Cav's Place

I definitely hope that things will improve soon, because I was saying that last year’s edition was quite poor and now I find myself needing to say the same about this year’s. Admittedly, it can be said that I didn’t pay close enough attention to the semi-finals, since I watched the first and part of the second while working on dinner, but I did pay attention to the final and must say that it was quite a struggle to do so, finding myself getting increasingly bored and drifting off more and more after a certain point. The fact that one of the best overall acts and what struck me as possibly this year’s best song, albeit harmed by a low show value, didn’t make it, both actually ending up next to last in their respective semi-finals, definitely didn’t help, though most of the automatically qualified entries did add to the level of the final. There are few, if any, songs that I’ll keep in mind after this edition, and while the overall show value was better than the overall musical value, I wouldn’t say that any entries actually stood out from that point of view either. But at least the use of camera tricks, which had been bothering me in recent years, was reduced to some extent.
At least when it comes to the songs, I knew what to expect, having listened to them after all were posted on the official channel, once to the entire list, a second time to those that didn’t put me off right away and a few more times to the few that I found more interesting. I don’t know what might have been, however, since I didn’t check national finals as well… Or at least I don’t recall doing so, despite meaning to at one point, so I either gave up on the idea right away or checked the entries that ended up second and maybe third in a couple that I thought were more likely to be interesting, found nothing memorable and then gave up.

Of course, there was no question about this year’s winner. Or, more exactly, if Ukraine wouldn’t have won, it’d have meant that humans are even worse beasts than I think they are, which would be quite hard. The performance wasn’t bad, but it was irrelevant. The vote was completely political, and it’s the one time when it absolutely had to be this way. It seems unlikely that Ukraine will be able to host next year’s edition, but that matters too little at this point.
United Kingdom ending up second was a surprise, on the other hand. I did find myself thinking that I should be liking it more and ranking it higher, but I just couldn’t get myself to do so, at least not so late during the final, when I was struggling to still pay attention and it was a new song, not one I already knew from the semi-finals. So it was one of the better entries and maybe I was unfair to it to some extent, but even after listening to it again while writing this, I can’t see it among the top five, not to mention second.
Spain had a powerful entry, with a decent show value, but I was unimpressed by the song itself and they actually struck me as trying to overcompensate for it. Most obviously thought otherwise, but in this case I stand by the relatively low position I placed them in, plenty other entries being better.
On the other hand, Sweden probably had the best song from the final, the problem being the relatively low show value. The singer did her best, but there was only so much she could do, being alone on the stage. Even so, not counting Ukraine, this was the entry that best deserved its high position, and one of those I could have seen being second, even though that relatively low show value made me place it fifth.
On the other hand, in Serbia’s case it was pretty much the opposite, their good result likely being almost entirely thanks to the show value, and maybe to some extent also the message, since there were subtitles for some of the lines, the song itself being one of the worst in the competition. Not that the performance would have been enough to stand out even from the point of view of the show value on a good year, but this wasn’t a good year.

With those thoughts of changing my ranking system being put aside, even if I sometimes disagree with the results, I’m just sticking to the one I’ve been using for so long, giving one mark for song and another for show value, plus a positive, neutral or negative modifier, and ranking first according to the overall mark that is the result of averaging the song and show ones, then according to the song mark and then, if both marks are equal, according to the modifier. In case all three are equal, the ranking is the result of me trying to quickly compare the performances in question at the end.
Once again, still largely for my own use, I’ll list all the information here, with the first number being the position in my classification, the one between parentheses that follows it being the actual position, the first number that follows the country name being the overall mark, the second being the song mark and the modifier, if not neutral, being listed at the end. All links are from the official channel, so they shouldn’t vanish.

1. (8.) Greece (6.75, 6.5, plus)
2. (20.) Armenia (6.75, 6.5, plus)
3. (21.) Finland (6.75, 6.5)
4. (15.) Australia (6.75, 6.5)
5. (4.) Sweden (6.5, 7)
6. (7.) Moldova (6.5, 6.5)
7. (24.) France (6.5, 6)
8. (16.) Azerbaijan (6.5, 6, minus)
9. (23.) Iceland (6.25, 6.5, plus)
10. (12.) Poland (6.25, 6.5, plus)
11. (1.) Ukraine (6.25, 6, plus)
12. (2.) United Kingdom (6.25, 6, plus)
13. (18.) Romania (6.25, 6)
14. (22.) Czech Republic (6.25, 6)
15. (3.) Spain (6.25, 6, minus)
16. (5.) Serbia (6.25, 5.5)
17. (10.) Norway (6.25, 5.5, minus)
18. (13.) Estonia (6, 6.5, plus)
19. (17.) Switzerland (6, 6.5, plus)
20. (6.) Italy (6, 6)
21. (19.) Belgium (6, 6, minus)
22. (11.) Netherlands (5.75, 6, plus)
23. (25.) Germany (5.75, 6, plus)
24. (9.) Portugal (5.75, 6)
25. (14.) Lithuania (5.75, 6)

My ranking didn’t match the actual result for any country, was one place off for Moldova and Sweden, and two places off for Belgium, Germany, Poland and Switzerland. On the other hand, it was at least ten places off for Armenia, Australia, Finland, France, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Ukraine and United Kingdom.

