Cello - Day 25

Playing today went better than yesterday . . .the loud vibrations went down, as did the humidity, so I’m relieved about that. I learned a few new notes today (most notably, b flat, which is quite the stretch for my small hands). I don’t know how much more progress I’m going to make in the final few days of this month, but I’m going to try to get through the Level 2 book at least . . .we’ll see how it goes.

Cello - Day 24

Oof . . .I ate way too much food again today. This week has been the week of eating out (thanks in great part to many people for buying me food) J Good for my food budget, not so good for my figure. My poor cello took a little tumble yesterday when I leaned it against the bed and ran to get the phone. Today I noticed loud vibrations when I was playing a few notes, but I don’t know if it was the cello or the stand, and if they noises have to do with the fall, or the large temperature swing today (I think it got up to 90 today . . .whew). We’ll see tomorrow I guess when the high is only 79 F. I started Level 2 of Essential Elements today. I’m making my way through the book pretty quickly; the material is not too difficult. Other than the vibrations, I think I had a better “tonality” today too, so that is a positive improvement. J

Cello - Day 23

I revisited my Suzuki book today as I had it open from the video song yesterday. Overall, playing went pretty well today and I think I’ve finished that “Solos” book too. I may have skipped one or two songs because they were horrible, but I’d had enough of that book. I think tomorrow I will start Level 2 of my Essential Elements book (I think that’s what it’s called). This month has gone by far too quickly.

Cello - Day 22

So I forgot to take videos yesterday . . .sorry. But, never fear, I have two videos to post today. Practice went okay today, not great, but I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I’m not enjoying this “solos” book as much as the Suzuki book. Also, my left hand is sore where my pointer finger connects to my palm, which probably means I’m not playing correctly. I’m getting weird calluses on my pointer and pinkie fingers too. I’m sad that this month is going by so quickly . . .that means that if I want to continue practicing my cello I have to find time for that PLUS whatever my challenge is going to be next month. I got a few new books to read at our community garage sale this weekend too, so reading is calling to me . . .so much to do, so little time.

Scale - Week 3

"Minuet No. 2" - Bach

Cello - Day 21

I didn’t have as good of luck practicing today as I did yesterday. Things still sounded okay, but I moved on from the popular songs and the Suzuki book and started a new book, Solos for Strings, Level 1. Therefore, I was back at the beginning again playing a lot of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and “Lightly Row”. I think “Twinkle, Twinkle” is going to become my “Go Tell Aunt Rhody” for cello (to explain, of all the beginner songs for learning an instrument, “Go Tell Aunt Rhody” has got to be my least favorite one. Interestingly enough, it was in the Suzuki book, and I didn’t mind it as much as usual, but this “Twinkle, Twinkle” nonsense has got to stop). So today was not a very good day for cello playing (it didn’t help that we were late to a friend’s house for dinner, so I was stressed about that), but I’m hopeful that tomorrow will be better.

New book I'm working on

Cello - Day 20

Practicing today went well again J I went over more songs in the Suzuki book and then played over some of the “popular” songs again. I was surprised at how much better they sounded than when I had played them before. This is encouraging and I am looking forward to playing more tomorrow J

Cello - Day 19

Today’s practice went pretty well. I practiced the song I’m planning to play for the video this week (instead of just picking one the day of . . .I figured it would be better if I practiced it a few days ahead of time) and I also worked my way through the Suzuki book again. The greatest part about this book is that the songs seem relatively simple, but I feel like they are helping to improve my skills much quicker than the other book. I think today is the first day I felt like I might actually be able to play in public eventually ;)

Cello - Day 18

Finally, I feel like I’m improving. I like this Suzuki book (although the songs that I’m supposed to listen to are on tape, so I haven’t exactly been following the Suzuki method as I should). I do get the tuner out though and play through the songs slowly and adjust my pitch to make sure I learn them correctly . . .I think that’s been helping quite a bit. I’m learning longer songs now, and don’t feel like my playing is quite so horrible, although there are still some noises that are created that should not be heard by any human ear . . .oops. Oh well, practice makes perfect right?

