again. And I actually saw them in that area on the following laps as well, but the parents were sitting on a bench and the kid was in front of them, not cutting across the path anymore. But now that I think of it, I wonder if the family who cut across the path just as I was finishing the run was the same one, since that time around it was the father who was cutting me off, the kid being behind him and the mother still on the other side, and I was pushing as hard as possible and didn’t get a good look, just shouting at them and going on the right, hoping, and just managing, to get past them before getting cut off, so I finished on that side even though I normally stay on the left.
On the other hand, those warnings from my right knee only appeared on sector one of lap four, and more parts of my legs joined in on sector three of that lap… When I also slammed into a guy. A cyclist was coming from the opposite direction and the two of us ended up doing the silly dance from quite a distance, with that guy caught between us and obviously focusing on the cyclist, who must have seemed to be weaving erratically from his perspective, so he was understandably startled when he finally heard me right behind him, freezing in a pretty amusing position, with his arms and legs sort of twisted around, as if trying to go in both directions at once, and apologizing in a high-pitched voice. I really don’t know how the cyclist managed to avoid him, but the fact that we didn’t all end up in a tangle obviously means that he did, yet I had no idea which way to go and no time to stop, and that caused me to lose that time that meant that I couldn’t cover all laps in less than 16 minutes. Either way, a roadblock made me go off the path on the long straight of sector one of lap five, but that was behind the stage, so I stayed on a paved area, while on the following sector’s long straight I just managed to avoid a crash that could have been really bad, since I was about to get back on the lane after going around other people just when a guy in a competition wheelchair appeared from behind others. And I think it was on that same sector when it briefly felt that my legs were burning, though the feeling passed.

I seem to be doing the same thing with the post about the half marathon as I did with the second part of the one about last year’s marathon, just putting up a placeholder in order to allow myself to write about the following runs and then doing so while leaving that post in that form, or close enough to it, since today I added a second paragraph, for who knows how long. But that post’s yet to be written, even if my notes are much more thorough than those about the marathon had been, while on the other hand I already have everything about the following four runs, so I’ll start with the early hours of May 15, when I ended up eating dinner between 3:30 AM and 4:10 AM. Then, even though there was noise from the neighbors and I did wake up a few times, I slept surprisingly well overall until the alarm rang, at 2:30 PM, and I got up. But it was windy and the forecast stated that it was only going to die down around 7 PM, and while I couldn’t wait that long, the situation was supposed to start improving after 6 PM, so I took things slowly, having the usual stuff, with the sweet thing being a slice of cozonac, adding honey from a jar that I just opened at that point, but also catching up on some news, and finally going out at 6:10 PM, wearing the full running gear, returning to the old shoes and the t-shirt from last year’s half marathon. The reported temperature was 24°C, holding steady or maybe dropping just marginally by the time I finished.
The time was 48:20.47, with sector times of 4:31.35, 5:11.22, 6:01.16, 4:32.10, 5:06 (5:05.36), 5:53.67, 4:28 (4:27.94), 5:06.12, 5:48 (5:47.49) and 1:44.06, making for lap times of 15:43.73, 15:31.13 and 15:22 (15:21.55). I seem to have miscalculated sector one of lap two while running, always thinking that it was 4:33.10, but I’m more certain that I correctly remembered the time at the end of lap one, so I don’t think there’s a good enough reason for a question mark there. On the other hand, after thinking from the beginning that I’ll have to settle for just staying under 50 minutes, having that slow first sector seem to confirm that, and then going over the 15:40 that’d be the target lap time for 49 minutes on the first lap, the idea was so fixed in my mind that I thought that I was going to have a minute more than I actually did at the end. And I obviously noticed that I was getting faster from sector two of lap two, but when I pushed harder after that, I still thought that I had to in order to just make sure that I’ll stay under 50 minutes. Not that it couldn’t have been the case if I’d have slowed down on lap three, but I didn’t, yet when I saw that I was managing some relatively decent times I just thought that I was gaining half a minute compared to that target, really going for it on sector three of lap three in order to give myself a shred of a chance of squeezing under what I thought would be 49:30 and then giving absolutely everything I had left on the final sector for that same reason. And that great time on the final sector showed that what I had left was way more than I thought. But, either way, it’s still well over 48 minutes, so still a poor time, even if the least poor one since the last one that was pretty good, a full three months earlier.