With nothing truly standing out, Greece struck me as a good overall performance, with a good enough song that was performed well and a singer that was alone on a stage that was nevertheless filled, this actually also making sense in the context of the song. And singing about dying together also struck me as bold when this toxic positivity keeps being pushed for so long.
Armenia was in many ways similar, also a good enough song that was performed well and a lone singer that didn’t imply a low show value. The difference was that it was more of a performance, more effort being put into the show value, but the song itself seemed slightly weaker than Greece’s, and the message more common, which was what made the difference in the end.
Even if Finland didn’t strike me as being as good as Bulgaria, they were the ones that qualified and represented the genre in the final, so maybe their position is in some part thanks to that, but the overall performance was also one that was, or should have been, good enough to matter.
With Australia, I mostly get back to what I said about Greece and Armenia. A good enough song, a lone singer performing it very well and also putting some effort into the show value, and a good and relevant message. But maybe the song wasn’t quite as good as those, or maybe it was the difference between male and female voices that made me rank it lower.
I already wrote about Sweden, but I’ll just say again that it was probably the best song that made it into the final, the problem being the pretty low show value, and probably also the topic that was so common.
In Moldova’s case, the fact that I understood the lyrics likely meant that I had a better opinion of it than I’d have had if it’d have been in any other non-English language… Even though I oppose those who want to reunite Moldova with Romania, as I oppose any attempts to integrate any country or territory into another, because it leaves those who want to remain independent or as they are with nowhere to go. I still wonder how they got away with such a political message, however, and even they thought they’ll probably need to change it. But, moving past that, it was a pretty powerful entry that could stand out and drive away some of the boredom that was setting in by that point of the final.
By contrast, I have no idea what France’s entry was about, but it was also a pretty powerful one and they paid even more attention to the show value, so it stuck in my mind to some extent, seeming to stand in its own category, even though there wasn’t much to the song itself.
My opinion of Azerbaijan’s song improved in the final, quite a lot in fact, and they also put some effort into the show value, even if it only seemed to be a matter of effort and not also of thought, so all I can say is that the combination was good enough for this position.
Iceland had such a soft and sweet song, and sometimes that also stands out and sticks to mind. The performance was entirely static and they made use of those camera tricks that I was complaining about, but they just looked so “right” for the song.
I must admit that I was drifting off by the time Poland’s turn came, and maybe the fact that I became aware of it during the United Kingdom’s performance and thought that I should have ranked that higher made me do so for this one instead, so maybe it should have ended up a little lower, but the song was performed very well and at least there were some more people on stage.

As for the semi-finals, in the first one I had Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia and Denmark instead of Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway and Portugal, which actually were my bottom four. Still, just Norway making it actually bothered me in itself, Lithuania, Netherlands and Portugal having songs that I guess appeal to juries, though oddly Lithuania was actually taken through by the televote, and I did sort of want at least Netherlands to make it based on the song itself, the problem being the lack of show value. And I also don’t mind that Austria didn’t make it, the fact that they ended up in my top ten being a result of my system, and can’t say that I particularly mind that Denmark failed to qualify either, but I would have liked to see Croatia in the final and Bulgaria definitely had to be there, striking me as having one of the best overall performances this year. As for the second semi-final, I had Malta and Montenegro instead of Azerbaijan and Belgium. The problem isn’t that those two made it, Azerbaijan’s entry actually growing on me in the final, and probably also not that Malta didn’t, the song seeming much weaker during the actual competition than it had seemed to me when I had listened to it before, so I might have placed it among the top ten mainly because of that first impression. Montenegro, however, struck me as having what was probably this year’s best song, so while it was plagued by a lack of show value and I actually had to cheat a little in order to get it in my top ten for that semi-final, it definitely should have qualified… And I cheated a little for Estonia as well, and that song wasn’t as good, yet it qualified and Montenegro didn’t.

Since I just keep getting slower and couldn’t include the comments about my top ten before going to bed, needing until 5:10 AM to even post what’s above that section and the paragraph about the semi-finals and ending up getting in bed when it was almost 5:20 AM as a result, I initially meant to split this post in two, adding those comments as a separate one. But I keep editing personal posts in order to add sections that I don’t manage to write in time, so I eventually decided to do the same with this post, editing it Sunday evening to add that section.

Leaving the remaining odds and ends from April for another time, I’ll start this post with the early hours of May 3, when I made the tea for the morning and then ate dinner, which also included some of the new peanut butter, between 1 AM and 1:55 AM, and went to bed at 3:50 AM. There was some pain that seemed to come from that rib that I probably cracked multiple times in the past, which worried me for a while, but at one point the kind of pain that I recognize as being caused by that bone spur also appeared, which made me think that my back might be the cause after all. And that was probably correct, since working on my posture made the pain go away.
Either way, I got up when the alarm rang, at 8 AM… And it was a good thing I chose that day for that morning run, because soon after I woke up they started mowing all the plants from that area behind the building again, meaning that I couldn’t have slept anyway. So I had the usual stuff plus almonds, with the sweet thing being both a slice of cozonac, with added honey, and a small expired banana protein bar, as in one out of a double one, since I wanted to see whether I could take the other part with me on the day of the half marathon. Rather surprisingly, considering the early hour, even left something in the toilet, albeit less than I felt I had to. Then I also took both supplements and went out at 9:45 AM, wearing the full running gear. The reported temperature was 12-13°C, reaching 14°C when I finished, but it was cloudy. I can’t say I felt the chill on the way to the park, however, since I rushed.
The time was 46:41.07, with sector times of 4:03.79, 4:59 (4:58.22), 5:46.53, 4:24 (4:23.81), 4:55.03, 5:44.16, 4:24.41, 4:58 (4:57.06), 5:39.21 and 1:49 (1:48.85), making for lap times of 14:48.54, 15:03.00 and 15:01 (15:00.68). I managed to start right at 10 AM and pushed hard from the start, obviously feeling that I couldn’t keep up that pace but wanting to see what it meant on the first sector and managing that outstanding time that makes it a new second fastest first sector, and that was despite having to slow and squeeze through a group of what were probably high school students having a photo shoot on the long straight. After that, I also wanted to cover the first lap in less than 15 minutes, which wasn’t a problem, but the initial target of staying under 47 minutes seemed in danger after tiring myself so much from the very start, making me think that I should be aiming to just stay under 47:30. Still, from sector two of lap three I gave it everything and after that sector I realized that I might just have a shot at staying under 47 minutes after all, being surprised to already have a safe margin at the end of the lap.
There were pretty few people, and if you exclude that group on sector one, which was still there on lap two but had learned to leave some space, it seemed that most of those who were on that path around the lake at that hour were runners, so while I still occasionally had to weave or go the long way around, there were no notable issues other than that one on sector one of lap one. I felt bloated, however, and that was the notable physical issue, the couple of moments when a certain pressing need seemed to appear quickly passing, as did the brief pain, or more exactly discomfort, from my liver and back. On the other hand, the bugs that got right in my eyes on sector two of laps one and three likely caused me to lose a little time, since they remained stuck there. And if during the series of three runs in five days I had noticed the lane breaking up in a couple of places on the paved area of sector three, by then it was significantly worse, at least three spots posing a serious potential problem on the long straight of sector one, and starting to give the impression that it was starting to fall apart in general, at least in some areas.

