Cav's Place

The year ended and I still haven’t written about the marathon other than to just mention the result that day, not even the notes are fleshed out, and even what I do have was written quite some time after the fact, so plenty of details are quite clearly gone or altered in my mind. And this was my most important run, so I have to enter damage limitation mode, push aside any ideas of doing it properly, writing it all at once or even having a good chance of editing the post in order to add everything by the end of next week, and at least start, even if with only this first section that’s little more than a placeholder, ending at the start and scheduled to be posted at 11:59 PM, because of being out for most of today. But I did manage to make a first edit in the early hours of Thursday, covering the first part of the race, ending with the paragraph about catching and being caught by the pacemakers, so getting a little past the halfway point. And that was it, because it was clear that I wasn’t going to be able to finish this by the end of the week, so in the early hours of Saturday I just added this sentence and changed the title of the post to reflect that it’s only a first part, though when I remembered the bit about flipping off the Russian Embassy I did make another edit in order to add that as well, even if it was so much later, in the early hours of March 6.

To start with the evening of October 12, I tried to make the salad during the national team’s match, also eating a few walnuts and a bag of nicer bagels during that time, but when the match was about to end I had only eaten a few of those bagels, so I then finished that bag, eating about half of it right after the match ended, and the salad was far from being done, and I also jabbed my palm with the knife, though at least it was the left one. And, once done, the salad yet again ended up being somewhat bigger than I meant it to be. But I also made the tea, and then ate dinner, with peanut butter on all of the bread, between 1 AM and 1:30 AM. And then I’d have wanted to take one of those pills against gas, but when I asked dad for two he only found one, which I’d have been wary of taking if I had a choice, since it’s in paper and it was in a bag that he carries around with him, but as it was, I saved it for the morning. Either way, after eating I shaved, then lit the aromatherapy lamp again and got things ready for the morning, writing the emergency information on the back of the number, seeing that the problem’s the material that’s hard to write on, pinning the number on the t-shirt while wearing it and being a little less strict about doing it just right, putting the wet wipes, garlic and Smecta Go in the pocket of my tights and the other things in the bag, just leaving the bars, gel and liquid magnesium to add in the morning, and also putting the cereals, baked almonds with Himalayan salt and raisins in dark chocolate into a bowl, so only the nice, low-fat, high-protein, “Greek” yogurt was left to add in the morning. And, after also putting some cream on my hands and feet, I got in bed at 3:40 AM, with the alarm set to ring at 6 AM.
Well, I couldn’t get to sleep. I might have dozed off for just an instant after a little while, but I’m not even sure of that, and I was definitely wide awake again within moments even if I did, and then I tossed and turned for a long time. I never checked the time, but it was long enough to get annoyed, and I continued to be awake for some time after that started to happen, so I have no idea when I finally fell asleep. But at least I did at some point, for some time, because just before the alarm rang I was awake again, my internal clock seeming to work very well from that point of view, because I barely had time to think that I should probably check the time when the alarm rang. So I then got up, ate the huge Gala apple set aside for the morning and added the yogurt into that bowl and ate that as well. Then I took the supplements, except the second pill of the iron and the one for joints, somewhat surprisingly left something in the toilet, also ate two nicer biscuits, with added honey, took that pill against gas and a Smecta, with most of the tea, and put the bars and liquid magnesium, as well as the last iron pill, in the pocket of my tights. Yes, that means I forgot the gel, though I only realized that when I needed it. Either way, I left a few minutes before 8 AM, with dad, who drove me to the metro station and then came along to insert his metro card, so I could use it to get there even though he was going to need it the rest of the day. I was wearing the full running gear, and the forecast listed about 13°C at the start time of 9 AM and about 18°C at 1 PM, when I aimed to finish.
The metro came right away and when I reached the starting area I saw that it was separated into sectors once again, with entrances on the side that were placed at the front of each sector. But, since the assigned sectors weren’t written on the numbers, the choice of which sector to enter was left completely to the runners. Either way, I was at Constitution Square a little before 8:25 AM and had a look around, only spotting apples and bananas in the Mega Image area, so I took one of each and ate the banana. Then, after taking the last iron pill, I handed off my bag at the wardrobe just after 8:40 AM, did a few quick stretching exercises while waiting in line at the toilets, peed, washed my hands at one of those portable things, and then made my way back to the starting area and initially entered sector C, for times between 3:30:00 and 3:59:59, but then went under the band separating it from sector B, for times below 3:30:00, and advanced a few steps in that sector. That put me very much out of position, but I was far from the only one and it obviously cut some seconds not only off my start time, but also off the first kilometer’s time, if not even more than that. And I ate the fruit bar while waiting for the start.