Cello - Day 17

Hey, I think I might be getting the hang of this whole cello playing thing J I unfortunately played too late tonight ( I broke my ‘no practicing after 9 pm’ rule . . .oops), but I don’t think my neighbor on the other side of me was home, so I think it’s okay. This Suzuki book is making me feel like I’m really improving. When I get out the tuner and check my notes, they are still not that in tune (at least not as consistently as I would like), but my ability to switch between notes and between strings is vastly improved from where it was last week, at least in my opinion. Sometimes I wish you could all listen in on my practices so you could hear the good things that happen, but I’m sure you wouldn’t want to have quite that much cello overload. Hopefully some of this improvement will be apparent in my next videos. Stay tuned!

Cello - Day 16

I’m working on a few new things today. I started this yesterday, but after a comment from a friend who is a really good guitar player about how I needed to be “one” with my instrument, I’m really trying to fit better with the instrument and make it more an extension of my body instead of this big, awkward thing that squeaks. Also, I put away my fun, popular songs and got out the Suzuki Level 1 lesson book. In the introduction to that book, Suzuki says that it is really important to work on tonalization, or trying to product a beautiful sound, every time I play. Well, I know the sounds that I make are not always beautiful, so I tried to work on that today too. I have a long way to do, but I need to keep those things in mind, as well as trying to learn proper posture and hand position . . .I have a lot of work to do.

Suzuki Lesson Book

Cello - Day 15

Well, today definitely went better than yesterday. I’m not anywhere near being even okay at playing the cello, but I’m getting my notes down much better and the songs are not sounding quite as hideous. I’m being a little too ambitious in my cooking/baking today though (multiple types of coconut cookies and a big batch of chicken curry . . .yum). So, cello playing was squeezed in between curry simmering and cookie baking. I should get back to my cookies now!

Cello - Day 14

I know you’ve come to look forward to this day, right? It’s video day! So, without further ado, please enjoy my latest videos, my scale after 2 weeks, and “March in D”. I know, they are still rather painful to listen to, but trust me, I went back and listened to my first scale, and I’m improving, even if it’s just a little bit! Practicing flew by today, but I felt I was getting worse throughout the practice instead of better. I think perhaps it’s because I practiced a little later at night and I’m tired. I hope tomorrow goes better.

Scale after 2 weeks

"March in D" 

Cello - Day 13

Today is the first day that I wanted to keep playing. Unfortunately, you made me stop. Okay, so not technically, it is my fault that I am behind on my blog, but I really need to write some blog posts, so I figured I had better stop practicing and do that instead. I did spend some time after practicing looking over the rest of my cello music though so I could see what other treasures I could find. I randomly stumbled across “I Dreamed A Dream” from Les Misérables (which I’m pretty crazy about right now . . .seriously, watch this: "I Dreamed A Dream" It is the lovely Lea Salonga singing “I Dreamed A Dream” for the 25^th anniversary concert last year . . .brilliant). Anyways, I’m excited to keep playing and getting better. I played bass guitar again today too, that really hurt my fingers on my right hand, but my left hand is doing okay. I’m just glad practice went so well today J

Cello - Day 12

Not much new to talk about today. I have some random sheet music that I practiced today . . .it went pretty well. No duets yet, but hopefully soon. I’m feeling a little more confident about my note reading, so that’s helpful. I got my bass guitar out today and tried to play that (I can’t play that much better than I could play my cello when I started this monthly challenge) . . .that was kind of confusing. Other than that, it’s still going well. So far, so good.