After getting back, I ate a banana and drank about half of the last of those bottles of Pepsi Max. Considering the bloating, that was probably a bad idea, but I thought it might help me stay awake, since I then changed, also gathered my clothes from the balcony, and left again a little after 12:25 PM. The first destination was Auchan, but that somehow simply slipped my mind right after crossing the street, probably proving how sleepy I was, so I ended up going the wrong way, almost getting to the intersection before finally realizing it and turning back. But at least I got there well enough and just bought one of those breads, seeing that it weighed just four grams less than the listed weight. Also meant to get a few of those meringues from that confectionery, but the price had increased, so I gave up.
Continuing on the planned route, I then went to the Kaufland and Carrefour that are next to each other, quickly checking a few other places on the way. Peed and washed my hands after reaching Kaufland and just went in with that bread, getting a few things and having no problems with the self-checkout. Then I went to Carrefour, put everything except that bread in a cabinet, since that was clearly from Auchan and I just went in with it again… And apparently dad called just then and I somehow didn’t hear, or at least didn’t notice. It must have been either while I was arranging everything in one bag and placing that in the cabinet or just after I actually went into the store and a woman checked her phone right next to me when I heard one ring, so I assumed that it had been hers. Either way, instead of trying again he left a voice message, which I listened to right away… Learning that he had also bought some of those snacks for Liza from Kaufland, despite having left a note telling me to do that. And I had already been to Kaufland, so I had also bought some by then. But, to return to Carrefour, from there I bought some expiring eggs and, after seriously considering a pack of two cakes, eventually just added a pastry. And I used the self-checkout there as well, also without problems, since they finally added some that also accept cash in that location. Then I retrieved my things from the cabinet and got back just before 5 PM.
Saw something that looked like a small rash on the left side of my abdomen when I took my clothes off, and if it’d have been caused by clothes rubbing that area it should have probably gone away much faster than it did, so maybe some food had disagreed with me, which would also explain the bloating. Either way, I ate that sweet pastry, drank the other half of that Pepsi Max, and had lunch after my parents came, dad bringing mother, who stayed until the following day. Two pieces of steak were going bad, mold starting to appear on them, so I cleaned them as well as I could and ate them, splitting one with mother, finally washed after that, and later in the evening also had a small quantity of the peanuts brought by my mother. And my stomach seemed to deal with everything better than expected, the warnings it gave me at night not being too bad, despite eating that steak when something was probably already wrong. And, even though it was almost 1:15 AM when I went back to the kitchen, I managed to start eating dinner just before 3 AM, but it was a couple of minutes after 3:40 AM when I finished. And I only finally got in bed at 5:20 AM, even though I had woken up so early and hadn’t even tried to nap during the evening.

Since I mentioned the plants that are behind the building, in that area that’s surrounded by a fence, being cleared, before moving on to May 4 I’ll also mention that today, as I was writing the first part of this post, a guy mowed the small plants that were just behind the building, in front of the fence, so in the garden that was tended by the father of the guy living below us. At least the larger plants were left, and another guy was also there and seemed to give some instructions to the one doing the work, but while I can usually recognize this guy’s father, I don’t know him, so can’t say whether that was him or not. Either way, I can’t see why that carpet of smaller plants needed to be cleared.

To finally get to May 4, I couldn’t recover the sleep lost the day before. I did manage to get back to sleep after waking up just after 9 AM and also going to pee, though I guess that what actually woke me up was the noise made by the upstairs neighbor, who was probably cleaning. Around noon or just after that, however, when my mother also started, or continued, cleaning, I couldn’t get back to sleep again, so just before 12:45 PM I was up… And annoyed, obviously.
Since that morning I had also received the message that I could pick up the whisk I had ordered, I decided to do so that day. However, I was thinking to go out later, maybe in the evening, but mother kept annoying me, cleaning the litter box and taking a lot out, then giving Micky new food on top of the old one, and when I noticed and said that she’ll never eat the old one that way, she said she’s old and should just have what she likes. So I snapped, shouted, slammed doors, got dressed, just quickly ate a small apple, without talking to my parents anymore, since dad was also back by then, and it was a few minutes before 3 PM when I went out.
I had selected to pick up that whisk from that store’s location from the mall from the park, so I first grabbed a few things from that Carrefour and then started searching for that store. I initially tried to use the displays, but some didn’t work properly and it didn’t show up on a search even when there didn’t seem to be any technical problem, so I eventually started to just walk around and finally found it that way. Then I picked up the whisk, which they had placed in a box that seemed too large and, as I found when I sat on a bench and opened said box, wrapped in a lot of bubble wrap.
After walking out of that mall, I also checked a pet store from that farmers’ market, looking for cat litter, since mother had ensured that we were going to run out sooner, but I couldn’t find the kind I wanted, so I looked around a little and ended up getting some cheese from another store from there. Then I got back a couple of minutes after 5 PM, being relieved that my parents had left by then, took a quick shower, ate the sweet pastry bought from Carrefour and some more of those peanuts, which they had left here, and an orange, and in the evening made mamaliga, using the new whisk.