The wind was an issue at first, but the forecast was correct and it lessened as time passed, on lap three just that area from the start of sector three remaining windy. On the other hand, the running lane had been resurfaced, with some harder compound, which I’d say shows that they finally gave up on the idea of having a running lane there and just poured something that’d likely last longer. But they hadn’t quite finished that day, an area at the end of sector one and start of sector two being just scraped, and mostly full of water, so I generally had to stay off it and that meant slowing and hesitating on each lap, seeing as it was quite crowded. But the biggest issue caused by people was on sector two of lap two, when I stopped for a couple of seconds when I just about ran into an older man who was holding the hand of a little kid who was slowly moving in a circle around him, since I thought that they were just turning and would move in that direction, realizing what was actually happening when it was almost too late. And later on that same sector a dog seemed to be coming for my legs and I hesitated a little, while on sector two of lap two I slowed when a girl on roller skates came from the opposite direction on the lane when the rest of the path was blocked. And on the final sector two men rather blocked my way as I went up the stairs, so I rather had to push away the arm of one of them and squeeze past, and then I had to stay on the side that I didn’t want to be on because a woman was slowly climbing on the other, while right at the end I slowed a little to be sure that I’ll press the button. But at least there were no particular physical issues to speak of, just that I couldn’t go faster…

Then I ate a banana and a large doughnut with added cocoa cream, changed, albeit leaving the running t-shirt on, cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute and pay the maintenance bill, brought back the receipt, went back to the garbage room to grab a bunch of bottles with the deposit symbol which I had seen there when I dropped off that bag of trash, and finally went out at 8:55 PM, grabbing a few recyclables on the way to Kaufland. Then I put those in a cabinet, washed my hands in the room for disabled people, and entered the store a little after 9:20 PM, grabbing a regular lettuce, one with root and three more bundles of green onions, all being discounted by 90%, plus two of those cheap yogurts. Then I took my place in the line at the self-checkouts several minutes before closing time, but it was pretty long and I only got my turn after the closing announcement. Either way, I then arranged the purchases, retrieved those recyclables and walked out several minutes after 10 PM. And on the way back I picked up a few more recyclables and also went to the non-stop Mega Image, putting everything in a cabinet that didn’t have a key, to at least give the impression that it was locked, since I didn’t have a 0.50 RON coin, and then retrieving everything after getting some biscuits that were three for the price of two… And since those were similar to the ones which I had been buying from Kaufland the previous days but ended up being quite a bit cheaper, I shouldn’t have bought those, but so be it.
I got back at 10:55 PM, then put the yogurt in the fridge and the biscuits in my room, washed what was in the kitchen, ate lunch, with some old salty pretzels, expired since November, instead of bread, did the day’s squats, and it was almost 1 AM when I went to wash. I was done just after 1:40 AM, then washed a few more things in the kitchen, used the worse lettuce leaves and some green onion tops for the salad, putting the rest in their place, and ate dinner between 3:50 AM and 4:25 AM. Then I got in bed at the usual time, but it was a while before I actually went to sleep, and just after 8 AM I woke up and there were various noises from the upstairs neighbor, so I eventually decided to start reading Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra, doing that for about an hour… And dad got up just when I meant to get back to sleep, and while I did manage to catch a brief nap while he got ready to leave, when I woke up again and the noise from that neighbor was getting worse, I decided to get on the computer for a while, only getting back in bed a little before 11 AM and catching a number of brief and agitated naps through the continuing noise. It was 1:30 PM when I checked the time again and the noise did seem to be lessening, and I caught a better nap after that, but I have no idea how long it lasted, since I stayed in bed for a long time after waking up again, since the noise shouldn’t have been a notable problem anymore and I was hoping to get some more sleep, but despite only getting up when it was past 4:30 PM, I couldn’t fall asleep again.

In the early hours of May 21, after going to the kitchen several minutes late and then dealing with the two breads that I was yet to deal with and also noticing that dad had left a pepper on the fridge door until it had pretty much turned into another species and needing to clean all that mold off a couple of things, I ended up eating dinner, with a salad that consisted of more green onions than lettuce, between 3:35 AM and 4:10 AM. Then, after also managing to put that bread in the freezer, I got in bed at 5:25 AM.