Cello - Day 11

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been eleven days already! Today I didn’t have that great of a day (just rather frustrating), so I was surprised that my cello playing went as well as it did. I managed to finish lesson book #1 and got to finish up my practice time with a few more popular songs that I have music for (and I rather like) such as the Forest Gump theme and Edelweiss. So today went better, and I’m encouraged to keep playing. Another fun thing was that there are a few duets in the latter portion of the book, so I was lamenting to my husband that we need another cello so he can learn and play the duets with me. He then came up with the brilliant idea to play along with me on his trombone (he is a very good trombone player) . . .so I have that to look forward to. We have dinner plans tonight, so I have to get going now, but that’s my update for today J

Cello - Day 10

So, today was rather stressful, and I think all of that pent up stress showed in my playing. I could just not find the right notes tonight; so frustrating. Granted, I am at the end of the book, so the songs are significantly longer and more difficult than previously, but my playing was pretty atrocious tonight. I’m just thankful I have a few more days yet before I have to make another video for you!

Cello - Day 9

Well, today I think I actually can tell that I’ve improved since Day 1 (I am almost through the entire Level 1 book, so I would hope that counts as improvement). My right hand keeps cramping . . .I was working on a song tonight called “Cripple Creek”, it was definitely trying to cripple my hand. I’m trying to get better form and a better ear, so hopefully it’s working. So far, so good J

My lesson book

Cello - Day 8

I think today went much better than yesterday. My right pinky still feels funny, my right hand is still cramping, and my butt hurts from sitting on the folding stepstool that I use as my cello-playing chair (the only chair in our house without arms on it), but I feel much more positive today. I think what helped was that I ditched the tuner. I used only when necessary to check a note or two, but other than that, just back to me, my ears, and the cello, so at least this way, even if I was off, I didn’t have anything yelling at me for it. I’ve progressed through the lesson book to where I’m starting to learn the notes on the last string now (the C string) . . .hooray for progress J

Cello - Day 7

Well, one week has gone by, and I am not ready to join an orchestra. That stupid tuner keeps making me frustrated. Also, my left pinky finger feels really funny and my right hand is still cramping a bit. I don’t have much to say though, because I have TWO videos to post today of my progress. My customary scale, and a song out of my lesson book called “Bluebird Song” (I guess it’s some Texas Folk Song). Take the fact that I am posting these against my better judgment (as my reputation as a musician will surely suffer from this) as a testament to my devotion to my experiments and to my readers. I hope you are enjoying watching my progress!

Scale - Week 2

"Bluebird Song"

Cello - Day 6

Today was frustrating. I was really hoping to be progressing a little better than this. I wanted to have at least something good to be able to play for tomorrow’s video, but I’ve got nothing. A Kenyan folk song just kicked my butt today, and I played what must be the most pitiful version of “Happy Birthday” ever. My husband kindly encouraged me and told me I was doing just fine, but I am not really happy with my progress today . . .I think the fact that I had the electronic tuner on while I was playing today has me so discouraged. On a happier note, I played my flute in church today and I got a compliment from one of the other musicians that I was really on pitch (which is difficult when accompanying handbells), so that made me happy. Maybe my ear is getting a little better?

Cello - Day 5

My right hand is still getting a bit sore from the bowing, but hopefully that will ease up as it gets stronger from practicing. No really amazing accomplishments today, but I did learn a new note (F natural) and that was pretty tricky. I’m really working a lot on ear training with this instrument, much more so than any of the other instruments I play (piano, guitar, flute, alto saxophone, etc.). They all have keys, and yes, tuning is important, but there is so much more room for error on the cello . . .that is kind of scary. I’m steadily making progress through the level one book though, so I’m looking forward to getting to learn some of the longer pieces soon. J

Readers, do any of you have experience with stringed instruments (and the use of rosin, in particular)? The rosin that I have is very old, and I’m thinking it’s not working. I don’t really know what it’s supposed to do (help the bow stay on the strings?) and how to tell if it’s still useable or not. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks. 