The plan was to also include May 5 in this post, to start the one about the half marathon with the evening of May 7, when I was getting ready, but with nothing else posted this week, I need to post it today, which means finishing it not before midnight but before 10 PM, when the final of this year’s Eurovision starts. And since the week’s second post will be about that, it’d be weird to first post that and then edit this in order to add that remaining day. Plus that on May 5 I picked up the race kit, so that day can also be said to be directly related to the half marathon and I can include it without that post becoming too long, so that’s what I mean to do… The problem being that I didn’t even write notes about the actual run, and after getting back here that afternoon I noticed that I had already forgotten many of the times, since I had been too certain that I won’t forget them and hadn’t written them down after finishing, so I wonder how much I’ll be able to write from memory and how accurate even what I will write will be when I’ll finally get around to it. And that’s frustrating, seeing as the time makes this my most important run yet, or at least my most important half marathon.

Since I’m getting ready for the half marathon and need a quick post, it’s probably a good time to mention a question which has been on my mind recently: Are there any sports that are moving towards endurance? Because all I’ve been seeing for quite a number of years is this infuriating move towards shorter, faster events, reducing or even eliminating the element of endurance. I previously posted my views about this happening in tennis, and how it makes me lose just about all interest in it, but what made me think about it again these days was happening to see some articles about the changes to the modern pentathlon. Not that I ever cared about that discipline, didn’t even know what it was about until now, but I just happened to see some articles and it reminded me of the process and how infuriating it is.
In fact, since running is currently the first thing on my mind, I’m starting to wonder whether the marathon, in itself, as an event, isn’t also at risk. I mean, the 50 km walk was already scrapped, and while you can’t compare the two when it comes to the level of interest and significance, it doesn’t seem unreasonable or an exaggeration to think that there are real reasons for concern… Among which you can add the fact that a number of events, including the long distances, were supposed to be scrapped by the Diamond League as well, and if that decision was mostly reversed, the changes to the format, also aimed at compressing and rushing the events, remain in place.
So, I repeat my question: Are there any sports going in the opposite direction, towards longer events, emphasizing endurance and long-term planning… And, yes, also demanding a longer attendion span from the spectators? At this point, I might even start getting interested in them if I’d learn that they exist…

Biden’s “we had a horrible plague, followed by two years of Covid” quip and the current revelations about one major element of Trump’s legacy seeming about to make its effects felt in a terrible way made me spare more than a passing thought to how much of a relief it is that Trump isn’t still in office, and wasn’t when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. I mean, with that guy there, it seems unlikely that NATO would have done much of anything and doubtful that the US would have imposed significant sanctions, which would have also led to the EU shying away from doing much of anything. Perhaps even more notably, it’s unlikely that the intelligence services would have offered the aid that allowed Ukraine to counter the initial offensive so well… Or to foil the plans to assassinate Zelenskyy.
So Zelenskyy was likely to have been taken out right away and Ukraine would have likely fallen completely, probably followed by Moldova, the question being whether the Baltic states would have followed suit or they’d be shivering in terror and waiting for Putin’s move, despite the fact that they’re NATO members, which would put the very existence of NATO into question and prove to any and all powerful bad actors that they shouldn’t be deterred by it… The first other consequence of that likely being that China would have also made its move against Taiwan by now, or at least would be about to do so. And we’d probably also have very real reasons for concern here in Romania, along with a border with Russia by now. And instead of being about to join NATO, Sweden and Finland would have been likely to bow down to Russia even more, just hoping that keeping their heads low enough would prevent them from being chopped off. And I’m sure that the list could continue.
What a terrible prospect that is. Not that such a scenario couldn’t materialize even now, and not that NATO, the EU or the US are doing what they really should be doing in response to Russian aggression, but just thinking about how much worse things could have been… In a way, I wonder whether Putin’s plans weren’t delayed by COVID-19, if he didn’t intend to make use of that first horrible plague if the literal illness wouldn’t have started spreading across the globe, and also taking a heavy toll on Russia. But, either way, instead of merely being relieved that such a scenario was avoided, we must be fully aware that a similar one may yet become reality and truly do everything to prevent that from happening, now as well as in the future.

