Category Archives: Running

Cat, Random thoughts, Running

It’s beginning to look a lot like fall

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I won’t bore you by discussing the weather for too long, but it’s been really nice here this week and looks like it will continue to be. It’s been great for running…and as far as races go, now I’m considering running the half tomorrow AND the following weekend, just for the heck of it. When I picked up my bib yesterday I asked the woman about switching to the 10K and she got really confused, and so I thought, well, yes, and I can just run it, but my bib says half marathon, so doing the 10K seems like that would be failing…but yet…I just don’t know. I’ll decide this evening, or tomorrow morning when I arrive. I asked Louie if he thought that was crazy and suggested that for some people it would be very common place, to run two half marathons in two weekends, and for other people it would be utterly crazy, and he wasn’t entirely sure where I fit into that comparison.

This past week seemed to fly by. I wasn’t horribly busy, but kept having various things that took up my time. Thursday I agreed to take Chloe to the vet for a follow-up appointment, and then discovered I needed to also bring Mackenzie in for a follow-up in order to refill a prescription for her (sometimes I think the vet doesn’t communicate well enough with us, but it’s possible that we just dropped the ball on keeping track).

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Taking care of the pets is time-consuming, AND expensive! These visits and medicine add up. I spent over two hours dealing with everybody on Thursday, and then administering all the medications is no small feat. Poor Chloe needs to wear a cone for awhile so she stops picking at this thing. The good news is that we found out a little more about what might be wrong with her, and ran some more tests on Mackenzie, so by early next week we’ll know more stuff. Things are looking up, I think.

Yesterday we went mattress shopping. We ended up at Mattress Firm and figured we’d just look, not buy, and then the salesman was fantastic and super-helpful, and convinced us to buy a higher end mattress than we’d planned, but I can’t wait to sleep on it. Delivery is tomorrow. I’d never chosen a mattress before, so it was both exciting and wow, such an odd experience. Lying down on a bunch of different beds while a salesman stands there telling you about coils and foam and whatnot. He was telling us about their delivery process and I was thinking, hmm, I could totally just take a nap right here. I’m pleased with the purchase though, and like I said, really looking forward to a new bed!

So yeah, what would you do if you were me? Run two halfs? My original fear of being too slow is still there, but this cool weather has given me confidence and maybe I can break 3 hours…I used to be a faster runner, and I know that I have it in me to be a faster runner again, but will my training allow for it? I know I trained pretty cautiously because I trained to finish strong and not to finish fast. Sigh. I feel like I’m definitely leaning towards REALLY challenging myself and doing the half tomorrow and the half next week, and hopefully feeling really awesome about it.

Some bloggers do a link love round up weekly…maybe I should do that too! I won’t promise it’ll be a regular thing, but here are a few links I’ve enjoyed this week.

From the Onion: loved this because I get so tired of women being criticized for well, everything

My sister Carrie shared this on Facebook: Two Monks Discover How Tall Women and Horses are: VERY Lol-worthy

The Joyful, Illiterate Kindergartners of Finland: “Those things you learn without joy you will forget easily.” I love this.

Happy Weekend, readers!

Performing, Running

Computer Updates

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So this is my first time blogging from my “new” computer. By new I mean that after I updated it to Windows 10 it was running really slow, and barely working, so Louie installed a solid state drive and now it is running like a dream, but Windows Live Writer (the program I use to blog on) is all weird looking! I guess I can probably mess around with it, but it was hard enough finding the program in the first place (or “app” as the kids call it, and by kids I mean Microsoft, and it’s driving me insane that everything on my PC is called an app when I’m pretty sure Apple came up with the nickname because it was sort of like the first syllable of the company name…but I digress…which is perhaps the point of parenthesis anyway…) so I am a little nervous to mess around. Maybe after this blog post I will do something.

So this week went by fairly quickly. Lots of the usual teaching and practicing and a few rehearsals. I especially enjoyed playing with Bach at the Sem this week—all Bach is just such a delight to play. It makes me grateful I have the opportunity to spend time learning solo Bach too.  I am also working with a didgeridoo player for a performance at a festival this coming weekend (he wrote the music, and also plays some guitar) and have been having a lot of fun preparing that. I’d love to have a few more serious concerts on my schedule, but it’s not like I have nothing going on. (I sometimes think I go through concert withdrawal…I love performing, even though I sometimes get really stressed about it, and then when too long goes by without a solo/chamber music performance I start to really miss it!)