Cello - Day 4

Cool gadget my husband made out of a hanger

Okay, so my other hand is hurting today . . .I’m probably not holding the bow correctly. I wish I had someone who could show me how. I’m feeling a little frustrated today because the songs were just not sounding all that lovely. For some reason, “Michael Row Your Boat Ashore” just sounded awful, both yesterday and today . . .I cannot get that song to sound good. I know I’m making progress as my scales sounded a little better today, but I’m guessing at the notes still (struggling with the bass clef) and I’m surprised my husband hasn’t started wearing earplugs while I practice. I think I’m getting better, but not as quickly as I would like (I know, I can’t expect to be really good in only four days, but I just don’t have enough patience today I guess). So, that’s all for today, wish me better luck tomorrow.

See how it fits into my stand?

Awesome

p.s. Check out this cool bow hanger (custom made for this music stand) that my awesome husband fashioned out of a hanger in a matter of minutes. It works perfectly . . .yet another reason to marry an engineer J

Cello - Day 3

My fingers are starting to get a little sore from the strings, but that was inevitable. My greatest accomplishment today: learning to play the “Can Can Song” and my husband said the majority of the notes were in tune! So I working on that, really trying to keep my notes more in tune, while at the same time develop proper cello playing form (not that I really know what that is . . .if anyone has any tips, or knows anyone who would like to give me a lesson, that would be much appreciated). I know that my playing is still pretty awful and I feel bad for everyone who has to hear it, but I take comfort in the fact that I will get better if I practice, so that’s what I’m doing.

Side note:  I found a Russian proverb that seems to fit quite well with my Cake-A-Day month: “A house is beautiful not because of its walls, but because of its cakes.” So my tiny apartment must be pretty beautiful J

Cello - Day 2

One thing I forgot to say yesterday…I was happy to smell rosin again…it’s the smell of progress J So, today I practiced a little bit later that I was planning. I wanted to remember to always finish my practicing before 9 pm, just so I didn’t anger my neighbors, but tonight I didn’t start until 9, but that still means I was done at 9:30 . . .hopefully that’s not too late. I feel like I’m getting a little bit better at telling when my notes are in tune or not, but my husband says, "maybe just a little better" (as in I’m still not very good), oh well, what can you expect on Day 2? So far I’ve progressed though “Mary Had A Little Lamb”, “Lightly Row”, “Jolly Old St. Nicholas”, and other beginning instrument favorites. Surprisingly, I haven’t had to play “Go Tell Aunt Rhody” yet . . .thank goodness, that is my least favorite beginner song. Readers, have you had any similar experiences with trying to learn an instrument?

Cello - Day 1

So, here I go on my next adventure, I’ve attempted to learn this before, but never really stuck with it. My husband has a much better ear for pitch than I do, so he helped me majorly tune my cello before I started. When I bought my cello, the girl who sold it to me gave me all of her lesson books so I cracked open Volume 1 and started there. Granted I can already read music, but I’m a flute player, so bass clef doesn’t come naturally for me. Here is a video of my attempt at a scale, just for comparison’s sake so I can have a similar video at the end of the month to see how much I’ve progressed. I know, I’m not very good . . .I wonder how many of my neighbors in our apartment complex will complain this month? Wish me luck!

May Reveal

Hello everyone. Sorry for my lapse in posting on my blog. Don't you worry, I have not stopped doing crazy challenges, I was just a little too busy to spend the time updating this blog. Hopefully in the next few days I'll get all caught up though. So anyways, what have I been up to? After all of my running, I think I deserved a Baskin Robbins month or something (a flavor a day sounds wonderful :)), but instead, I decided to stay still after all of that running, and work on something I had been putting off for years. As you may know, my husband and I have quite the collection of musical instruments (17 I think) and I can play most of them, but not very well. For one of my birthdays while I was in college, a fellow college student was selling her cello and I bought it for myself but never learned how to play it. So that lovely instrument just sat untouched, a shame I think. So, it was time to rectify that . . . cello playing, here I come.