I’ll start this post with the early hours of April 14, so with the night before the run I only mentioned before, when I was feeling rather off, getting weaker and at one point, while making dinner, even shaking noticeably, despite having had lunch in the evening. And despite boiling the carrots while making that lunch, I still only ended up starting to eat dinner at 3:15 AM, and finished a little before 3:55 AM. Interestingly, however, I started feeling better even before starting to eat said dinner.
Moving on to the day of April 14, I got up when the alarm rang, at 2 PM, had the usual stuff plus almonds, with the sweet thing being two of those wheat things, expired for who knows how long, with added jam, since I was out of honey, also took the pill I had started taking, with magnesium and potassium and some other things, and left just before 4:25 PM, wearing the full running gear. The reported temperature was about 20°C, supposed to hold steady.
The time was 46:18.19, with sector times of 4:15.70, 4:56 (4:55.31), 5:37.85, 4:18 (4:17.59), 4:57 (4:56.87), 5:36 (5:35.69), 4:17.21, 4:56.23, 5:39.28 and 1:47 (1:46.46), making for lap times of 14:48.86, 14:51 (14:50.15) and 14:52.72. I controlled my pace to some extent on the first sector, but had what I thought was an ambitious initial target, the 47:27 resulting from the first three laps and last sector of the previous week’s half marathon run, so from sector two I started pushing, and after it I wondered about staying under 15 minutes on the first lap, giving it a mighty push on sector three and managing that by quite a margin. Pushing so hard from the beginning made me fear that I had tired myself too much to still be able to sustain the pace required for that initial target time, but when I saw how good the first two sectors of lap two were I thought I’ll at least keep the average lap time under 15 minutes at the end of it… Only to be surprised to see that I had actually stayed under 15 minutes on that lap as well, managing a sector three that was actually faster than the first lap’s. And I kept pushing, realizing that I had a fair chance of staying under 47 minutes. Needing to pick my way through at the end of sector two of lap three made me worry that I’ll fail just because of that, but when I saw that sector’s time I realized that it’d have been the fastest sector two without that loss, and at the end of the lap I knew I’ll safely finish in less than 46:30. And at the end I was actually somewhat frustrated, seeing that time that’s a second best over this distance, only nine seconds slower than the record, and knowing that a new record would have been possible on a clear track and without that headwind… And maybe also if I’d have pushed a little harder in the early part of the run… Though that might have caused me to lose more than I’d have gained, overall.
A roadblock caused me to briefly stop towards the end of the first sector, while on sector two of lap two another made me take to the grass, going around a tree and a bench, albeit cutting the turn in the process, and I already mentioned the end of sector two of lap three, when I had to slow to a walk for a few seconds, under the bridge, a woman walking on one side and her dog being on the other, the leash blocking the lane and others coming from the opposite direction and squeezing through the small space left around the dog. And there were plenty of people in general, so there were plenty of moments when I had to weave or go the long way around, and it was also windy, this being another pretty serious problem at times, including on long straights, mainly that one on sector two, while towards the end of a sector two, not sure if of lap two or three, I felt that I was barely advancing against the wind as I approached the bridge. Otherwise, my thigh muscles started complaining a little from the start of the long straight of sector two of lap two, but it wasn’t bad, and otherwise I could just push. As for the route, another tiny patch of the lane had probably been repaired and was fenced off, but it was just that tiny patch.

Though I didn’t take a mask with me, on the way back I had a quick glance in this nearby Mega Image, then got here, had a banana, changed and left again at 7:10 PM. I went to Obor again, but was first looking for something from Mega Image, finding those things in the second one I checked on the way, and also seeing Food Bank on the donation box in that location and, after thinking about it for a moment after walking out, stepping back in to drop that 1 RON I wanted to donate in it.
Then I went to that Carrefour, put those purchases in a cabinet and got a few things, including an expiring cake and two bio (organic) eggs that I found among those sold by piece and decided to buy even though they weren’t discounted. Also happened to see Remus Cernea in the store and greeted him in passing, quickly walking away just as he looked up, so possibly even before he really saw me. And when I paid I gave 12 RON when the total was 11.51 RON, yet received only 0.40 RON as change, so I asked the cashier whether I could give him 0.01 RON and get a 0.50 RON coin, explaining that they’re useful, which was a part of the reason, but I obviously mainly wanted the correct change, and he said that he’ll just give me that coin, taking the smaller ones and doing so after checking out the next customer, without me giving him the 0.01 RON.
Then I retrieved my things from the cabinet, put everything in one at Kaufland after getting there, washed my hands, went in and got some buns, evening discounts just being placed in the bakery area. Other discounted products didn’t include anything else that could interest me, but I got a cabbage and a few other things and made my way to the self-checkout, the machine not causing any problems in itself but one of the 1 RON bills it gave me as change having a torn corner. Either way, I then used the scales that are next to the bathroom in order to get a label that I used to keep the bag with the buns closed, retrieved my things from the cabinet and, even though the store closed at that point, took my time to arrange the purchases before walking out.
After getting back just before 10:55 PM, I ate that expiring cake and put some of the purchases in their place, but left the two eggs on the kitchen table, for the mamaliga I planned to make. They were between several other things, so I thought they were safe and went to shower, and after I finished I first searched for the bag of bagels from Kaufland that I thought I still had, wanting to eat that older one and put the one purchased that evening in its place. After realizing that I must have eaten it at some earlier point, I got back to the kitchen at 12:35 AM… And saw just one egg on the table, and the coins knocked over. The other things placed around the eggs were much harder to knock over, but there are some other things on that part of the table, so I didn’t pay that much attention to blocking it, yet some space was available and it was obviously enough for Micky, since I’m sure she was the culprit. As for the egg, it was on the floor, cracked and with much of the white spilled out. But she had probably rolled it first onto the seat and then from there to the floor, since it’d have probably looked worse if it’d have fallen straight from the table. And the yolk was still inside and I didn’t want to waste it, so I took the egg and dropped the yolk in a cup, just throwing away the remaining white, then cleaned the floor in that spot, and after checking the yolk as well I could for dirt and not noticing anything, I threw it in the pot from the beginning, so it boiled for over an hour and a half. And yes, I yelled at Micky for that and closed her out of the kitchen for a while, though I eventually let her back in and gave her food… Otherwise, I ate that entire large bag of bagels before doing much else… And stopped eating the mamaliga at 3:40 AM, before stuffing myself too much. Got in bed at 5:20 AM.