Last night my friend April had some folks over for a birthday party. She’s a few years younger than me (and holding) but she’s turning a year older on Monday and wanted to celebrate early. Now, Louie is having a birthday in a few weeks but he said he’d rather celebrate late than early…where do you stand? I feel like celebrating AFTER a birthday is anticlimactic, but he likened celebrating early to opening Christmas presents before Christmas… To each their own, obviously, but please weigh in with your opinion if you don’t mind. This is also a test to see if you are reading.

I was a little sad I didn’t run the Mo Cowbell run this year. The medals looked really cute, little cows on them…I’ve run it 3 years with NO cows, and this year they do cows. Probably I’ll run next year and there won’t be cows. I can’t find a picture online that I can share with you, unfortunately. I did a ten mile run the other day for my own half marathon training and started thinking about how once I get my speed up a little more I should do a marathon. It was my goal a few years ago and then life got in the way…I think I’m ready to start thinking about it again…

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You can tell I’ve been running because I have a couple of running selfies on my phone. It looks like this weekend is a half marathon—I haven’t run a race all year, can you believe it? I’m nervous Smile and I feel like that can’t possibly be true, but I can’t think of a race I’ve run, so…I think the last race was MO Cowbell last year! I’ve been having a great time running lately, so my smiles are genuine.

Okay, this isn’t the most exciting blog post of all time, but life doesn’t have to be exciting all the time, does it? Life is good and things are going well, and I’m grateful for what I have…and looking forward to a great month!

Running

House of Cards

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I’ve just finished the second season of House of Cards. I know, I’m living in the past. And don’t hate me when I say I only watched about two episodes of the first season. Louie had already seen it and didn’t want to watch again, and finally we decided to just go ahead and he could just fill me in on things that didn’t make sense.

I didn’t like House of Cards at first because of Kevin Spacey’s horrible accent. He’s supposedly from Gaffney, South Carolina, which isn’t too far from where I grew up (Clinton). His accent doesn’t match, and it bothers me that actors think all southern accents are the same. I would rather him just talk in his normal voice honestly. The other thing I hate about the show are when he talks directly into the camera. I cringe every time. But otherwise it’s a very enjoyable show and I’m eager to find out what horrible thing the characters will do next.

The weekend was pretty busy. Yesterday I had the first spring recital for my students (everybody played quite well, and they were mostly happy!). I have some ideas on general things we all need to work on, but I was pleased overall. I think it’s great for the students to have an opportunity to play for everybody, and that they really grow while preparing for a performance. I also had an orchestra concert last night with the Metropolitan Orchestra of St Louis that was quite fun to play. The day before we’d had rehearsal with the Illumine Ensemble for Friday’s “Play with your food” concert, Metropolitan Orchestra rehearsal, and I taught a makeup lesson. I feel like I definitely spent the weekend running around, but what’s new, right?

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(I am slouching a bit too much, aren’t I?)

One of my favorite things is going to Louie’s mom’s house for brunch on the weekends. We don’t go that often, but it’s always delicious. His brother makes vegan waffles, and we usually have bagels, cream cheese, and smoked salmon, all in large quantities. I’m salivating just thinking about it again. We went yesterday morning before my work day started, and had a nice time eating and talking about plans for Italy. We are spending 5-6 days in Italy, then going to Orvieto for a day/night. We made a list of tentative plans, which include the Vatican Museum, the Appian Way, and more! We’ve all been to Rome before (which sounds ridiculous in and of itself) so we are open to trying new and more unusual things. Did I mention I can’t wait?

Other random thoughts:

I’ve been running quite a bit lately. Well, three times last week. The weather has been glorious.

I’m getting used to giving shots to the cat. It was a quick learning curve, but it’s still A THING that must be done. Twice a day. Poor kitty.

Ever since our “vegetarian challenge” the other month, we’ve been eating much less meat. I haven’t cooked meat at home since before that, with the exception of salmon. I’ve definitely been more of a pescatarian, but I have ordered meat a few times out at restaurants, but I’ve still mostly chosen fish or vegetarian options. I think less meat is a good answer for me, both ethically AND with my diet, as I find I’ve been better able to control my appetite and feel good.

And that’s enough for now! Better get to practicing before I have to teach.

Random thoughts, Running

I voted!

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This is the first I’ve mentioned it on social media though. If this counts as social media, which I suppose it does due to the fact that I always post my blogs to twitter and usually facebook.

