Does Muscle Memory really exist?

Ah, fall is in the air!!! Unfortunately, so are the fall pollens. One day I will be able to breathe again. Fortunately it didn't bother me too much during my weekday runs. I discovered something very interesting yesterday on my 10 mile run, I like hills! Yes, I know how crazy it sounds, but I actually found myself looking forward to the uphill climb, and let me tell you, they don't call my neighborhood Collier Hills for nothing! It's making me feel much better about tackling the hill on the Nike course. Everything keeps telling me that I'm crazy for running in San Francisco with all of their hills, but honestly, I think Atlanta may be one of the best places to train. Plus we're tackling the Johnson Ferry hill out on the river again this Saturday. I think I'll be ready.

My legs actually feel soooo much better than they did last week. I started getting really large knots in my calves especially in my left leg. So, I bit the bullet and got new orthotics for my every day shoes. I've liked the ones I got for my running shoes last month, so I went ahead and got the same brand for my casual shoes too. They're awesome. The brand is called Aetrex Lynco orthotics (www.aetrex.com). They've made a huge difference!!!! The knots are gone, and my knee and hip feel sooo much better. I can't recommend them enough! If you need orthotics you should definitely check them out. You can find the sports ones at the Big Peach Running Co. (www.bigpeachrunningco.com) or at the Walking Store.

Practicing has been very interesting this week. I've been kind of mad at myself for not getting my act together sooner and doing better on my audition. There's nothing I can do about it now, but I change for the future, which is what the plan is. I'm starting to wonder if the idea of muscle memory isn't just made up. Who came up with this idea? Whenever I try and follow it I just end up back in the land of mediocrity. I don't like being there, and I've started paying a lot more attention to things. I can't doing anything based on feel anymore. The more I listen the more I realize that "muscle memory" is letting me down. Plus most of the time when something sounds good it's feels really strange. So, I'm reprogramming myself to go off of sound and not feel. We'll see how this little experiment goes after I have my next lesson. Until then it's back to the practice room...