Well, just after 9 AM I woke up, hearing some noise from the upstairs neighbor and Liza in the litter box, and when I went to pee I saw that dad was also waking up, so there must have been his alarm as well. But, after cleaning the litter box, I obviously got back to bed, albeit expecting to need some time before getting back to sleep, yet while I must have finally managed to do so at some point, most likely after 10 AM, just after 10:30 AM I was woken up by loud drilling from upstairs and while I considered getting up to at least make the tea, hoping that the drilling would stop and I’ll be able to get some more sleep later, I was just too sleepy and ended up mostly wasting time in bed, at best very briefly dozing off a couple of times, when there were some breaks. But just after 11:30 AM I thought that the break had been longer and hoped that it meant that it was over, so I went to pee again, just in case, moved the alarm to 2:30 PM and got back in bed… Only to hear more drilling minutes later, so just after 11:40 AM I got up to make the tea… Only to find that there was no gas! So I wasted some more time in bed, getting back up at 12:05 PM, eating an apple and getting on the computer for a while, returning to bed at 12:45 PM, when it once again seemed that the drilling had stopped. And that was actually the case, so after a little while I went to pee again, to make sure that I won’t wake up because of that, and tried to get some more sleep, but I have no idea how much I actually got before the alarm rang, since it took a long time to fall asleep again.
At least the gas had returned by the time I got back up, at 2:30 PM, so I could make the tea and then had the rest of the usual stuff, with the sweet thing being another slice of cozonac, with added honey, and after also gathering my clothes from the balcony I went out at 5:15 PM, wearing the full running gear, with the slip of paper with the emergency information in the pocket of my tights, just in case. The reported temperature was 24°C, and 23°C when I finished.
The time was 1:18:47, with sector times of 4:28.70, 5:13 (5:12.46), 6:06.50, 4:34 (4:33.41), 5:08.81, 5:58 (5:57.66), 4:35.12, I think 5:26 (5:25.94), I think 6:01.34, 4:33 (4:32.13), 5:12.25, 6:02, 4:35, 5:03 and 5:53, making for lap times of 15:47.66, 15:40 (15:39.88), 16:02.40, 15:47 and 15:31. So I also memorized the exact times while they were displayed, but after losing some 25 seconds on sector two of lap three because of a shoelace, I pushed hard to try to make up for some of that time and that may be part of the reason why I seem to have gotten somewhat confused about the time, since while running I was sure that I had covered that sector in 5:27.94, and 5:28 if I just looked at the seconds, and the following one in 6:01.34, only realizing that it didn’t add up when I wrote down the times. With the time after sector one of lap three being 36:02, it seems very likely that I mistakenly remembered the seconds from the total time at the end of sector two as the ones from its own time, but I’ll nevertheless leave question marks there, because there may also be a chance, even if it seems unlikely, that I remembered that sector’s time correctly but then misremembered the next sector’s, maybe trying to memorize that I had one second less than six minutes but ending up just remembering the one and assuming that it meant 6:01, or even miscalculated that time in the first place, in case what I now take to be the correct number of seconds for the total time at the end of sector two really were those for that sector’s time, as I thought during the run.
I thought that I was aiming to stay under 1:20 at best and the first lap made even that seem unlikely, but sectors two and three of lap two were better, and so was the lap as a whole, so I started having some hopes… Only to lose those 25 seconds on sector two of lap three and then really go for it to try to recover as much as possible, probably pushing too hard on that sector, but when I just went a little over 16 minutes on that lap despite that lost time, I clearly set my mind on staying under 1:20… And after lap four, and in fact possibly starting on its third sector, I wondered about squeezing under 1:19 and decided that, even if I’ll fail, it shouldn’t be for lack of trying. Of course, I couldn’t really give everything that early, but at least on the last two sectors I really went for it, seeing that I might just have a chance, and after the best sectors two and three and the best lap of the day, I managed that by a very safe margin. But it’s still not a good time, even when taking those 25 seconds or so into account, not to mention that I most probably wouldn’t have done better without that loss, since I wouldn’t have pushed that hard and the only reasonable target would have still been squeezing under 1:19.