I have to say, I wasn’t as prepared for the whole “voting” thing as I might should have been. I knew a few amendments that were up for a vote but I was surprised by some of the other questions. I left some stuff blank when I had no idea. I guess next time I should try googling “sample ballot” or something? How do you figure out what will be on the ballot and what or who you want to vote for or against? I do my best to keep up on the news, but I guess I do that more on a national or international level.

Halloween ended up being really fun. During the day Louie and I took a hike through Castlewood State Park. This was the #3 in my new book of 60 Hikes within 60 Miles of St Louis. I’ve run trail races in Castlewood Park, back in my more serious running days, but never gone just for hiking. It was gorgeous! And I’d like to add that hiking trails is far easier than running them, and that hiking in Missouri is far easier than hiking in Arizona or the Great Smoky Mountains.

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(I don’t remember if I mentioned this, but on a recent hike in Arizona my fear of heights got the best of me and I had to stop and turnaround. I felt like such a loser but I just couldn’t go forward at that time.)

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I wore my Castlewood Cup hoodie for good luck. We passed another hiker wearing the same shirt. Awkward. (We were going DOWN the stairs, he was going up. Winning.)

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Fall in Missouri really is beautiful.

I was coming down with a cold, so we took the hike easy, and then we headed to a friend’s house for a trick-or-treating party. In St Louis the kids have to tell jokes before they get their candy. Here’s a great example: What do you call a cow with no legs? Ground Beef.

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We make an attractive couple. Yes, those are tiger pants.

The rest of the weekend was mostly devoted to house stuff, being sick, and watching ridiculous amounts of the Walking Dead. I don’t really like the show but have gotten hooked because I want to know what happens next. I guess that’s pretty normal?

Now I’m thinking about beautiful fall foliage, being outside in crisp winter air, and running. It’s nice to get out of the violin world for a bit…so much practicing and music to play!

Running

Running a Half Marathon with a Cold

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I hate the common cold.

I haven’t had one in awhile though, so I suppose it’s inevitable that I get one. I think it’s been since last winter, maybe February, so I don’t feel like I can complain too much, but I will complain about feeling generally lousy.

I ran the Mo Cowbell Half Marathon on Sunday with the beginning of this cold, but it wasn’t too bad. YAY I finished, though my time was really slow, but my goal had been to keep run/walking in my intervals (I’m really into the timer telling me what to do, because generally I want to walk for longer than it wants me to and it makes me move it) all the way to the end, and I did that! Until towards the end when I ran a little more to finish. I finished strong and probably should have been trying to run faster, but my goal for this race and training period had been simply to get back to running, and what does it matter if people who walked the whole thing may have finished ahead of me? So I feel pretty good about that. In fact, I feel really good about it, and now my goal is to keep running and run a bit faster, since I know I can keep running.

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Happy and proud Hannah selfies!

I forgot how even when you train properly for a half marathon it still really hurts to walk afterwards…though by the second day (yesterday) I felt really good, just some thigh soreness and today I’m basically back to normal. It probably means I didn’t push myself enough, or perhaps means that I did well and trained well and did just fine. Either way I felt great! My throat hurt a lot afterwards and I thought I was dehydrated from the run but then I realized it was just my cold, and then I relaxed a bit about it.

Today has been interesting. I thought I was feeling better part way through the day, but then I changed my mind and canceled some students. I was regretting that decision until during my last student when I got snot on my bow and nearly had a few coughing fits and really basically was a terrible teacher and a gross human being, and now I’m in my pj’s on the couch with a large pile of tissues next to me and this is definitely where I should be!

I’m really looking forward to my recital on Sunday though! Jen and I have been working so hard getting ready and I’m just getting really pumped to play. If you are a local reader, I’d love it if you came to see us play! This link should go to the facebook event page, which SHOULD be public. If you can’t see it, comment below and I’ll do something different.

Oh, and this was my post race meal. It’s called a “slinger” and it was both amazing and disgusting. Hash browns, eggs, a burger patty, and chili.

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Performing, Running

Where DO the weeks go?

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I am quite certain yesterday was Tuesday, right? It can’t be Tuesday AGAIN??