That series of three runs in five days came next, the first needing to be on April 21 or April 22, even though both of those days were going to be windy, since I schedule these runs so the middle one falls either on Saturday or Sunday. But Easter was on April 24, and Good Friday is also legally a free day, so even though the forecast listed much better weather on April 24 than on April 23, and possibly also on April 26 than on April 25, I decided to start on April 21, this seeming to be the far better option from the point of view of the number of people I’ll have to deal with. And I stuck to that plan despite having multiple reasons for concern the day before, starting with the pain in my lower left leg when I went to bed in the morning, which continued for a while after I got up, and continuing with the odd taste I felt at one point while eating the macaroni and cheese I made that day, which remained in my mouth until I went to bed, something also not seeming quite right in my abdomen.
Fortunately, the problems seemed to have fixed themselves by the time the alarm rang on April 21, at 2 PM, and I got up. Then I had the usual stuff plus almonds, with the sweet thing being a slice of cozonac, with added jam, also took that supplement, and left at 4:15 PM, wearing the full running gear plus an undershirt underneath, and with a 10 RON bill in a flimsy bag in the pocket of my tights. The reported temperature was about 16°C, supposed to hold steady, but the problem was the wind.
The time was 1:14:53, with sector times of 4:16, 4:57, 5:47, 4:20, 4:53, 5:38, 4:21, 4:55, 5:48, 4:20, 4:53, 5:41, 4:29, 4:54 and 5:41, making for lap times of 15:00, 14:51, 15:04, 14:54 and 15:04. So I have a new personal best over 16 km as well, and also a new fastest lap four, that being the only time I completed a fourth lap in less than 15 minutes. And at first I was just hoping to stay under 1:18, aiming to gain compared to those target times on the first two laps and see what happens after that, actually being ready to accept to just stay under 1:20 if the wind would be bad, while the best case scenario was beating the 1:16:53 managed on the first five laps of the half marathon run from two weeks earlier. And, speaking of that half marathon run, I wonder what I’d have managed if I’d have continued to that distance, after being exactly two minutes faster over the five laps. Despite having pushed so hard until then, I’m thinking that I’d have still completed lap six in less than the 15:45 managed then, so even if I was very likely to then lose some time on the final portion, I’d have still been looking at about 1:40:30. But I guess we’ll never know, and I highly doubt I’ll ever be so fast again.
While I obviously didn’t give it everything, I did push to some extent from the start and the first sector’s time was fine. When the second sector was faster than expected, however, I wondered about completing the lap in less than 15 minutes and went for it, despite thinking that I was tiring myself too early by doing so. And I just missed that target by fractions of a second, so I’d have made it without the roadblocks I had to deal with on the first sector. Either way, I then hoped to just stay under 15:30 on lap two and, if possible, still not lose compared to the pace for 1:18 on lap three. But lap two was unexpectedly fast, actually under 15 minutes, so I kept pushing and when lap three was also fast I was thinking of that best case scenario, since I only needed to stay marginally under 16 minutes per lap. But when the sector times continued to be surprisingly fast, the target became 1:16, and I also pushed to try to finish four laps in less than one hour, which I also managed. I then assumed that I was going to slow significantly on lap five, the target becoming 1:15:30, but also realized that I had been faster than ever at that point and could challenge my personal best. That seemed unlikely after sector one of lap five, but I just pushed like crazy and after sector two it was clear that, if there won’t be problems, I was going to have a new personal best. Perhaps strangely, I found myself wondering whether I wanted to try to get under 1:15, what made me uncertain being that I was going to have to modify the graph if I’ll manage it, as silly as that sounds. But it was likely my last and only chance to do that, so I kept pushing and made it, maybe also helped by a guy who ended up in front of me on the last part of the last sector and was too fast for me to catch by the end but provided me with a target.
The second toe from my left foot started hurting on the way, but it no longer did while running, and there were no physical issues until the end of sector one of lap four, when I started feeling a need to crap. That seemed to go away by the end of the next sector, but my right knee was more persistent, the warnings it started giving me around that time going away after a while but then returning. And there were some slight warnings from the other knee as well, towards the end of the last lap, when I was pushing like crazy, and that was also when I felt like I couldn’t quite get enough air in. And my hands also started going numb from sector two of lap five. On the other hand, if the two roadblocks I had to deal with on the very first sector made me think that people were going to be a big problem, the first causing me to briefly stop and the second to take to the grass, going behind a bench and a pole, those were the only such situations, so I of course had to weave or go the long way around, and a few times also to squeeze through or avoid, but there were no other notable problems caused by people. It was windy, however, and while this aspect also wasn’t as bad as I feared, it did cause problems in a number of places, perhaps most notably in the area between the start of the long sector two straight and at least the end of that sector, or possibly until a little after the start of sector three. As for the lane, while no more work was being done, a few small moist patches confirmed that it’s unusable when wet, since it felt like stepping on a wet sponge.

The reason for that 10 RON bill I had taken with me was that I wanted to see whether I could get cat litter from a little store on the way back, but I made that small detour, and quickly entered the store without a mask, for nothing, since they don’t seem to have that kind anymore. And I couldn’t afford to waste the time either, so I jogged most of the way back. Then I had a banana and what was left of the sweet thing bought after that half marathon run from two weeks earlier, changed and went back out at 7:45 PM.
After first just getting a few more yogurts from the Carrefour from the park, I went to the newer Kaufland, put the yogurts in cabinet, washed my hands and walked in right at 9 PM. It closed at 11 PM those days, however, so I found no evening discounts for anything I’d care to get with the exception of wild garlic, and didn’t get any of that either, what was left looking too bad. But I did need green onions, so after digging through the crates I managed to find a bundle that didn’t look that bad and bought it, at what was either a regular discount or a small evening one, adding a few torn pieces I had found scattered in the crates to it, since it was otherwise smaller than the others I had considered. Then I looked for some snacks, but instead of getting another bag of bagels I found an expiring bio (organic) bag of peanuts and got that, then also got some bread for dad and, since there were still no bakery discounts, also grabbed some regular buns with sesame, which had a regular discount. Maybe the evening discounts would have appeared at 10 PM, but for once I didn’t wait, since I was planning to make another mamaliga and it was therefore getting late already. So I went to the self-checkout, had no problems with the machine, retrieved the yogurts, stepped outside to use one of those tables to arrange my purchases a little, and was walking away at 9:55 PM.
I got back at 10:30 PM, put some of the purchases away and washed what dad had left and another thing he wanted to use, went in the bathroom at 11:15 PM, got out at 12:10 AM, washed the other dishes which had appeared, and started making that mamaliga, also eating maybe a little more than half, so maybe a little more than 100 grams, of those peanuts, before the water started boiling… And after adding the last things I wanted to mix in it, as I was stirring them in the quite hard mamaliga, the whisk suddenly felt strange, and when I pulled it out I saw that the wire that makes a loop in the middle, the others passing through it, had snapped. So I had to hope that no bits of metal ended up in the pot, and also that the mamaliga won’t burn as I just left it to boil on its own while I finished making the salad, since I couldn’t exactly stir it with that whisk anymore. Then I stuffed myself until 3:40 AM, when I stopped, leaving what was left for another day. Got in bed at 5:20 AM.