I had about six months of violin lessons when I was in 8th grade, but haven't played a stringed instrument since then (besides guitar and bass guitar), so I'm pretty out of practice. This might be a mistake, but I decided to take some weekly videos of my progress for you all to see. I'm sorry if I hurt your ears. Do any of you have an instrument that has been sitting in the closet for too long? If so, I encourage you to take this monthly journey with me (although you don't have to post videos if you don't want to). Enjoy!

Running - Week 4

Welcome to four-mile week. I have no idea how this is going to go, as my body has not been too happy about all this running lately, but I've come too far to quit now. So without further ado, running - week four:

Day 22 - Huh, amazingly enough, running today was not so bad. The gap from two miles to three miles felt like we added an extra two miles, but the gap from three miles to four miles felt like maybe and extra 0.2 miles . . . weird. It was a nice morning run today (yes, for all of you who know me, I voluntarily got up early and went running . . . what is wrong with me?). It was nice to not have to avoid other people or cars though. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

Day 23 - I ate Chinese buffet for lunch today . . . for those of you interested in my experiments, it seems that running with a tummy full of Chinese food is easier than running with a tummy full of Indian food, just an observation ;) One of the fortune cookies at lunch today said that Chinese food makes you healthier, somehow I think the running is doing that more than gorging myself on Chinese doughnuts, but I'll take it :)

Day 24 - Ouch, today I have very stiff heels (Achilles' tendons?) and knees. I still can't break the fourty minute mark (ten-minute miles) :( I'm definitely ready to be done running. In the interest of sharing my full experience with you, I will also tell you that I'm starting to get very sore under my arms from my sports bra . . . lovely huh? I can do this . . . only six more days of running.

Day 25 - Oofda. We got up early and ran (out of the door before six am, this is not normal for me at all). There were a few sprinkles here and there, but the rain held off until we were done running, thankfully. My heels (not the Achilles' tendon it seems, but a tendon or muscle a little further forward in my foot . . . I'm thinking a bursa sac), are really sore and my knees aren't that happy either. I'm very ready to be done with this (still) . . . only five more days.

Day 26 - I ran very fast today. My husband was trying to improve his time, but for some reason I just felt like I couldn't let him get away from me, so I ran very quickly to try and keep up. I know that is not part of the rules, but I was worried about getting lost . . . silly, I know. We cut over two minutes off our time from yesterday :) I still dislike running, it's such a mental game to push myself, not an enjoyable puzzle (where pushing is sometimes required) like rock climbing was.

Day 27 - I know you are probably sick of hearing this now, but I am so ready to be done running . . . that is all. (Not really, we ran in the afternoon today . . .I took the day off from work as we have to travel to my brother's rehearsal dinner tonight. We have our last two long runs (four and five miles) out of town, so this should be interesting). Wish us luck!

Day 28 - Hooray for less hills :) Today we ran through a big cemetery in Milwaukee (where we were staying with friends so we could go to my brother's wedding this weekend). It was drizzly and cool out but that is so much easier to run in that hot, humid weather. We deviated a little bit from the map as the cemetery "roads" don't have names, but the route was still about four miles. It was not a fast run today, but we (amazingly) made it through our four miles a day week :)

Day 29 - As much as I wish the month was an even four 7-day weeks, it's not, so Day 29 shall live in infamy as our 5-mile day . . . yikes! And the verdict? Whew . . . we made it! We took some advice from the great teacher (I'm not talking about Jesus this time, I'm talking about Yoda): "Do or do not, there is no try". Five miles really didn't feel that much longer than four miles, surprisingly. Also, where we ran today had few hills which makes running so much easier. Only one mile left to run this month!!! :)

Day 30 - Finally, this month's challenge is over. We chose a flat, relatively straight 0.5 mile route to run out and back on, and we both pushed ourselves very hard. Instead of going for distance like we had for the rest of the month, today was all about speed. I've never run a mile that fast in my life, so I'm pretty happy about it. My husband was hoping to get his mile time under seven minutes, but I'm still really proud of how he did and that he committed to this month's insane challenge with me :)

