I tried two teachers. Being a teacher myself, my standards are quite high. It's great to be proficient cellist who plays in local orchestras, but if you can't teach (esp. beginners), then you're not much use to me.
Here's what I need:
someone who…. is organized;
….understands how a beginner approaches the instrument;
…. structures the lesson in a variety of ways;
…. is encouraging;
…. communicates well;
… gives homework.
My teacher is Marion Arthur and she is fabulous! In addition to all the above qualities I listed, she is relaxed and has a beautiful speaking voice.
In other news: Simon ran a race. His time? Coincidentally captured on camera:
20.19 for a 5 km. Not bad… He came in 2nd (out of 150?)
Margot and Simon spending some quality time on Father's Day:
Simon ran his second and last race of the season.
He started the season with the Ottawa Race Weekend in May and capped it off with the Army Race in September. 5 km is his type of race. Which is fantastic for me! I couldn't handle a husband who would train for a half-marathon. 5 km was perfect for him because he could go running with Margot for thirty minutes.
Margot and I enjoy being spectators. We have our cheering spot.
The Army Race was at 8am, so we were home and eating breakfast by 9:30am.
I don't really get running. I've tried. I can see it as meditation in motion, draining the brain after a hard day at work. I have felt its exhilarating effect. And I have to admit that a refreshing shower after a sweaty run feels great!
Just to show you that I'm not that into running: a few days ago I was going to go for my week 5 (out of my 9 weeks to a 5km) second run out of 3. Run 5/Walk 3 x 3. Ran 3 minutes and headed back home to do a power yoga dvd instead. What's up with that? While running for those 3 minutes, I could only think about doing yoga, so I decided to switch plans. Did I regret it? No. I needed to feel open and just wanted to do standing forward bends.
Jogging in moderation (i.e. 2 or 3 times a week) is healthy. It gets the body moving, pumps the heart, clears the head - all of those things you can get from yoga. But one thing that you can't get from yoga (or rarely) is being outdoors. I love being outside and jogging allowed me to take advantage of this beautiful September weather. However, I think that jogging in extreme weather and for more than an hour is crazy. That's obsessive.
Perhaps I shouldn't give up my "couch to 5km" training. As long as the weather is good and I find 30 minutes at the end of the day, maybe I should keep at it... hum...
