I just ran 2.5 miles and my knee, although sore, is feeling pretty good! Started off hurting but then it loosened up and I took it easy and ran farther than I thought I would. Iced up the knee after I got home and it’s feeling ok. I am pretty happy!
Category: Well-being
When Can I Run?
I’ve been sidelined from running for a month now, and for the past week or so, the itch to run again has gotten really bad! Everytime I see someone running in the neighborhood I feel I should be out there too!
My knee still has some pain if I twist it a little bit, but just flexing it regularly without turning left or right feels pretty good. So now I am left to decide when I should start running again. Part of me thinks it should be okay to start now, but then another part thinks that I should wait until all the pain is gone. Luckily for me, it doesn’t take long for my body to adjust to the running routine again.
Truth be told, it has taken longer than I thought it should to heal. There were a few days where I didn’t see any progress and I thought I should really go to the doctor and get checked out. Happily, the knee has been healing better this past week, and since we didn’t go to the skatepark this last Sunday, I am thinking one more week, then I will be good to go!
Crossing my fingers and toes…
Hana-chan no Misoshiru (はなちゃんのみそ汁)
I just finished watching Hana-chan no Misoshiru which was a special drama shown earlier this year on TBS (Japan). I knew from the short description that it would be a tear-jerker, but it sounded like a good show and I like the actors in it. Most notably, Ono Machiko is fantastic as Chie, the cancer-stricken mother of Hana. I won’t go into a review or synopsis, but I will say that it deals with the short time we have in this universe, and the important things we try to pass on and teach to our kids while we have the chance. It’s also about living life with happiness and striving to share that happiness with others. Although the tv movie is a sad one, it kind of reaffirmed my desire to live a full life. Good stuff!
Morning Osanpo (Walk)
I took the photo above early in the morning when I was taking a walk from our hotel room to the outside onsen. It was probably about 6am and Mariko and the kids were still asleep, and I could have just stayed in bed as well but I really wanted to make the most of our stay so I made the sleepy walk along the path.
Just do it
One of the things I am trying to do is to be more active. By active, I don’t mean exercise, but rather if there is an opportunity to do something, I want to take it rather than just stay in and relax. The problem I’ve had in the past is that it is difficult for me to get started doing an activity. Once I am actively engaged in that activity, however, I almost always have fun and it is worthwhile. But just taking that first step has been a barrier. I’m not talking about a large project or adventure, but more like daily things. For instance, I always remember my brother Kevin would ask me to go golfing, but I would be hesitant to go. I’m not sure why, but I would rather take the “safe” option and stay home. But of course when I went golfing, I had a lot of fun and couldn’t wait to go again. Kevin mentioned something about that… how I should just get off my butt and go. (Not his exact words)
Let’s go
Back to my vacation… I arrived at the outside onsen and joined several other guests to enjoy watching the sunrise over the mountains, which was a pretty dang cool thing to do! But it didn’t stop there… after I returned to the room and changed into my regular clothes (and the family was still sleeping), I decided to go on a short hike. The hotel we stayed at has a few trails of varying lengths that start near the entrance so I took a short one, which led to a small stream and waterfall. I thought I might see a few other guests on the trail, but I ended up not seeing one single hiker. (I found out later that there was a longer, guided hike that left earlier.) The hike itself was good, but it was already starting to get muggy and I was constantly in motion trying to keep the mosquitoes at bay, and spider webs out of my face. However, I am glad I went for the hike. It was a new place that I would probably never go to again, I got some exercise, and I created some lasting memories.
I’m glad that I am making decisions that lean towards taking action rather than ones that follow the “safe route”. We only live once, and thinking of all the possible memories and experiences that we are missing makes me a little sad.
Being a Tourist
I wanted to visit Fushimi Inari Shrine this trip because it looks so cool and is one of the top tourist destinations that I haven’t been to. In the past I wasn’t so interested in seeing the touristy stuff, and since I was always with a local (Mariko), I enjoyed going to places that a native Japanese person enjoys. But lately I see a lot of photos from friends who visit the touristy places and I start to think… “Shootz, I haven’t even been there even though I have visited Japan so many times!” And I kind of have a new outlook on life… where I want to experience all sorts of things and not really care about stuff that doesn’t matter. For instance, looking like a tourist used to bother me a little, but now I don’t care about it. Anyways, the feeling of being a tourist might last only a short while, but the memories of visiting an amazing place will last a lifetime! And you know what? I am a tourist after all! Why try to pretend that I’m not?
Also, as I try to look for positivity in all things, I realize that being a tourist can actually be fun and that you can have some interesting interactions with the locals, who are almost always friendly and generous with their time.
So this trip when Mariko asked me what I wanted to do and see, I included Fushimi Inari Shrine and Himeji Castle on the list. I also mixed in some local stuff, like seeing a baseball game, and it turned out to be a great mix of activities, with items being removed from the bucket list, and precious memories created!