I started the stopwatch when the announcer gave the start, but I heard the gun a few seconds earlier and that proved to have been the real start, so I had 53 seconds and a lot, almost 54 seconds, when I crossed the start line, but the real start time was almost 58 seconds, making it the second best, after the 53 seconds from 2021. Strangely, this time around it’s not listed separately in the official results, but the difference between the official time and the net time is 58 seconds at the end and at six of the eight intermediate times and 57 seconds at the other two intermediate times.
If I was going to have any chance of staying under four hours, this had to be a particularly calculated and tactical run, so I was slow at first, losing time in the crowd instead of weaving to make my way through or sprinting when there was an opening, and I ended up covering the first kilometer in 5:48. That’s one of the few times that I clearly memorized and included in my notes, but I know that the second kilometer was less slow, even if still concerning if taken on its own, and I was finally in clearer air and could obtain better times from the third kilometer. However, I missed the markers for five and six kilometers, so I never knew those times at all, but it seems likely that the fifth kilometer was the first one covered in less than five minutes, since the total time for kilometers five, six and seven was 15:17, making for an average of less than 5:06 per kilometer, and the first refreshment point was on the sixth and that climb was on the seventh. But the fastest kilometer was, somewhat unintentionally, the tenth, which I covered in 4:49. And another, and I believe the last, kilometer covered in less than five minutes was the 12th, which I covered in 4:58. On the other hand, the first time I went over six minutes was on the 31st kilometer, and it was by a lot. And I also know that I covered the 42nd kilometer in 6:31 and that final portion in 1:12. What’s unclear is whether I ever went over seven minutes per kilometer, since I seemed to do so on the 38th, I don’t recall by how much, but I didn’t see the marker on the road in the spot where the sign was, which made me think that the sign had ended up being placed some distance past the marker and it’s possible that I never went over seven minutes per kilometer after all.
To go back a little and explain why I said that I was somewhat unintentionally fastest on the tenth kilometer, I’ll say that it was a result of noticing a key falling on the road and putting in a burst of speed in order to catch up to the guy who I thought had dropped it, to let him know. It’d have obviously been nicer if I’d have picked it up and handed it to him, but I was already past it by the time I thought to do something and I wasn’t going to go back for someone else, so I just hope that he was the right guy and I didn’t make a different person go back for no reason. The fact that he asked whether it had fallen out of his pocket and then rushed back made that likely, but I was never certain. On the other hand, I’ll also mention here that I flipped off the Russian Embassy when I passed by it the second time, around the 11 km mark, so when I actually was on that side of the road. Briefly and rather covertly, but I had to at least do that little thing.
To also get to the refreshment points, I changed my approach to them as well, in good part after exchanging a few messages with someone, so instead of making the most of each, I limited my intake, quite drastically for the first part of the race, just taking a cup of water at the first regular one, as well as at the additional ones, which were on the 23rd and 34th kilometers, where only water was offered, while at the third regular one I only took a cup of the other drink. As for the other regular ones, I took a cup of that other drink and a piece of banana, though I kept the piece of banana taken from the last refreshment point in my hand for quite a while, only eating it towards the end, since I had garlic in my mouth until then. And I also delayed eating the first bar, which I had initially planned to do at 14 km, on that short but steep climb, until the second half of the race. And that did have the desired result, preventing that pressing need from appearing, and I actually got to the end without any notable problem from that point of view, which was definitely what made all the difference, being the first condition if I was to have any chance, but it led to feeling out of energy after leaving Cismigiu Park, so even before reaching 16 km, and I was obviously slowing, since I was getting passed left and right by others and felt really out of position, and on the 17th kilometer my hands were already going numb, which was a really bad sign. But then I got my head down, accepted and adapted to how I was feeling, and eventually, as I increased my intake, things even got better for a while.
While I’m still at the first half of the race, I’ll add that my targets during that time were the pacemakers for 3:45 and the half marathon ones for 1:50. They pulled ahead early on, when I was so slow because of the crowd, but I caught the 3:45 ones on the seventh kilometer, before that climb, and then pulled ahead. On the other hand, I never caught the 1:50 ones for the half marathon. Despite something seeming to be really wrong with my right knee on the 13th kilometer, making me sort of throw that leg forward, hoping to shake off the problem and apparently managing to do so after a while, I was just about to catch those pacemakers just before that short but bad climb at 14 km, but then I fell a little behind again because of it, even if approaching it slightly differently made it feel somewhat less exhausting, and I didn’t recover that distance before the refreshment point from Cismigiu Park, where they pulled ahead even more. And then, as the effects of that reduced intake were making themselves known and I was feeling out of energy, I definitely had no hope of catching them anymore and could only watch as they pulled farther and farther ahead. However, they were faster than they needed to be, so failing to catch them didn’t also mean failing to reach the halfway point in less than 1:50, which was basically what my calculations were starting from, my official time at that point being 1:49:33. On the other hand, the 3:45 pacemakers had also been catching up by then, in fact being right behind me when I got going again after the fourth refreshment point, so I pushed to stay ahead of them until the halfway point, and then continued to do so until 22 km, only then finally pulling out that bar which I had purchased after getting the race kit, and only starting to eat it right before that first additional refreshment point, as we went past Constitution Square again, where I also took that cup of water and they overtook me.

