This is the Title of an Uncreative Violinist.:)

A 5 mile run was on the schedule for today, but since I felt slightly sore this morning, and I have an incredibly long gap in my teaching schedule tomorrow afternoon (like 3 hours!) I decided to do it tomorrow.  There's a path literally behind my teaching studio, so I can finish up my last student and run out the door. I forgot to mention yesterday that I mixed some chia seeds into my steel cut oats for breakfast before my run.  My husband used to take them religiously when he was running a lot more and claimed he had more energy.  He does more rowing than running nowadays, and our jar of chia seeds has been sitting in a lonely corner of the kitchen for a year or so now.  I can't say for sure if this was the reason or not, but a slight pain I was having in my right knee since my 16 mile long run has disappeared.  Besides normal soreness in my thighs--no pain in the knee!  I'm pleasantly surprised and very hopeful that this is the cause.  I'm going to...

Just finished a 9 mile run.  Definitely some hard moments where I just wanted to stop and walk, but didn't let myself do that.  It probably didn't help that I ran without any music and chose a pretty flat, boring course in the New Albany area.  I ran along the New Albany golf course and did a loop around which was about 6ish miles.  I am still hovering in the 10:30-11:00 min. mile range.  I think from now on, I should start bringing food with me; usually after 4 or 5 miles, I start getting grumpy and can't stop thinking about what I'd like to eat after running.  On today's run, I was daydreaming about pickles.  What?  I'm not a really big fan of pickles, but I wanted them for some reason (no, I am not pregnant!) so I think I'll get a jar from the grocery store later today. I also need to get some new running clothes that have more pockets to store energy bars or gels.  I'm also on the hunt for compression socks.  I read up on them last...

I'll fully disclose that I skipped an entire week of running last week.  Stupid, I know.  Was I injured? Not really, although I feel a little something going on in my right knee, but I'm pretty sure it's only b/c I've been skipping mid-week runs and only doing the long runs on the weekends.  Was I lazy? For sure!  Was I feeling a little invincible after completing my 16 mile run two weekends ago that I felt that skipping a week wouldn't hurt anyone? Yes!  Am I really invincible? NO!  Aaarggh! I have about one month left until the marathon.  A few weeks later, I am doing a 100 mile relay, where I'll be taking on 20 miles in 5 mile legs (that one seems fun and we'll be pulling an all-nighter, so I'm not too worried about it).  I definitely don't want to be one of those people that take 8 hours to complete a marathon...but I also don't want to be hurting the whole time. I'm just going to stop talking about it now.  Gaby, do the runs and shut u...

Colorful veggies: Candles that make your whole house smell pleasant: Can't get enough flats (especially with this weather): Last but not least, can't get enough cuteness:)

I decided to do my long run at a trail that looped around 3.8 miles and do around 4 loops.  I did take a water break every 4 miles and stretched briefly; I used to think this was "cheating" in the past and that one wasn't a true runner unless they just kept going non-stop, but when I think about it--I plan on doing the same thing at the marathon where I plan on stopping at every/any water station.  If my body hurts at all, I will listen to it and walk if I have to, instead of pushing through and possibly injuring myself.  At this point, I'm not really concerned with a fast time, because I'm just a slow runner in general.  My goal is to make it to the end and still feel somewhat strong. The first two loops, I felt really good.  Second loop really went by fast b/c I decided to listen to some music this time around.  The third loop, I switched directions for variance, but that didn't seem to help much b/c I started feeling fatigued around this time.  By ...

Just finished a horrendous 16 mile run.  SO glad it's over with!  I will write more later about it, but right now it's time to dig in to my Chipotle, stretch, and relax for the rest of the evening.  I mostly feel OK right now, but my legs do ache a little. I'm just glad I did it! More later...

About a week ago, I was contacted to play for an opera gig.  After acknowledging the email, it took awhile for the contractor to get back to me; it was going to be difficult for me to attend a rehearsal or two, and that was his reason for not getting back to me right away.  After prodding for a more definite answer on whether the gig was mine or not, despite having to miss one rehearsal, I was told that I was to be concertmaster for the performance and that my missing any rehearsal wouldn't sit well with the conductor.  Well, okay.  With that information, I hastily (TOO hastily, I see now) agreed to commit to all the rehearsals b/c I take the concertmaster role seriously, no matter what kind of orchestra or gig it is.  I like to be reliable if given that role.  I got an email shortly afterward saying, "Actually, I can't offer you the concertmaster position officially --the conductor will first observe your playing in the first rehearsal, then decide." ...

Last night I made Pioneer Woman's Baked Lemon Pasta--so bad...but so good!  I also tried a new cookie recipe that Ryan saw on the Cooking Channel.  I'm not a big fan of banana, other than just eating it by itself or perhaps with a smear of peanut butter, so I wasn't really into these cookies.  However, the hubby thought they were the best cookies he's ever had, so if you like bananas w/ chocolate, these are for you! PW's Baked Lemon Pasta (super easy to make) Kelsey Nixon's Chocolate Banana Oatmeal cookies (also very simple to make) Today is a gorgeous day--perfect for taking the pups for a long walk!  I did run a few miles on the treadmill this morning; I had every intention of seeing how long I could go for and had the entire gym to myself, until some clown came in and walked past the long row of empty treadmills just to hop on the one right next to me.  My husband thinks I'm weird, but that's a pet peeve of mine when people choose a machine...

Just a quick post to check in and say I'm still alive.  I haven't posted in two weeks practically, but it feels like two months.  Nothing spectacular has happened, which is why I haven't felt compelled to blog; I've been feeling rather "blah" about blogging lately.  My mom read my blog once and later said, "It looks like no one reads it.  Why do you write?"  Ouch.  Well, sometimes, when it seems like no one is reading it IS easy to think, "well, shoot--why AM I writing?"  I write for myself.  If nothing else, because of my short-term memory, I enjoy looking back at old posts and remembering events, recipes, or runs I've done in the past. Today was a gorgeous day and I made plans to do a 15 mile run on the Olentangy trail near the OSU campus as soon as I got done accompanying a student for a little competition held on campus.  I called a friend to see if she wanted to join me and quickly changed and got a head start on my run as my fri...