Week Four Running Chart

Mile Times

Heart Rates

I'm so glad this month is over. I keep thinking that my hardest month is over now, but we'll see if that's really the case. I did rock climbing first as I thought it would be the hardest one (at the time I was considering a jogging month, but nothing this intense), but then then the cake challenge came around and that was extremely stressful (sometimes) and very time-consuming. After those were over, reading novels was a great,  relaxing month, but I have to say this running thing has been the biggest challenge so far. Not that the cakes were easy, or that I'd want to go back and do that again, but I am so glad this running is over. As you can see from my extremely nerdy charts, my mile times stayed pretty consistent (with the exception of the last day) and my heart rate decreased a little over the month . . . I think that is a good sign. So I'm back in shape again, what can I do next month to ruin it? ;)

Running - Week 3

Alright, I thought that two miles was a fine enough distance to run, but I’ve made the crazy challenge for myself and have to try and run three miles every day this week, so we’ll see if I can do it or not . . .it’s going to be tough.

Day 15 – Whew, I don’t know if I can do that again . . .three miles is hard! It was both windy and humid today, I feel so icky now. It was such a busy weekend, I just want to rest.

Day 16 – Whew again. I ran faster today, but it was still very windy. I’ve decided three miles is just too long, I don’t know how long I can keep this up. My knees, hips, and ankles were all not happy with me at the start of the run today . . .this is not a good sign.

Day 17 – Today I took it a little bit slower. My legs were very tight. I think I’ve reached point where my body is telling me I need to take a break. Well TOO BAD body, you have a lot of running to do yet! I really don’t understand why anyone does this for fun; I did not enjoy it today at all. My legs finally loosened up after about 2.75 miles . . .that figures. Another thing that made today more difficult was that my shoe came untied after about a mile and a half. I probably should have stopped to tie it, but that is against my strict unwritten rule that “Thou shalt not stop”. What have I gotten myself into?

Day 18 – So while I ran today I managed to rant to my husband for the entire time (trust me, with the nonsense that was going on at work, you would be ranting too). Usually I’m very against talking while I run, but this was something I definitely had to get out, so rant I did. Of course this made my time much slower (the slowest mile time yet), but it made running go by much faster. Kind of backwards, but it’s true. Although “pounding the pavement” (and ranting) helped me to get some of my frustrations out, I am still not convinced I could ever be a real runner.

Day 19 – (To the tune of “Singin’ in the Rain”) I’m running in the rain, just running in the rain, not a glorious feeling, but I’m moving again. I’m wet and I’m cold, but I’ll be home soon. Just running, running in the rain! J

My lovely fuzz puff :) 

Day 20 – Oof . . .I am so stiff today. My husband and I must have looked like really old people hobbling along as we began our run because we were both very stiff. It definitely took a while to loosen up. Also, I felt like the robins were either teasing me or encouraging me along . . . there were a lot of them on the path, and they always seemed to be just a little ways ahead of me. Also, I think I was carrying and extra five pounds in my tummy today from all of the good (and exotic) food at the work potluck. Unfortunately, that food (or acid reflux or something) started bothering my stomach at about mile 1.5 . . . after that, running was pretty miserable. I felt like I was just limping home (but I wasn’t really limping), it just took so much effort not to stop. Other than the utter disappointment I would feel about not completing a daily challenge after I’ve made it this far, today was the first day I think I would have felt much better if I had not run . . .I hope I feel better tomorrow! In other news, the fuzz puffs (dandelions gone to seed) were out in abundance today. My husband picked one for me as we ran to make me feel better J I’ve included a picture of it with this post.

