After work, I put on my running shoes and headed out for a jog in the neighborhood. It was fun to run by my old elementary school and see that not much has changed. However, the trees in the park next to the school looked a lot taller, and the man-made hills which used to look tall when I was a kid seemed tiny. It was a weird feeling to be at a very nostalgic place during this pandemic time. I guess it’s just a mix of emotions.
It was comforting to see the small things that haven’t changed, like the spiky things (in the photo above) that still fall from the trees to keep skateboarders on their toes.
Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 2.671mm, f/2.2, 1/550 sec, ISO100 “Covered Up” Cedar Park, 2020
During this pandemic, I stay away from routes where there are a lot of people, specifically the hike & bike paths that are too narrow to keep a safe distance from other people. So that means I stick to my neighborhood streets where I can run in the road or easily cross to the other side to stay socially distant. However, there are some parts where I have to run on a narrow pathway or sidewalk, which is why I always carry a disposable mask.
I will just put the mask around my wrist, and it’s so light that it doesn’t interfere at all with the running experience. But when I am running on one of these narrow sections and I see another pedestrian or cyclist, I’ll put the mask on. It literally takes just three or four seconds, so why not? Surprisingly (or unsurprisingly?) I haven’t seen any other runners using masks, but maybe now that they’ve seen my put on my mask, it will normalize it to them (or maybe they will feel a little ashamed), and they will start doing the same. Hey, we have to look out for one another!
In other running news, I saw this really great sidewalk art version of It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Very cool!
Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/1500 sec, ISO100 “Sidewalk Art” Cedar Park, 2020Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/2000 sec, ISO100 “Sidewalk Art” Cedar Park, 2020Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/1600 sec, ISO100 “Sidewalk Art” Cedar Park, 2020
Here are a few photos from today’s run around the neighborhood.
Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/1500 sec, ISO100 “Garden” Cedar Park, 2020
The garden at one of the elementary schools looks like it hasn’t been tended to during this year, which is understandable because of the pandemic.
Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/1400 sec, ISO100 “Signage” Cedar Park, 2020
It’s almost election day, and I think I will miss the yard signs after this is all over. I liked the “I’m so gonna vote” sign!
Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/2400 sec, ISO100 “Hawai’i” Cedar Park, 2020
I like how they put Hawai’i very distant from the mainland.
Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/30 sec, ISO268 “Shoes” Cedar Park, 2020
My shoes are nearing 500 km, and I got an alert that I should consider replacing them. I love my On Cloud shoes, and will purchase another pair when the time comes. By the way, this run completed the REI x On 10K Challenge on Strava. I’m supposed to receive a coupon in my inbox… maybe I can use it on some new running gear? We’ll see!
Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/1700 sec, ISO100 “Half-Staff” Cedar Park, 2020
Today I went out for a lunchtime run in a direction I don’t usually go. But I wanted to have a destination to run to so I chose the local library. It’s kind of an interesting neighborhood to run through because of mix of houses, and there’s a bit of off-pavement trail to run on as well.
I was feeling good when I reached my destination, but when I saw the flags at half-staff, I had to pause for a moment as a wave of sadness came over me. 😞
Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/1300 sec, ISO100 “Scortch” Cedar Park, 2020
Today’s route took me around Koa’s high school, where I took a few photos, saw a mountain biker head off into some trees, followed him and found some nice trails and a shortcut to the adjacent neighborhoods. Lots of fun exploring! Of course, Koa said these “secret” trails are used by the cross country team. But still, new to me!
Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/220 sec, ISO100 “Trail” Cedar Park, 2020Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/900 sec, ISO100 “Lone Star Shadows” Cedar Park, 2020Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/1600 sec, ISO100 “New Normal” Cedar Park, 2020Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/125 sec, ISO100 “Drum Brake” Cedar Park, 2020“Stencil” Cedar Park, 2020
Wow, what an active day that I had! The weather was fantastic in the morning, so I headed out for a short 2.5 mile run. I often run (and bicycle) to the elementary school that Bay and Koa attended, and it is always a mental pick-me-up as I remember the good times watching them grow up. It seems like just yesterday they were attending Cox Elementary!
As I ran by the front, I took a photo of this sign, which shows the first phase of the re-opening during the pandemic. I hope this the the only time they will have a sign like this on display.
Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/1200 sec, ISO100 “Reopening” Cedar Park, 2020
In the evening, I had to go for a bicycle ride around the neighborhood, and that included both Cox Elementary again and the other elementary school on the other side of the neighborhood and the football stadium that is used by the district’s high schools. At that time I was treated to a nice sunset:
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec, ISO200 “Sunset” Cedar Park, 2020
On my way home, I received a text message from Koa asking if I wanted to throw the baseball over at the school, so I headed over to Cox for the third time today! We threw the ball until it got dark (and my arm was tired) and then came home to my second shower of the day.
It was a lot of physical activity (running, cycling, baseball) but I feel great! Thankful for my relatively good health as I approach age 52. Whee!
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