Canada Army Run Virtual 5k
In my first race this year I ran 5 km in a time of 33 minutes and 52 seconds – a slow time for me. I had originally signed up to run on September 21st in downtown Ottawa. But I switched to the virtual race because I was going to be in London on race day. A day before the virtual race deadline, I chose my own race route and recorded my run using the ASICS Runkeeper app. The app uploaded my race time to the virtual results webpage via my RaceRoster account.
I expected my race to be terrible. On the day I ran the race I hadn’t run in the previous 20 days. The first 3 kilometres went well but my leg tightened up in the last 2 km and I finished the race limping. This is a classic sign of poor preparation. But I am happy that I completed the race.
Travel by Rail
I remember boarding my last VIA Rail train over 7 years ago. When I worked in Perth, Ontario, I used to ride the rails over long weekends to and from London to visit my family. This month I boarded a rail car again for the first time since moving to Ottawa.
Traveling by train was expensive. My ride from London back to Ottawa was $180 even after a 10% discount. Luckily, I had accumulated enough VIA Préférence points over the last decade to get a free ride from Ottawa to London. Although the cost was high, the comfort was real. With reclining chairs, a food cart and the rolling atmosphere of train sounds I could relax as the train swayed on toward my destination.
Music Playlist – Norm
Listen to my playlist on Spotify.
Each month I create a playlist of songs that I gather from various sources. Whether it’s an intro song from an anime, a recommendation from a friend, or hearing it on the radio, I put it into my playlist if I like the song. This month, my playlist was an eclectic mix of punk, metal, pop and hip-hop. It is titled Norm because September was a month in which my life took on a new normal. I settled into my routine in Ottawa and realized the distance from my life in London just earlier this year in the spring time.
| Song | Artist | Source |
|---|---|---|
| I Want It All | Rise Against | I watched an interview of Tim McIlrath on the Zach Sang Show through my YouTube recommendations. This song is a single from Rise Against’s new album, Ricochet. |
| From Heads Unworthy | Rise Against | I have been singing this song from their 2008 album, Appeal to Reason, while driving to and from work. |
| Fever | Beauty School Dropout | An earworm with a catchy hook that was playing on the speakers at the gym. |
| Feel My Pain | HEY-SMITH | This is the opening theme of the last season of the anime, Kengan Ashura. |
| End of You | Poppy, Amy Lee & Courtney LaPlante | I discovered this song through a reaction video by Chris Liepe. |
| Damocles | Sleep Token | From their new album Even In Arcadia. |
| Fighting Myself | Linkin Park | A song from the Meteora era that was released in 2023 as part of the 20th Anniversary re-release. |
| Wonder | Danger Mouse & MorMor | I found this song through Apple Music. |
| Palm Reader | DREAMERS, Big Boi & UPSAHL | Another earworm overheard at the gym. |
| If I Can’t | 50 Cent | Ed Sheeran mentioned how he liked this song’s 6-bar chorus in a Zane Lowe interview. |
| K.I.S.S. | Shad & Jon Kabongo | From the upcoming album Start Anew. |
| Islands | Shad & TLO | From the upcoming album Start Anew. |
| Pretending to… | tsutchie | An oldie from the Samurai Champloo OST Masta. |
Baki Hanma vs. Kengan Ashura
I finished watching the anime Kengan Ashura this month. It’s an over-the-top fighting anime in the same vein as Baki Hanma. The premise is that business leaders in Japan choose fighters to compete in a 1-v-1 fight to settle contractual disputes. This evolves into a country-wide tournament to decide who will run the Kengan underground association.
The 3D animation style of Kengan Ashura was weird at first but I was hooked after the first few episodes. Eventually a tournament for fighters was established. It was at this point that it became boring. Many side characters were introduced with their own backstories as many fights in the tournament got their own half or full episode. I trudged on for months watching an episode here and there until the tournament progressed to the final rounds. From here on, my interest came back until the very end of the show.
I started watching Kengan Ashura because the premise was cool and a friend of mine told me it’s like Baki Hanma. It was around this time that the crossover special, Baki Hanma vs. Kengan Ashura was released. So, I had a reason to finish this new show. Two epic fighters face off…who will win?
Having finished both shows, I was ready to watch the crossover special. I could tell very quickly that this was a fun mingling of macho characters from both shows. The premise was a battle between the fighting associations from both shows. Plot-wise, it was meant to be high stakes but I didn’t feel it. It was a fun crossover but it didn’t answer the question implied in the title.
Akshay Rao 