I’ll now be picking up from where I left off, but as I already mentioned, this is initially just a placeholder, once again scheduled to be posted at 11:59 PM, since I’m once again going out in the evening. And, after getting up and doing the day’s squats, I rolled the dice for my little giveaway on the GOG.com forums, even filming the process, though I didn’t upload the videos anywhere… And I forgot the water for the tea on the stove while doing that, so it’s a really good thing that it didn’t spill over badly enough to put out the fire once again when it started boiling, since it was close to an hour before I went back there and realized it, so it’d have been the equivalent of a huge gas leak otherwise, despite the window being left ajar. Either way, doing that, then shaving as well, and then watching the handball match and eating lunch, with an entire large bag of corn puffs instead of bread, means I’m very hastily throwing together this placeholder, limited just to this paragraph and the following one, at half time, since I’ll need to leave right after the match. And it was weeks later, on the evening of February 6, when I finally edited the post in order to add more, and by that I mean four more paragraphs, up to the one about kilometers 30 to 32, while the rest was only added on June 7, by which time I had obviously forgotten even more.

I mentioned in the first part that my calculations started from reaching the halfway point with an official time below 1:50 and, despite failing to catch the 1:50 half marathon pacemakers, I managed to do so, having almost half a minute in hand at that point. That was very little, but it gave me a chance, if I managed to really stick to the plan from then on. And that plan required 5:30 per kilometer until 25 km, then averaging six minutes per kilometer for the next ten kilometers, most preferably staying under that time for the first five in order to be able to go over six minutes by a similar total time for the following five, then averaging 6:30 per kilometer for kilometers 36 to 40, and then seven minutes per kilometer for 41 and 42, which would have left me with a minute and a half, or close to two minutes if I also added what I had gained before reaching the halfway point, for that final portion.
I also already mentioned in the first part a few times obtained in the later part of the race, but now I’ll go through things chronologically and in more detail, starting from the fact that, while the number of runners obviously dropped drastically at the halfway point, when the half marathon runners finished their race, the fact that I was focused on staying ahead of the 3:45 pacemakers until 22 km and then ate that bar, stayed right behind those pacemakers for a little while longer and worked through the numbers and possible strategies, meant that I only really noticed it after turning off Unirii Boulevard, past the National Library, when those pretty empty first couple of hundred meters also made it all too obvious, and quite disheartening, since I found myself without targets to chase… And without people to stay behind, and staying behind others as much as possible was an important part of my strategy, and I tried to do it whenever possible, to use them to reduce air resistance and get whatever advantage I could, especially when I was running against the wind. And this likely made quite a difference because, while the wind was fortunately not that bad, it turned during the run, so I ran against it more than I had to in previous years.
Either way, I was pleased to see that I reached 25 km 21:59 after passing the halfway point, so while that actually meant an average of a little more than 5:30 per kilometer, the halfway point being at just about 21.1 km, it was nevertheless on target. But, while the plan allowed me to get slower after that point, it couldn’t be by much, any gains compared to six minutes per kilometer until 30 km being what I was going to be able to afford to lose compared to that same target until 35 km. And just after 25 km there was a refreshment point and then I was once again running against the wind, plus that I was starting to feel myself tiring, so being careful with my strategy and taking advantage of any chance to stay behind another runner was even more important. And, speaking of that, there was a somewhat funny moment on that part of the route, well before it turned, when I had spent a little time behind another runner and then passed two others just when one was telling the other that during the race that she had been telling him about you’re not allowed to take it easier by staying behind another.
After passing 27 km, so probably before the turn, which was around or maybe a little after 27.5 km, my tiredness became increasingly notable, and while the lack of detailed notes and the amount of time that passed since then make me uncertain about this, I seem to remember being surprised that it seemed like I was still running against the wind, which seemed to have turned pretty much at the same time I did. Then again, I remember checking the forecast and seeing that it was actually supposed to start turning around the time when I’ll reach that turn, but that it was going to take about an hour to completely reverse, yet at that point, if I remember correctly, it really seemed that it was determined to make me run against it in both directions on that part of the route. And it was around 29 km, so probably just before passing that gas station the second time, when I’d say that I hit the wall. The great thing was that I still felt no notable pressing need, the fact that I was also, shall we say, releasing gas whenever I felt something, even accepting the slight risk of something else coming along with it, likely also helping to reduce the pressure which would have otherwise built up. But hitting the wall with 13 km to go, and even before the point from which I could allow myself to get slower, was a serious concern.