It might have been rather hot if it’d have stayed sunny, but it was mostly sunny only on lap one, sector two of lap two and part of sector two of lap three, and possibly also on some parts of lap five, though at that point it was less noticeable. Otherwise, while I normally list notable problems caused by people, other than having to weave or go the long way around, that day they were mainly caused by dogs. Not that it’s not still the humans who are to blame, but on sector two of lap two I went wide in order to avoid a dog with a long leash that initially seemed to be going towards the lake only for it to go to the other side by the time I got there, the leash pretty much blocking the entire path, so I had to take to the grass, while on sector one of lap four I briefly stopped when another dog got right in my way. And it was on that same sector when the warnings from my right knee appeared and either towards the end of the following one or early on sector three of lap four when I felt something of a pressing need, though I had felt some gas before that as well, and either way that feeling soon passed. And before that, on lap three, probably on its later part, I started to feel something bothering me on the inside of my left big toe, that feeling only lessening on lap five. But, of course, the big loss of time was on sector two of lap three, when needing to retie my right shoelace cost me some 25 seconds.

After picking up some recyclables and a label that also had the deposit symbol on the way back, I saw that my phone was once again saying that it couldn’t register the SIM. I believe that was just the third time that error appeared in the nearly five years since the first one, which regularly gave this error, was replaced, and it had been over a year since the previous occurrence, but after I turned it off and then back on it happened again, and a few days later it happened yet again, at which point I actually removed the SIM and put it back in, which seems to have sorted out the issue for the time being, though it obviously makes me worry that it’s failing. But, to return to that evening, I then ate lunch, but it consisted of something which dad had made and said that I could take, assuring me that he hadn’t eaten straight from it, yet I found a clove of garlic while eating and it definitely hadn’t been used as an ingredient, so I had some serious doubts.
Either way, after changing, I left again at 9:05 PM, jogging to Kaufland and entering the store a little after 9:20 PM. Kohlrabies had a good evening discount, so I got a few, along with a few loose leaves, plus some discounted sausages for dad and one banana, using a one-time discount which I had activated on-line before leaving. That still didn’t make the price one that I’d consider good, but I considered it a small reward for myself… And then I also made up for part of what I had lost the previous time Kaufland’s machine “ate” two recyclables by not paying for one of the kohlrabies at the self-checkout, which I was still using when the closing announcement came. And after arranging the purchases and walking out a little after 10:05 PM, I jogged back as well, though I still picked up some more recyclables.
I got back a little before 10:30 PM, then selected the kohlrabi leaves and ate the banana, after which I cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute. Then I did the day’s squats, washed what was in the kitchen, except the large things, and ate an expired packaged croissant and some expired nicer bagels, going to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash, at 12:10 AM. Since I was done just over an hour later, it wasn’t too late when I got back to the kitchen, but I still ended up eating dinner between 3:35 AM and 4:25 AM. And I got in bed at 5:25 AM.

Since the forecast kept making me question whether I should run on May 29, especially since the plan was to cover a half marathon distance, I ended up eating lunch late, after midnight, and then I also shaved, so it was some time after 1 AM when I got back in the kitchen, and then I also washed a large pot, had to take out much of my bread and then put it back in the freezer after taking out the piece that I wanted to eat that night, which was at the back, needed to really scrub my kettle after seeing that the one carrot that was left was going bad, deciding to boil it after all and not realizing that all the water had evaporated as I was washing the lettuce, so the bottom got badly burned, and also ended up making too much salad, finally eating dinner, with peanut butter on all of the bread, between 3:50 AM and 4:20 AM, and getting in bed at 5:20 AM… And I only slept well until 9:35 AM, when Liza woke me by going to the litter box, and after peeing I cleaned what she had left there and also had another quick look at the forecast. And then, even though only some occasional small noises were coming from the upstairs neighbor, I had a hard time getting back to sleep, so I’m sure that I got less than another hour, possibly much less, by the time I woke up again, a little after 11:15 AM, deciding to pee one more time, just in case. And dad was awake by then, and while he did try to keep quiet, the small noises he made added to those coming from the neighbor and until he left, just before 12:45 PM, I only got a few brief and agitated naps. And then, after peeing one more time, to be sure that I won’t need to wake up again because of that, I still needed a while to fall asleep again, so I once again got less than another hour by the time the alarm rang, at 2 PM, and I got up.
Moments later, I heard something that sounded like thunder, and it was cloudy and there was a fair amount of wind as well, but when I checked the forecast again I saw that all but one site had reduced the risk of showers, and that of storms had basically disappeared, so after reading some news I ate one of those imported bio (organic) apples, the high-protein yogurt received after the half marathon, with cereals, baked almonds with Himalayan salt and raisins in dark chocolate mixed in it, and two of those wheat things, with added honey, drank most of the tea, and otherwise took it easy, leaving at 5:05 PM, wearing the full running gear and one armband, with the slip of paper with the emergency information in the pocket of my tights, along with some money, in case I decided to give something to a busker, to “penalize” myself for some of the previous poor times, especially if I’ll do badly yet again. The reported temperature was 24°C, and 22-23°C when I finished.
