Weekly Notes #10: my 2nd half marathon

10 May, 2026

May 4 - May 10
Yup I skipped a week, just busy... nothing much happening, now feeling excited for my next running event.

Last Sunday (May 3rd) I did my 2nd half marathon! It was a blast with great views and lots of positive energy from spectators. There were 24,000+ people running. The course was really tough with 190m elevation gain, and I had to walk for some hills otherwise my heart rate was gonna become too high. I finished and beat my PB by 3 mins! I also beat my 5K and 10K PB during the first half of the race, and then the hills got me... I landed at around 60% of all female runners, and these are the most athletic girls in the entire world. So I am happy.
I rewarded myself some huge fried dumplings and salmon sashimi afterwards. And I tried beetroot juice out of curiosity since I heard it's good for cardio. It was a beetroot-apple-carrot-lemon blend in the colour of magenta. Tastes fine!
My next running event will be a 10km in July. I have about 8 full weeks to train for it, so exciting!
This week though I am resting and only went for a quick swim. On Saturday I went for a 5k easy run.

I started Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. Quite unique plot for a fantasy, I cannot predict at all how it will go.
继续读《早安三国打工人》，巨长无比，感觉看了一百多章三国故事才刚开始。虽然有金手指但非常接地气，就是我想象中的三国背景小说！基本上是吃早饭和睡前看一会儿。
I bought a physical book at Dymocks: Fiasco by Stanisław Lem, I've read his other sci-fi novels but not this one yet. I'm excited to read it!

I'm into Bossa Nova lately. I go on to YouTube and look for some classic playlists.
Nora the piano cat: CATcerto. ORIGINAL PERFORMANCE. Mindaugas Piecaitis

Succession, Finished Season 2, somehow not as exciting as Season 1, but I will keep watching.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, it's okay. I loved the references from Super Mario Odyssey, but they were very brief. I've also played Super Mario Galaxy series and remembered the stars that help you collect things on a separate control, but I would say I enjoyed playing the games on my own more than the movie!

I went to Harris Farm Market for the first time and got some Octopus. I made my favourite basic spaghetti with it to make it extra luxurious.
Recipe:
- heat up diced garlic in olive oil
- put in octopus and small cutlets of sausages
- put in diced tomatoes
- add several big spoons of chicken stock (left over chicken soup in my fridge), bring to simmer
- add 3 medium spoons of basic Bolognese tomato sauce. close the lid and let it cook for a few mins
- add salt and pepper accordingly, herb and chili optional
- add cooked spaghetti and finished!