As a violin teacher, I’m very aware of the days of the week, as each Tuesday has a similar schedule, as does each other day, other than weekends. I see the same folks every Tuesday, and honestly, this fall is just flying by! It might be that I’m busy practicing and teaching and trying to squeeze in all that fun stuff that makes life more special, but honestly the days are just whizzing by and I’m worried before long I’m going to be old and need to retire, and frankly, just won’t be ready for it 🙂

I went to Trader Joe’s for grocery shopping this morning. I’m mentioning this because the checkout person and bagger commented that I hadn’t bought anything pumpkin flavored, when the store was full of stuff. WHAT KIND OF BLOGGER AM I? I pointed out that really it was a kind of sham, that pumpkin doesn’t have much flavor at all. And I didn’t admit that I considered getting a pack of pumpkin sweet rolls that you pop out of the tube and bake, but decided I could wait on those, or maybe bake my own over Thanksgiving break or something.

This Sunday is the MO Cowbell Half Marathon. I’m looking forward to it, and I’ve already planned out my post race meal location, I think. I’m anticipating being very slow but finishing well. I’ve been training well enough to maintain a 4:30 run/1:30 walk for the whole thing (I hope!) which means it should take me about 14 hours to finish (slight exaggeration) but I should be able to finish well and walk properly the next day too. That’s the plan. I’m not concerned about time, but I’m hoping to feel good (well as good as one does during a long race) and like I said, finish strong. I’ve run the race before, (twice actually) in a different life, and had a great time.

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I’m working really hard practicing Bach’s Sonata no. 1 in G minor for Solo Violin for my concert with my friend Jen on October 12.

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(from our concert flyer!)

I haven’t performed such a substantial piece from memory since I was in school and I’m both kicking myself and patting myself on the back for undertaking the task. Memorizing is hard work, folks! I am better appreciating how my students feel and how terrifying it is. You take a piece that you know well and can play really well with the music and then there is this new dimension of well, failing at it. I find that it works best to push through. You have to try to play the piece from memory and MAKE mistakes, and find your way through. If you give up and continually check the music you will never gain that confidence and make the connections in your brain on how to make it through without the music. I’m finally at the point (well, I was yesterday) where I really do know it from memory, and I know the chords are there in my fingers and my brain, and I just have to be careful to not rush myself. I’m having a blast, honestly. I’m terrified and horribly stressed out, but I generally know how to manage those feelings and I’m also really proud of myself for pushing past my fears and doing this. In my mind I’m planning to perform all 6 of the Bach Solo Sonatas and Partitas over the next few years (probably 6 or more years) and I think it’ll be a wonderful project and challenge for me. One at a time, to be clear. Not all at once. I am hoping also that I am offering my audience a nice performance as well as a personal challenge. I like to think I have something to say on the violin and I hope that people will enjoy it!

I tried to get out and enjoy a few recreational activities over the weekend. I went on a hike with Louie and his brother. I recently got the book “60 hikes within 60 miles: St Louis” with the idea that getting out of the city and into the woods would be a good idea. We did the Al Foster Trail and the Stinging Nettle Trail loop that is #1 in the book and it was a nice walk. The drawback was that there were lots of bugs still and lots of bikers that we had to yield to, but it was shaded, fairly easy, and did have some nice views of the Meramac River.

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We hurried from our hike to a concert at the Tavern of Fine Arts. Two of my wedding colleagues were performing a cello duet concert and I made a goal to attend more of my colleague’s concerts when I can, and this fit the bit. I was eager to hear them play something other than Pachelbel’s Canon, and I was not disappointed. They put on a great show and really made the cello duets seem like a ton of fun! They were also hilarious and had great onstage banter. Louie and I sat at a table with a couple who had recently moved to St Louis from Portland and we had some nice conversations with them as well.

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Our view. Sadly not our bottle of wine—that was the table in front of me.

Saturday I played a few weddings, as usual, and then we went to the Symphony Concert. The comp tickets we got put us in the fifth row which was fairly nervewracking for me, since I presumed that the entire orchestra was staring at me and judging me (my ex is a member of the string section) but luckily I had a decently obstructed view. It was a great concert. I didn’t know the first two pieces at all (Sibelius’s Swan of Tuonela and John Adams’s My Father Knew Charles Ives) so I enjoyed hearing them and should probably learn them more, and the second half was one of my favorite pieces, Prokofiev’s Symphony no. 5. Post concert we went with friends who are members of Blood and Sand and had a few cocktails there. Sunday was busy with running, rehearsing Schumann Piano Quintet, and finally relaxing after a nice dinner and catching up on some Mad Men.

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Please excuse the shoe. This is the best picture I found on my phone at this time. As you can see, my cat is doing well and is not too terribly stressed out.