Snow, Snow, Snow (and finding pretty colors)

The snow has come to Atlanta!!!! I've been as giddy as a school girl since it started, which, while slightly distracting, has been rather helpful. I'm suppose to find pretty colors in my audition excerpts (I am not kidding!). Not the easiest of things since excerpts are a small part of a piece taken out of context. Think of them as a musical quote. Without context it's hard to find shapes and color (colors serve as a way of adding layers and musical interest. In a way it's exactly what it sounds like. Different moods in music bring out different colors associations and phrasing). Not only did I start feeling more secure, but I felt like I was at least starting to find some colors and phrases in the music. I actually felt happy after I finished each excerpt, which is a new feeling. I still expect to be picked apart at my lesson on Monday, but I at least feel like I've caught up to where I was at the end of last week before leaving for Florida. I like being happy when I play. I have to say it was a pretty awesome feeling, and I sound pretty darn good!

And since I'm so giddy over the snow here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

just starting

proof there's just a little bit

okay, so it's more of a muddy, slushy mess than anything

2 hours later 

who threw that snowball at me, and where did it go?

the forest behind the house (okay really there are tennis courts and a golf course back there)

So far I think we have about an inch, and it's still coming down. Hopefully the Team in Training GTS will still happen Saturday morning so we can all go running in the snow!!! Especially now that I finally feel like I'm kicking whatever I came down with after the race Sunday. Hope you're having fun in the snow where ever you are!!! (and the Olympics start tonight!!!!!)

Snow reminds me of how it all began...

It snowed in Atlanta today. A whole 1/2 inch. The entire city is in a slippery holding pattern. See, despite all of the ice storms we've had the city only has 4 salt/sand machines. Yes, that's right. Only four. Doesn't seem quite right. After spending 2 years in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for graduate school I find all of this highly amusing. Schools started announcing closing Wednesday evening ahead of the weather "event." I remember walking to class in blizzards in Milwaukee. What a difference a few years and several hundred miles make.

See snow and running go way back for me. I first starting running in March of 2006 after taking a fall and messing up my shoulder and couldn't practice. This was a bit of a problem because I was 3 weeks away from my graduate violin recital. So, to deal with all of the stress I laced up my running shoes over spring break and went for a run. It was about 5 degrees out with an inch or 2 of snow. It was magical. I don't think I even made it a mile :). But I loved it. It made me feel better, I wasn't nearly as stressed out, and it actually made my shoulder feel a little better (or maybe that was all in my head). So, tomorrow I "only" have to run 10 miles. I'm kind of hoping there will still be some snow on the ground. In a way, it's almost like going back to the beginning, except I can run further than a mile now :)

had to make sure we had everything we needed for the "storm"

some were not as concerned :)

Running Intervals with Lance

This morning I went running with Lance Armstrong. Okay, not the real Lance Armstrong, but his Nike+ interval workout. It's been a while since the last time I did an interval run. April maybe? Honestly, I can't remember. All things considered it was a pretty good run, and it all started with an awesome dinner at Flipburger last night.

Yes, dinner last night! It made me happy :). I'm such a foodie want to be. Partly because I need to make a lot more money to be the foodie I want to be. The list of restaurants is ever growing. Flip is owned by Richard Blais one of Atlanta's past TopChef contestants. It's awesome! A super awesome bacon cheese burger (bacon was heavenly) and butternut squash tempurah was had followed by a pumpkin pie milkshake that I split with my mom. I was a happy girl last night. Plus I've been cutting off the electronics by 9:00pm this week. It made for a relaxing evening (despite constant barking & howling from the dogs).

Anyway, back to the run. I had legs of lead at the beginning, but I was going to do the intervals one way or another. I decided to try and go with my "sprint to the finish" pace and see what I could do. While it's a little hard to place them on my Nike+ graph here's an idea of how it went:

Total Mileage: 6.01 miles
Total Time: 53:45
Average Pace: 8:57 per mile
Interval 1: 8:00
Interval 2: 8:00
Interval 3: 7:03
Interval 4: 8:13 (only made it half way through this one)
-And just for kick I apparently ran the last mile at 7:03 (downhill). I guess that makes up for the 4th interval

Tomorrow's a rest day, and it's looking like Saturday morning might be rather chilly. There's even a chance of SNOW!!!! I miss snow!! I always liked walking around while it was snowing in Milwaukee (was there for 2 years for grad school). It's even better when I don't have to shovel it! Snow would be awesome. And yes, I'm totally going to be out there running in the snow if it happens (but not rain. If it's rain I'm staying inside! I might need to borrow someone's treadmill).