Day 21 – Ugh, my tummy is still not happy this morning, but running was a little easier today than it was yesterday. I ran by myself for most of the run as my husband ran much faster than I did today. This was a morning run, and it was a little cooler out, but it was pretty nice running weather. I’m proud of myself for running this many days in a row, but I am so ready to be done running! I did have an interesting Bible thought while I was running today as the verse about “running the race before you” popped into my head ("Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." Hebrews 12:1-2a). I realized that I really focus too much on this earth and the temporal things around me instead of on heaven and on my ultimate prize, and I think this distracts me and makes me “run” (figuratively speaking about running my race of faith and life) slower . . .I need to work on that. Additionally, in my search for that Bible reference, I also found another fitting verse, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air." (1 Corinthians 9:24-26). And I hope that one day I will be able to say with the Apostle Paul (2 Timothy 4:7) "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

I can’t believe that I made it through three mile week. That is pretty amazing to me. Unfortunately, that jump from two miles to three miles was really rough, so I don’t know what to expect next week. I’m a little worried that my body is just going to break down and I’m not going to be able to finish it, but I’m young, I can do it . . .right? 

Running - Week 2

First of all, I will apologize again for being so behind on my writing. I promise you, I’m writing my current entries in Word format and will be able to post them much quicker, I just needed to get these running blogs written first. Things have been crazy around here, I just switched positions at work so that’s been hectic and time-consuming, and blog writing has just been lower on my priority list than many other things . . .sorry. Anyways, without further ado, week two of my running challenge.

Neat statue at the entrance to the cemetery

Day 8 – Well, today was our first day of two mile running, and amazingly, it was a really nice run, the closest to enjoying running that I’ve ever come. We were both well “fueled” for our run thanks to a nice couple from church who invited us over for Easter dinner. Happy Easter everyone! There were fewer hills on this run, and we had lower humidity and cooler temperatures . . .what a nice day.

Day 9 – Today we reversed yesterday’s route per our usual protocol. It was very windy, and that made today’s run much more difficult. We managed to cut a bunch of time off of our total, mostly thanks in part to my husband pushing me to run a little faster today. One odd thing though: after all of that running, all of me was warm with the exception of my wrists . . .weird.

Day 10 – Brr, it was cold outside today, only about 40 F. I put on extra layers to keep warm. I was really rather tired today too, and I did not want to go running, but of course I did anyways. I’m one third of the way done with the month now (but who’s counting) ;)

Beautiful cemetery tower

Day 11 – Church run today! And by that I mean that we had to be up at church because I had a meeting and then later we had choir practice, so in between those two events, we went for a run around our church’s neighborhood. We had a rather funny incident when we were finishing up our run and we were sprinting to the church doors just as another couple we are in choir with was approaching. Usually choir practice is at 7:00, but it was pushed back to 7:30 and we finished running about 7:10. This other couple looks at us with alarm and says, “Did you think there was choir at 7:00 tonight too?” because they thought there was no choir but then realized there was and thought that they were late, and perhaps we were late too . . .oops. Overall, it was not a bad run though; it was a nice area to go running in.

Day 12 – Running was definitely more of an effort today than usual, perhaps because I knew I had so much to get done at home that I didn’t want to take the time to go. We have a busy weekend ahead of us that I need to get ready for. Anyways, running through the cemetery today was my favorite part of the run. It’s always peaceful there, with no traffic and usually some nice sunbeams in the sky or off the beautiful memorial thing . . .I took some pictures so you can all see how pretty it is. These were taken a little too early in the day to really capture the sunbeams, but it is still a lovely place for a run.

Day 13 – It was very windy again today, and I think attributed to our slower run times. I was planning on today’s run being a morning run, and getting up to go before work in the morning, but I stayed up too late last night making cakes . . .hmm,  now doesn’t that sound familiar? ;) The run today was just okay.

Day 14 – Today we went running in Illinois. We were visiting some friends there for the weekend, so we took a little time out of our visit to go running around their neighborhood. He is a Vicar (practice Pastor) at a local church and the congregation has let them rent this very nice house in a lovely golf course community. It was a good place to run. I am sure going to miss this two mile distance . . .that is long enough! The weather was rather pleasant today; spring is back J

Any Latin scholars out there care to translate this for me? 