The forecast for April 23 made me set the alarm to ring at 9 AM, but I actually managed to go to bed at 3:30 AM, after dad left earlier and I could also eat earlier, finishing around 2:20 AM even if I took it easy. That early alarm didn’t even get to ring, however, since I got up a little after 8:50 AM and turned it off, after waking up again at 8:40 AM, initially getting back in bed after checking the time and thinking that I could still catch one more brief nap, but eventually realizing that there was little chance of falling asleep again so quickly. So I had the usual stuff plus almonds, with the sweet thing being a slice of cozonac, with added jam, just wasted time on the toilet, which is entirely expected at such an early hour, despite feeling the need to go, also took that supplement, and left at 11:10 AM, wearing the full running gear. The reported temperature was about 15°C, supposed to increase by 2-3°C by the time I’ll finish.
The time was 47:47.95, with sector times of 4:19.80, 5:08 (5:07.68), 5:49.13, 4:30.19, 5:04 (5:03.21), 5:53.50, 4:29.25, 5:05 (5:04.54), 5:39.03 and 1:51.62, making for lap times of 15:16.61, 15:27 (15:26.90) and 15:13 (15:12.82). At first I was aiming to stay under 48 minutes, just so it won’t be too bad, but after all the effort made two days earlier and since I was also running at an early hour and on little sleep, I had doubts about that, and after the first two sectors I was thinking of just staying under 50 minutes, assuming that I was only going to get slower. But a good sector three of lap one made me hope to stay under 49 minutes, and after lap two I was wondering whether I’ll have a chance to stay under 48:30. Then, after sector two of lap three, I realized that if I could give it a mighty push from then on I might just have a shot at staying under 48 minutes after all, being surprised when I saw that I was already safe at the end of the lap, after what was the fastest sector three and the fastest lap of the day.
It was windy, but at first I was thinking that it wasn’t as bad as I feared… Until the end of the long straight of sector two of lap two, when it did become that bad and I felt like I was pushing against jelly or something of that sort. And it was mostly like that all the way to the end, so it was such a relief when I was taking a turn and no longer had to push against it so much for a little while. On the other hand, there weren’t many people, and a fair number of those who were there were runners, so there was obviously some weaving and going the long way around, but no notable issues except needing to slow a little because of a kid who was unsteadily riding a bicycle, weaving on and off the lane, on sector three of lap two. But I was so exhausted, felt like I was approaching the end of a half marathon from the beginning, it was hard to even lift my legs, and I pushed from the start and the first sector’s time was poor when you take that into account. But from sector three of lap one I just gave it everything, thinking that I’ll keep going until I won’t be able to anymore… And apparently that moment didn’t come… Or at least not quite, since at one point, early on sector two of lap three, I rather blacked out. My feet obviously kept moving the right way, but it’s a good thing I didn’t have to avoid anyone or anything, because for a moment I lost track of what was going on and when I recovered I didn’t know where I was, having to take a good look around and figure out my position on the lap. Otherwise, a certain pressing need appeared early on, but it came and went after that and it was never too bad.
After getting back, I ate a banana, something sweet and the rest of those bio (organic) peanuts. Then, later in the afternoon, dad first grilled some bread with zacusca for himself, saying that the zacusca was too watery otherwise, and then bought two small baguettes to make more, saying that he got one for himself and repeatedly asking whether I wanted the other, so I eventually did grill it, but with the old eggplant spread I had left, which had seemed rather spoiled the night before, eating half of it then and keeping the other half for dinner. And that dinner consisted of that other half and the mamaliga I had left from two nights earlier, and I actually started working on that dinner in the evening and started eating at 12:15 AM, finishing just after 1 AM.

