A different kind of training

On Saturday afternoon my throat started to hurt a bit. When I woke up Sunday I could tell that I was definitely sick again. My head felt foggy, it hurt to swallow, and I knew I was in no shape to do any running, even indoors on the treadmill. It was disappointing because I was actually looking forward to my long training run, but I know the best thing to do for now is rest. I saw the doctor yesterday and the good news is that even though I feel crappy, at least I don't have strep throat, probably just a virus. I'm hoping it'll pass by Saturday so that I don't have to miss my first St. Patrick's Day race.

I have to admit that it feels kind of nice to sit at home and not feel guilty that I should be heading to the gym or doing something more active. I've even been productive and finally finished filing my income taxes. It was slightly more complicated this year because I had to figure out the right amount of moving expenses to deduct and also do the part-year resident calculations for Maryland. One of the pluses of being back in Washington is no state income taxes!

On Saturday night my boyfriend and I went to see the high school production of West Side Story. Even though it's been 10+ years, the auditorium still felt familiar. It brought back so many memories of the days when I was the one down there in the "pit" playing the piano. On Sunday while I was cooped up at home, I got the urge to sit down at the piano and try playing again. Usually I gravitate straight toward my favorite pieces of music, but this time I decided to take it slow and start with a book of exercises. It's kind of like running. After taking an extended period of time off, you can't just jump right back in with a 20 mile run or pick up at your previous pace. There's part of me that would like to seriously take up the piano again, but I don't think I'm ready to devote that much time to it on top of my running.

When I was starting out as a runner, I had just finished my first 5k and was checking out the table of information about upcoming races. A friendly couple stuck up a conversation with me and encouraged me to register for the local summer series. I wasn't as knowledgeable about running lingo as I am now, and I said something along the lines of "I guess I'll have to keep practicing so I can improve my 5k time." The husband immediately asked if I was a musician and said he knew because of my use of the word "practice" instead of "training". Ooops. Thinking about that story is always a good reminder for me that I was a newbie once too. But to this day, I'm still not sure what the difference is between practice and training, other than the context in which you use it. I suppose I'll have to Google it eventually.

One last random topic... with the release of the The Hunger Games movie, I decided it was time I finally read the book before I accidentally stumbled across a spoiler. I watched the first Harry Potter movie before reading the book and it definitely had an effect on how I visualized the characters in my mind for the rest of the series. The timing was perfect because I received a library notification yesterday morning that the book was ready for pick up. Since I didn't have to head to the gym, I was able to spend the evening reading straight through the book. It really did live up to all the hype. (Uh, oh. Does that mean I'll have to give in and read Twilight now too?) Sure, there were a few predictable points but overall it kept me hooked and wondering what would happen next. Now I'm waiting in line for the second book to become available from the library.

Did you ever play a musical instrument? Have you stuck with it or do you miss it?
Have you read The Hunger Games? Do you plan to see the movie?