The time was 1:44:52, with sector times of 4:31, 5:15, 6:01, 4:32, 5:12, 6:06, 4:34, 5:05, 6:09, 4:37, 5:13, 6:06, 4:46, 5:13, 6:08, 4:38, 5:14, 5:58, 1:48, 5:55 and 1:51, making for lap times of 15:47, 15:50, 15:48, 15:56, 16:07 and 15:50, plus 9:34 for that final portion. So I have a new personal best for this final portion, with great times on each of its sectors, and a new tenth fastest time over this distance through the park, which marks the moment when all of the top ten times are below 1:45, and is also the first time I got back under 1:45 in a year.
And to think that I thought that I was just looking at staying under 1:50 and the first two sectors made me question even that. So I pushed a little more on the third, but the lap still wasn’t good enough. Then I tried to stay under 16 minutes on the second lap as well and managed it by a safe margin, but I was somehow under the, obviously wrong, impression that I had to average 16 minutes per lap in order to stay under 1:50, so after sector one of lap three I pushed harder, resulting in that better sector two… And then needing to use sector three of lap three to recover, and going a little over the target for a 16-minute lap on sector one of lap four, though in the end I managed to stay under 16 minutes on that lap as well. At least I had realized my mistake by then, but still didn’t correct properly, thinking that I was aiming to stay under 1:47. Either way, sector one of lap five was quite a concern, but then I did better once again and, even if lap five was the only one over 16 minutes, it wasn’t by much. So on lap six I wondered whether I could squeeze under what I thought was 1:46:30, really pushing on sector three, and at the end of the lap I seemed to have a good chance, so I kept giving everything… Which led to a new fastest final portion, with great times on each of its sectors. And before the final sector I saw that I had a chance to squeeze under what I thought was 1:46, but I didn’t get a proper look at the seconds and wasn’t sure whether I needed 1:58 or 1:52, so I assumed the later and pushed as if I thought I could make it. And I actually did, though it wasn’t needed. And then I really saw the time and finally realized that, even after thinking that I had corrected my calculations, I had still been off by that one minute, but this time around in the good way.
I felt just exhausted at first, but that feeling faded, as did the dull pain from the left hip that I have been feeling lately, even if it was initially rather noticeable. On the other hand, I think it was on lap two, or maybe early on lap three, when I felt some rather sharp pain in the left ankle, though that might not have originated there, since there was some pain shooting through that calf muscle as well. But all of that also went away, while what would be the usual warnings from my right knee were very faint after that, only being more notable towards the end of what I think was lap five, if not even lap six, and even that didn’t last and they then faded back to those faint levels. And while the little gas that I felt as early as lap two got worse at the end of lap three and what seemed like a pressing need that could become a serious problem appeared on sector one of lap four, all of that fortunately proved to have also been just a gas bubble and then the feeling faded. Otherwise, on sector three of lap four I stepped in a hole that I didn’t expect to find now that the lane’s resurfaced with that harder compound, my left ankle having to take quite a lot, but it held. But the one thing that did get worse as I went along was the feeling that a nail was jabbing a toe from my left foot, and there was blood there when I got back.
In terms of problems caused by people, on sector three of lap one I hesitated and had to quickly avoid some kids on bicycles who were coming from the opposite direction with quite a lot of speed, on sector two of lap two I once again hesitated when I was just squeezing through a roadblock and I think a little girl seemed to start stumbling towards me, on sector two of lap three I briefly stopped when a cyclist was coming from the opposite direction and, while we would have managed to squeeze past each other on the lane, the rest of the path being blocked in that spot, a dog just about cut me off, on sector two of lap five I hesitated because of a silly dance with another runner while I was trying to get a bug out of my eye, and on sector two of lap six I briefly stopped because a boy who was kicking what I think was a pine cone around stumbled right in my way.
As for the weather, it was sunny on sectors one and three of lap one, sectors one and two of lap two, at the end of sector two of lap three, and on parts of sector three of lap three and sector two of lap four. Some more serious clouds moved in by the end of that sector, but they came along with some pretty strong gusts, though the wind fortunately died down after that and it just remained cloudy… Only for the wind to really pick up on sector two of the final portion, so I had to fight it on its early part, and there were a couple of gusts later on that sector as well.

