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The Week #235
by James- π― Becoming a consistent runner has long been a goal of mine. Not because I particularly enjoyed running, but because it's a behavior of the person I wanted to become. And for the better part of 15 years, off and on (mostly off), I'd take a stab at it. Scroll down my runs and you'll see. Year after year, a couple of good weeks then nothing. This year, I finally made it happen.Β This year, I ran 100 times, or about twice a week for an entire year.Β
( Writing this I was going to write a sentence like "physical activity isn't second nature to me, because growing up I spent all my time in front of my computer". But it didn't feel true. I mean, it is true of my teenage self. But as an adult, "physical activity" isn't something I've avoided. e.g. When going somewhere I prefer to walk, cycle, or take a train...only if I must will I drive. I also went to the gym consistently when we lived in the US. That certainly counts as physical activity. Maybe I've been telling myself a false narrative all these years? π€― (This is why you should blog folks. Blow your own mind.)... back to your regular scheduled programming...)
My hope is that next year I can maintain the same level of consistency with regards to running and add some regular strength training to the mix. Each day is a vote towards the person we want to become. - π΄ I finished work for the year and will be off the first 2 weeks of January. This year has been the most challenging and most rewarding year of work for me. Going from leading a small-ish team in APAC to leading 50 - 60 people globally, including areas that I wasn't intimately familiar with at the start, has had a steep learning curve. High growth unicorn startups are stressful, but holy shit is it fun and I look forward to even more next year.
- πΆ Using my ample time off, I've been going on lots of long walks with Sophie. We both enjoy the exercise and she gets to sniff some places she doesn't normally sniff. Sophie really enjoyed walking through all these leaves in a nearby park.
Sophie walking through fallen leaves - π It would be remiss to forget mentioning Christmas! Leo scored (as per usual). He got Taiko-no-tatsujin for switch (a rhythm drumming game) and Santa brought a real ocarina with a tri-force (from Zelda) on it. For Christmas dinner I made lasagna and some oven roasted garlic potatoes. I think Christmas lasagna has become our family's tradition.
- π I've had another successful week of reading on my kindle instead of staring at my cellphone (as much) when I'm bored. I finished reading Ego is the Enemy and started/finished reading Radical Candor. Both really good books that give me a lot to think about while I'm running and walking. Defaulting to the kindle instead of social media has been really good for keeping endless scrolling in check.
- π― Becoming a consistent runner has long been a goal of mine. Not because I particularly enjoyed running, but because it's a behavior of the person I wanted to become. And for the better part of 15 years, off and on (mostly off), I'd take a stab at it. Scroll down my runs and you'll see. Year after year, a couple of good weeks then nothing. This year, I finally made it happen.Β This year, I ran 100 times, or about twice a week for an entire year.Β
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by JamesAfternoon Run πͺ
Burning off some cookies that came in from America earlier today.4.5km
30.1min
22m climbed
156.7avg bpm
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by Jamesπ― Afternoon Run π
After 3 years of trying and failing, I found a way that works for me to run consistently this year. This run marks my goal for 2024, 100 runs. Woo!4.5km
32.7min
48m climbed
142.2avg bpm
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The Week #234
by James- π¦ We went to watch the new Lion King movie in Sakuragicho. The movie was really good and the animation looked so real. Hard to believe it was all CGI (except the whole animals speaking English bit). We saw it in Sakuragicho because the theater I praised so much for having subtitled movies with their original audio track when we saw Moana 2 only had dub versions of the Lion King. Either way, it was good to see that area at night. Makes me want to stay like we used to around this time of year during covid.
- πββοΈ I ran twice this week, one time with Yumi! It was our first run together and it was a lot of fun. This is the first time I've run with someone where I'm the more experienced runner as well. We did a loop along the river with a mix of running and walking (mostly running). The wind was so strong and cold, but if you were in the sun it was warm enough.
Just across the river - π In addition to running twice I also did a 3 15-minute supersets with the kettlebell. Lifting heavy this repeatedly is very much a different kind of hard β you can't just slow down and you really feel the burn. Zero plans to become Schwarzenegger, but a bit of functional strength can't hurt.
- π³ The Yokohama subway (and growing number of other lines) have started to accept tappable credit cards as payment, in addition to IC cards (suica/passmo). They're doing this because it's easier for tourists, but I also imagine because it's less proprietary. With credit cards you don't run into issues with a lack of semi-conductors making you ration your IC cards, there's no extra hardware required for managing balances etc..., and because they're not loadable, you don't need to manage cash balances, so feels less risky. I road the subway using my credit card and it just worked. Perhaps more importantly, I can earn points on my credit card when I do this, whereas charging my suica gives me zero points.
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Checkin to Yokohama Burg 13 (ζ¨ͺζ΅γγ«γ―13)
The Lion King. So good. -
by JamesLunch Run
A bit sore from the kettlebell yesterday but gotta crack on.4.0km
26.7min
23.8m climbed
149.9avg bpm
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π Rick Steves Is Still Discovering the World and Himself
by JamesI love a good Rick Steves interview. His words always encourage me to maintain curiosity about the world and travel with an open mind. -
The Week #233
by James- β° In an effort to return more balance intention to my daily life, I started leaving my phone downstairs (again). I've experimented with this a few times this year. Each time I've done it I sleep better and because when I got to bed I go to sleep and when I wake up I don't dive straight into social media and slack in bed. I have a calmer mind in the morning and throughout the day.
- β²οΈ Without my phone next to my bed, I am unable to turn on the heater downstairs and warm it up before heading down. a) That was a manual thing I had to do with my cellphone b) After turning it on with my cellphone I'd have to lay around in bed for 15 minutes for it to actually warm up. This week I took advantage of the timer build in to my heat pump to turn it on automatically 20 minutes before I wake up. It's not a low tech way of solving the problem, but it's a better less tech way.
- π₯ I saw a post on Mastodon about kolaches (bread with sausage or other ingredients brought to Texas by Czech immigrants back in the day)Β and breakfast tacos...and it made me miss Texas a bit. Wishing I could go to a donut shop at 5am and get freshly baked kolaches and donuts... but breakfast isn't a thing like that here. Alas. I did the next best thing and baked my own. They turned out pretty good. How lucky Leo is to have homemade koalches for breakfast. Definitely the only kid at his school doing so. Either way, it hit the spot.
Sausage, Sausage and cheese, bacon, bacon and cheese kolaches - π‘ Our neighborhood had its annual mochi making day at the association's building. On offer was 3 kinds of mochi: red bean, kinako, and plain, as well as large bowls of ton-jiru soup. All of it was super tasty. I imagine this event, with everything being cooked outside using propane tanks, is half-community event and half-disaster prep (ensure all the outdoor cooking equipment works and a group of people knows how to use it).
- πΉοΈ Leo's been getting into Minecraft. We keep it on creative mode but it's blowing my mind what he's making each day. Mostly building still. This week he made himself a nice house, then me and house next to it...and connected them (β€οΈ) . The next day I comeback and he's built my wife a house and underground bunkers. Really tempting to get myself a switch so we can make things together.
- π§ On my headphones this week has been No Obligation by The Linda Lindas. I really like the first 2 tracks, but the entire album rocks. The other, by way of a toot was Chappell Roan. I don't usually listen to pop music (or at least current pop), but she is great. Two polar opposite recommendations to end The Week at the start of the week.
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by Jamesπ₯Ά Frosty Morning 5k
Running hoodie made its debut this season.5.1km
33.1min
32.2m climbed
155.9avg bpm