I still managed to push myself to cover that 30th kilometer in just under six minutes, but then things got really bad, the fact that there was a refreshment point on the 31st kilometer not being enough of an excuse for how much over six minutes it took me to cover it. I don’t recall whether it was just before or just after reaching 31 km when I took out the first piece of garlic and ate it, but even if it was before that marker, that didn’t justify such a loss of time either, since I seem to remember something around, and possibly just over, 6:30… And then the next kilometer was even slower, around 6:50 from what I recall. It might have been a little less than 6:50 but, either way, it meant that just over those two kilometers I had lost all of the time gained over the previous five, so all that I could afford to lose until 35 km. Admittedly, I ate the salt bar during that 32nd kilometer, before reaching Unirii Boulevard again, and slowed to a walk a couple of times while doing so, but I had done that just because I felt that I couldn’t keep running at that point and really needed those moments of relative rest.
Seeing as I’m only writing what follows on June 7, my memory’s far from reliable, but things obviously looked bad at that point, and while a new personal best, beating what I managed in 2022, still seemed possible, staying under four hours didn’t. But that’d have been too frustrating, getting even closer but still failing, especially after thinking back then that I might have been able to make it if I’d have believed it early enough, so after 32 km I got my head down and dug in, telling myself to embrace the suck, and it gradually started working. I really couldn’t say what the times actually were anymore, but what’s clear is that I did a much better job at keeping the loss of time in check, that additional refreshment point that was on the 34th kilometer and just offered water not making things worse either, so I actually still had a minute in hand at 35 km.
Since after that point the initial plan allowed for 30 seconds more per kilometer, things were going to start looking better if I could just keep doing what I had been doing for the past couple of kilometers… But that didn’t seem likely, so I still thought that it was going to be a matter of keeping the loss of time in check all the way to 40 km, also taking into account the refreshment points on kilometers 36 and 40 and the moments when I planned to take the gel and the liquid magnesium, to give myself every chance to stick to the initial plan on the last 2.2 km and somehow just make it. And I obviously also looked for the 4:00 pacemakers after turning and tried to get an idea of how far behind they were, but it’s much harder to estimate that than it is to see how far behind your are and, either way, I don’t remember what I might have estimated at that point in any way. But what’s clear is that, rather than just limiting the loss of time over those five kilometers, I pretty much avoided it. It’s even possible that I gained a little bit, though I can’t really remember and the difference must have been small either way. But what I do know is that, when I dug in my pocket for that gel, I think on the 39th kilometer, I realized that I didn’t have it. I believe I even took out everything that was left in that pocket, which obviously meant losing a little time, but it just wasn’t there, so I’d have had a pretty serious problem if I wouldn’t have changed my intake strategy, being left with nothing for the latter part of the race, but as it was, it was more of a bonus that I could spare, since I still had the liquid magnesium to take at that point, which I did. And then I had the rest of the garlic, though the large piece was too strong to chew directly, so I kept it in my mouth for a long time.
As I already mentioned in the first part, keeping that garlic in my mouth led to keeping the piece of banana taken from that last refreshment point in my hand for a long time and only finally eating it towards the end. But what did make a difference was that liquid magnesium, which I do believe kicked in to reduce my cramps and perceived fatigue enough to allow me to keep that minute that I had in hand, and in fact add a few more seconds to it by the end. Admittedly, that takes into account the fact that I had planned to cover those last 2.2 km in 15 minutes, so it doesn’t exactly mean that I was faster, but I felt more comfortable, more confident, and I’m pretty sure that it’d have been really tight without it, a matter of seconds, and I’m not sure on which side. But at 41 km I finally realized that I could really make it… And, since the 2024 World Masters Athletics Marathon Championship was hosted by Bucharest Marathon and the participants had their names and age categories listed along with the numbers, seeing those people in their 60s and 70s, and even one who was 80, get past me and easily pull ahead, especially during those final kilometers, was both humbling and inspiring, and it might have spurred me on just a little harder. So I just kept pushing, having gone from wondering whether I was even going to finish to thinking that there was no way to do so in less than four hours, then that I was likely to end up no more than a few seconds on either side of that target, then to wondering whether I could keep a minute to spare, and finally to believing that I had finally done it, which belief turned to certainty, to knowledge, as I watched the time above the finish line as I approached it, the official time being 3:58:47, with a net time of 3:57:49.