Well folks, there you have it, we managed to run two miles every day for a week. We squeezed it in even when we were super busy, or out of town, and I’m pretty proud that we managed to make it this far considering how much of a non-runner I was before. Not saying that I’m a runner now, but I think my heart is getting in better shape. Below you will find my chart of mile times and heart rates for this week . . .I wonder what next week will turn out like?

Week Two Running Chart

Running - Week 1

Welcome to my month of running. Let me start out by describing my running plan. First of all, my husband has decided he will run with me, so I'll have a running buddy :) He is not allowed to let me hold him back though, so if he wants to go faster or, on the off chance that I'm feeling very ambitious, I want to go faster, we don't have to stay together while running, but it's nice to have that motivator to get started. Secondly, this is the website that I will be using to map my routes: Running Routes. It's a pretty cool site, you should check it out. It allows you to plot your course on a map and it shows the elevation changes along the route . . .neat stuff. For this first week, I will be running one mile a day, and then add one mile each subsequent week (so week two will be two miles a day, week three will be three miles a day, etc.). Finally, each run will be timed and my heart rate after the run will also be recorded (as I'm more interested in getting my heart healthy than becoming a sprinter), and being the nerdy scientist that I am, I'll plot these values on a graph when I'm all done . . .sounds like fun right? :)

So, now that you know "the plan", here is my summary of how each day of week one turned out:

Day 1 - My arms felt a little like jelly today, my calves got sore from a big uphill run right in the beginning, and my throat is sore from running so hard. But the good news is that I finished my first mile in under 10 minutes, so I met my goal for today :)

Day 2 - Today we ran the same route as yesterday, just in the reverse direction. I think we will switch off every day just so we don't get bored with the same route after a week. This direction had a more difficult beginning, but I found the second half easier (it began with a long gradual incline and ended with the steep slope that we ran up yesterday). My throat is still sore, my legs are a little sore, but not too bad. 

Day 3 - This original direction seems much easier than the reverse route. Also, today I found a way to exhale (making my cheeks a little puffy) that is a bit easier on my throat . . .yay :)

Day 4 - Today was a tough run . . .I am not looking forward to doubling, etc. the distance! My legs are not as sore today though, and I felt better after the run, and I'm not so tired . . .hooray. 

Day 5 - Not much groundbreaking today, I just noted that this route is getting much easier in the cardio aspect. I still breathe heavily, but it doesn't hurt so badly anymore. 

Day 6 - Ugh, back to the harder direction again. I didn't have much to eat today so I didn't feel like I had the "fuel" in me to go anywhere. I took it a little "easier" today, meaning I didn't push myself as much, but of course I still find it hard since I don't like running, but my time is okay :) 

Day 7 - Sadness, this is our last day of one mile week :( I didn't get under the 9 minute mark like I wanted to, but there was a stiff headwind on the last half of the run, so that didn't help. 

Here are my times and heart rates for this week, just so you can see how out of shape I was, at least in terms of cardio exercise:

(Note: My Day 1 heart rate was taken after about 1 minute because I almost forgot . . .oops)

So, readers, are any of you avid runners? Any tips or comments for what I should or should not be doing? Are you ready for week 2?

p.s. A few notes on some updates to my blog format. First of all, that little G+ icon on the top right is something you can press if you want to recommend my blog to the world. It's kind of equivalent to the Facebook "Like" button. Secondly, if you would like to receive my blogs via e-mail so you don't have to remember to check my page (although it is nice if you do because I love seeing "page views" in my blog stats), just enter your e-mail address in the "Follow By Email" box, and you will be notified whenever I've put up a new post. And finally, for those of you from other countries who would like to read my blog in your native language, you can select that language from the "Translate" section on the right hand side and my blog will be instantly translated for you . . .how cool is that? I will not vouch for the accuracy of the Google translate feature though ;)