After checking the nearby Mega Image and picking up a recyclable on the way back, I washed the blood from those toes, finished the tea and made another, ate a bag of chips, getting over 650 calories from that, changed, and left again at 8:55 PM, jogging to Carrefour and just wasting time by going there, not finding anything else to get and seeing that the discount for paper towels which I had only seen in the catalog for Carrefour Market on-line really didn’t also apply to hypermarkets, so I left the two packs which I had grabbed at the self-checkout and walked out. And when I reached Kaufland I forgot to pass by the recycling machine and grab some discarded vouchers that offered a 10% discount on soap those days, so I entered the store a couple of minutes after 9:30 PM and just got a lettuce that had a good evening discount, being in line at the self-checkout when closing was announced and grabbing some of those vouchers after walking out. And then I also went to that Mega Image, with that lettuce in one hand, putting it in a cabinet and getting some bakery products that had the 90% discount, keeping a bun in the bag when I got to the checkout, the price being just the tiny amount that I still had to recover from Mega Image for a long time. I don’t know if the guard had noticed anything, since he stood next to me as I waited for someone else who was at the cabinets to step aside, but he didn’t say anything, so I retrieved that lettuce and after walking out I went to a bench and arranged the purchases. And on the way back I grabbed a few more recyclables and gave one of the bakery products to a homeless person whom I had given things to before as well, and who’s always profusely thankful.
I got back a little after 11:10 PM, then cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, put the purchases in their place, ate a small apple, an expired protein bar and lunch, did the day’s squats, and it was a few minutes past 1 AM when I went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash. It was close to 2:20 AM when I was done, and then I washed the few things that were in the kitchen and also used the worse lettuce leaves for the salad, even though I initially didn’t mean to, so I ate dinner between 4:05 AM and 4:50 AM. And, after also rubbing cream on my feet, for the first time in who knows how long, I got in bed at 6:15 AM.

Since I thought that I didn’t have any whole wheat bread left but wasn’t quite sure of that, in the early hours of June 2 I took all of the bread out of the freezer and did find one last piece. Actually, I found it after taking out less than half of the rest of the bread, but I decided to have a good look, to know what I still had, and then rearrange it all. And then, while looking for something to put on the bread, I also found that a can that was at the back of the fridge had actually expired in March, so I decided to take that and moved the contents into a jar. And then I also made rather too much salad, from lettuce and some green onions, ending up eating dinner between 3:25 AM and 4 AM.
The alarm was set to ring at 2 PM, but just before 9:45 AM I was roughly woken up by Liza’s plate getting knocked about, probably by her, since she was eating off the floor and dad was in the bathroom when I stepped out of my room. But there were noises from the upstairs neighbor as well, and while they might not have woken me on their own, they prevented me from getting back to sleep… And just after dad left, a few minutes after 10:30 AM, the drilling started, and after waiting for a while, hoping that it won’t last long, just before 10:55 AM I decided to get up, having the usual stuff, with the apple being another one of those imported bio (organic) ones, going to the toilet, but moving the alarm to 3 PM and getting back in bed at 1 PM, since the drilling seemed to have stopped. However, I couldn’t get back to sleep, maybe being in that state that’s in between asleep and awake for a while and probably sleeping for mere moments before waking up again, seeing that it was just after 2:20 PM, going to pee again, so I won’t risk having to get up later for that, moving the alarm to 3:30 PM and actually getting a little sleep. Not much, since just after 3:15 PM I was awake again and decided to turn off the alarm and get up, but at least it was a little nap. And then I ate the last of those expired energy bars, with added honey, quickly cut most of my toenails, and left at 4:35 PM, with some things in the pocket of my tights. The reported temperature was 29-30°C, supposed to hold steady, though I couldn’t actually check what it was when I finished the run.