With that eggplant spread finished then, I was relying on dad bringing drob on Easter evening in order to have something to put on the bread at dinner, but he instead had to go straight to work, not coming back here first, and after considering trying the new peanut butter I had purchased but deciding against it, I ended up just boiling a small potato along with the carrots for the salad, then mashing it and putting that on the bread, and also some jam. And I had dinner between 2:05 AM and 2:55 AM, and managed to get to bed just after 4 AM, the forecast again making me set the alarm to ring at 9 AM.
That time around, the alarm did get to ring, so I got up then, only left a little in the toilet, which was at least better than nothing, had the usual stuff plus almonds, with a slice of the new cozonac dad brought when he got back in the morning, with added jam, as the sweet thing, even though it struck me as being too oily, also took both supplements, having also started to take the one for joints the day before, and left a little after 11:15 AM, wearing the full running gear. The reported temperature was 19°C, supposed to increase by a couple of degrees by the time I’ll finish.
The time was 1:17:43, with sector times of 4:23, 5:11, 5:52, 4:27, 4:59, 5:49, 4:30, 5:08, 6:00, 4:33, 5:09, 5:52, 4:34, 5:11 and 6:05, making for lap times of 15:26, 15:15, 15:38, 15:34 and 15:50. I aimed to stay under 1:18, but again feeling tired from the beginning made me ready to accept to just stay under 1:20 if I’ll have to, and the first two sectors made it look like that might be the case. But then I pushed more and sector three was good enough for the first lap’s time to not be bad. And, surprisingly, lap two was faster, so I started to actually believe that I was aiming to stay under 1:18 and was hoping to not lose compared to that target time on lap three either. But I did lose two seconds, which again made me doubt that target. However, I unexpectedly gained just those two seconds on lap four, which meant that I could even afford to go a little over 16 minutes on lap five and I therefore probably didn’t push quite that hard on it, just wanting to complete the series without any poor times. And the total time for the three runs was by far the best yet, 3:20:23, beating the previous best, from 2018, by 3:57! Maybe I should have pushed a little harder on that last lap, to get that difference to four minutes, but I wasn’t thinking about that then, and it’s great either way.
It was crowded, requiring a lot of weaving and going the long way around and squeezing through, but on lap one I just managed to avoid actual roadblocks. On lap two, however, each sector had one roadblock that likely cost me a couple of seconds and another that caused a smaller loss, so it’s even more surprising that it was the fastest lap. And on sector one of lap two I also started to feel some pain in my right knee, as well as a certain pressing need, neither going away after that, though the knee pain lessened much of the time, so the latter problem was more notable. And my arms started to go numb from sector two of lap two. Then, on sector two of lap three, I had to take to the grass three times and, right at the end, slam on the brakes and just manage to avoid a cyclist riding at some speed and with a large dog on a leash running alongside him, since he came out from under the bridge and appeared a small distance in front of me, on the lane, as other people got out of the way. Then I can’t quite recall how sector three of that lap went, but the time suggests that there were some problems then as well. On the other hand, while I’m again not certain, I think that on lap four I managed to avoid or at least minimize roadblocks, which would explain the better time. But there were a couple of brief stops on sector one of lap five, and on sector three of lap five, when I was exhausted anyway, I clearly recall being stuck behind a slow jogger with a dog, probably losing up to a few seconds because there was no way around on the lane and other people meant that I couldn’t get off it just then. And I was so tired on lap five, especially as I was approaching the end of sector two. Even my legs were starting to go numb, there was pain in my abdomen and I was thinking that sector three will be so hard…

After getting back, I had lunch, changed, and left again at 3:20 PM, after first walking out the door and then getting back in to grab the Kaufland card, just in case, since I had forgotten it. Then, after having a quick look in a kitchenware store that I just happened to notice in that mall, I went to Carrefour and saw that in that location they had finally added self-checkouts that also accept cash, so I used one, without problems, to buy some expiring roes and three lemons, after also checking their whisks and finding none that I’d consider usable. Then I checked the kitchenware store I had actually meant to check, looking for the whisk I had seen on their site, and when I didn’t spot it I asked the cashier, but she pointed me to some tiny ones and after I repeated the size she said that they had none like that in that location.
Then I continued to the nearby Kaufland, put those first purchases in a cabinet, washed my hands and looked around, waiting for 5 PM, which was when I expected what would normally be evening discounts to appear, since closing time was 6 PM that day. And they did appear, so I got some buns for myself and beeped dad to ask whether he wanted some of those baguettes as well, eventually gathering that he wanted two and getting them, though it was again very hard to hear him when he called. Oddly, if you don’t count the doughnuts, which don’t usually get evening discounts, that bread seemed to be the only bakery product without a discount label, and I asked the employee who had placed the labels and she confirmed that it wasn’t discounted, so I moved on and made use of discounts to get a bundle of green garlic, a cabbage and some red onions. And yes, I checked their whisks as well, confirming that I couldn’t get what seems to be the regular kind, not even a particularly good one in that style, since they can’t be used like I use one. So I also grabbed two bags of bagels and went to the self-checkouts… The problem being that only one of those accepting cash worked, so there was a line, and waiting offered no benefits, the discounts not increasing. But at least there were no problems with the machine. It took me a moment to realize that, however, since I had somehow forgotten to add the onions when I had calculated the total, so after I finished scanning I ended up staring in surprise for a moment, before realizing that, and the guy behind me asked if I was going to pay, then complained when I picked up a coin and again when I took money out of both pockets, saying that the store was closing, even if closing time was still some 20 minutes away, and I had scanned my purchases quickly. But he said nothing else after I asked whether that bothered him.
After also retrieving the first purchases from the cabinet and arranging everything in the bags, I got back here a little before 6:15 PM, and during the evening ate some walnuts, a bag of bagels and some pasca, and made and drank another tea… And when I told dad that I was thinking of ordering the whisk I had seen on-line despite having to add a quarter of its price to even pick it up myself, he asked how much it was and then said that he disagreed with paying that much for a whisk… Which made things simpler for me, as I decided to count it as being paid out of what I have set aside, which also meant that I no longer had any reason to discuss it with him or take his opinion into account. So I spent some time searching for stores selling whisks, got back to the kitchen at 1:10 AM, just failed to start eating dinner at 3 AM… And in the rush to take that first bite dropped the knife on the floor in my room, so I ended up starting to eat at 3:05 AM, and since I kept checking things on-line while eating, I only finished at 4:05 AM. And it was 5:25 AM when I got in bed.

This was another post I couldn’t finish before midnight, only just managing to finish the part about April 23 and posting it like that at first, then editing to add the part about the April 25 run the following night, so in the early hours of Tuesday, and then editing one more time one more night later, so in the early hours of Wednesday, in order to also add the part about the rest of that day. By that point, I also had another run to write about, but that’s a matter for another post.