Tag: well-being

Quick Running Update

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Hi all,

I just wanted to write a note here that my running continues to improve! Last week I was able to up my distance to 10 km distance without any discomfort, and then after a couple of rest days, I was able to run a half-marathon distance!

My leg did start to feel weak at about the 9 mile mark, so I walked for a minute and did some light stretching before continuing on. The pain didn’t increase and actually went away and I was able to up the pace for the last few miles. It was a pleasant surprise!

Anyways, I am pretty stoked so I wanted to make a post about it. 😃 Injuries suck, but helps put things into perspective.

またね〜

Practicing Ukulele

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 18mm, f/5, 1/70 sec, ISO3200
 “Practicing Ukulele” Cedar Park, 2022

I’m enjoying practicing a couple of new songs from my Studio Ghibli ukulele book: Princess Mononoke Theme and The Legend of Ashitaka. I figured the themes of the two stars of Mononoke Hime would be fun to learn. Plus I think they are really cool songs!

With my morning Twitch livestreams, I often will practice ukulele on my 10-minute breaks, and just this small bit of consistency has made a noticeable difference in my playing. It’s like a little bit of magic! Who knew practice would improve my ukulele playing? 😜

Running Recovery

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At the end of February, I injured myself on a long run and have been slowly coming back from it. I’m now back to running about every other day, and I have been able to cautiously increase the distance little by little – I’m now up to about 5km per run. I don’t feel any pain, and could probably run longer, but I am going to go slow. I’m not training, after all. I just enjoy running and I don’t want to jeopardize that freedom by getting injured again.

I also have to accept that my body doesn’t recover as fast as it used to. 😁

Spring Planting

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 28.9mm, f/5, 1/250 sec, ISO640
 “Spring Planting” Cedar Park, 2022

Mariko and I have big plans for our gardening this year. Well, not so big, but we did plant several different things in the garden: rosemary, cilantro, parsley, peppers, fennel, and lots of basil. We’re hoping all of these are not attractive to the squirrels.

Let’s hope we have a good harvest all summer long. But of course, the Texas heat makes things challenging. Right now the weather is nice and there are no mosquitoes so it is really pleasant to work in the yard. In a month or so, being outside will be less attractive. Doing any gardening in the backyard will require long pants, long sleeves, or plenty of insect repellant! 🙁 Which kind of sucks when it’s 100°F / 38°C outside. 🥵

Pick-Me-Up

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Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/12800 sec, ISO32
 “Found Smile” Cedar Park, 2022

Today’s run was great for a couple of reasons. First, my left leg (which has been giving me trouble) didn’t hurt at all, and secondly, I saw a cool smiley face in the street. 😀

I haven’t been able to run very far before my left knee, or rather the soft area behind my left knee, starts hurting. So I have been trying to just run a few kilometers while it heals. And today, I ran over 3 km with no pain! I think I will gradually increase the distance, while taking one or two rest days in between runs. Should be good, right?

I hope you had a nice day! またね

UNIQLO Visit

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“Shopping” Costa Mesa, 2022

It’s a short weekend trip to SoCal, but with no plans besides taking Koa to his auditions, I had time to head to my favorite store, UNIQLO. This particular location in South Coast Plaza is one I haven’t been to before, so I was excited to visit it. And I was able to convince my brother and sister-in-law to join me. Bonus! 😀

I ended up getting three v-neck t-shirts which will replace some old v-necks that are showing their age. What’s nice about the UNIQLO t-shirts is that they are a thinner fabric than my Old Navy shirts, so I’ll have more space in the shirt drawer. In fact, I am replacing six t-shirts with the three UNIQLO shirts. It feels good to upgrade and declutter at the same time!

Selling My Chromebook

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 18mm, f/2.8, 1/55 sec, ISO1600
 “Stickered Up” Cedar Park, 2022

I’m a bit sad to be selling my beloved Chromebook, but I really no longer need it and it would be better if it found a new owner who would use it. I will miss looking at the stickers on it, which I think looked great on the white plastic shell. In fact, if Apple made a white MacBook Air, I would have gotten it so that I could sticker it up again. But now that I think about it, I can probably get a white shell case for it, right? Hmmm… something to think about.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 18mm, f/2.8, 1/50 sec, ISO1600
 “Stickered Up” Cedar Park, 2022

In the meantime, though, the Chromebook has been listed on Facebook marketplace and there’s a fair amount of interest so it should have a new home in a few days.