The time was 48:33.31, with sector times of 4:27.66, 5:13.15, 6:05 (6:04.50), 4:36.38, 5:08 (5:07.53), 5:52.16, 4:23.43, 5:03 (5:02.78), 5:56 (5:55.85) and 1:50 (1:49.87), making for lap times of 15:45.31, 15:36.07 and 15:22.06. I was thinking that just staying under 50 minutes would be acceptable, considering the heat and the fact that I felt tired, and I took it rather easy on the first sector, fearing a worse time than what I managed, and then lost a few seconds on sector two, so that wasn’t as bad as I expected either, but sector three was worse than I thought and the lap as a whole was poor, making me wonder whether I’ll even manage to stay under 50 minutes after all. But things got better on sector two of lap two, and even more so on sector three of lap two, so at the end of the lap I realized that I might even manage to stay under 49 minutes and really went for it, getting good times on the first two sectors of lap three and thinking at that point that I was looking at squeezing under 48:45. And at the end of the lap I slashed five more seconds off that target time, being a little frustrated that I had no chance to also get under 48:30, which proved to be the case.
The thing is that the heat bothered me less than I feared, and otherwise there were few notable problems, though there were those few seconds lost on sector two of lap one, when I stopped to tighten a shoelace that I thought was getting loose, though it probably wasn’t. Otherwise, on sector one of lap two I slowed and might have stopped for just an instant when a roadblock formed right in front of me, while on sector three of lap two a bug got right in my eye and I really struggled with it, being unable to get it out, so I had to deal with the situation from then on. And a somewhat pressing need that wasn’t just gas appeared on lap two and continued on lap three, but it never became an actual problem.

After the run, I continued to that mall, picking up a couple of recyclables and hiding them under the carts from Carrefour before going to wash my hands and face and finally get that bug out of my eye. And then I had a quick look in another store, got what I wanted from Carrefour, plus some thick fruit juice, which also resulted in a voucher on the receipt, retrieved those recyclables, and picked up one more on the way back.
After eating lunch, I arranged all of the recyclables, changed, albeit leaving the running t-shirt on, and left again when it was almost 9:10 PM, rushing to Kaufland but still picking up two more recyclables. I was taking the recyclables to Kaufland because they doubled the reward for those used to pay for purchases made those days, in the form of a voucher that appeared later in the app, but there were lines at the machines, only two were working when I got there, and moments later one of those stopped as well, so I gave up, since the last day of the campaign was the next one, and put the recyclables in a cabinet, since even so it was past 9:35 PM when I entered… Not that I should have really bothered, since there were no evening discounts and I just bought an expiring product, and there was a line at the self-checkouts too. But, even if they’re no longer serviced after the store closes, Kaufland’s machines stop at 11 PM, so I heard the closing announcement when I was just about to walk out, but could put the recyclables which I had retrieved from the cabinet, along with some more that I found there, into the machine, the lines having cleared and the machines actually working again. I even found a bottle without a label on which I casually placed the label that I had, still folded, and it was accepted, but there were a couple of recyclables that weren’t accepted no matter what, which I kept, and that small oddly-shaped one that I had was once again “eaten”, so I set my mind on eventually recovering that lost amount as well. And I exchanged a few words with a guy who was also gathering discarded recyclables and trying to make the machine accept them and he let me know that about a month before he had seen 80% bakery discounts at Kaufland, so they apparently still make them sometimes, but very rarely. Either way, I ended up with three vouchers and it was almost 10:25 PM when I finally walked away.
On the way back, I picked up some more recyclables and checked two Mega Image locations, putting just the bag in a cabinet both times, without even locking it in the first case, entering with the backpack, and getting some pretzels that had the 90% discount for mother from the first one and three bio (organic) yogurts that were discounted by 50%, one of them by mistake, since it wasn’t expiring, from the second. The cashier from the second location didn’t give me the small amount which I should have received as change, but I shrugged it off, especially since I could say that not receiving that change makes up for getting that mini croissant for free a few days earlier, plus that I ended up having a good look around and finding enough in coins before walking out anyway.
I got back just after 11:20 PM, then cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, put the few purchases in their place, rushed to take a quick shower, and after spending some time in my room I talked to dad a little, ate an apple and a sweet pastry, washed what was in the kitchen, and managed to stick to the dinner schedule. On the other hand, the kitchen light bulb was flickering quite noticeably again, and it pretty much continues to do so. And if I initially got in bed at 5:25 AM, I had noticed WindowsPackageManagerServer.exe, or WinGet COM Server, among the running processes and wondered what that was, since I hadn’t seen it before, so after a few minutes I got back up, checked again, and since it was still there I disabled the network chipset and rebooted, also taking the opportunity to raise the minimum CPU fan speed to 60%, since the speeds still didn’t change. As a result, it was 5:45 AM when I actually got in bed.