Meet 24 year old Chelsea from Boone, North Carolina …. her description of what it takes to be a violinist is absolutely awe-inspiring and educational. Running is her mind and body’s way of rejuvenating from the intense violin sessions. Amazing story!
I think it is hard to explain why I run without first explaining that I am a professional violinist. I started playing at the age of 3, after begging my parents for a year to let me start because I knew at that age that it was my life’s work, my passion, my career, my everything. My whole life since the age of three has been dedicated to pursuing my career as a violinist. This takes an immense amount of time, money, and dedication: to endure the highs and lows of praise versus rejection and countless overuse injuries.
Long distance running has always been a hobby for me, something I do by myself in my free time, because I never had the time to join a track team or running club knowing it would inevitably conflict with one of my many music rehearsals. Because I have only ever run alone, running is extremely personal to me: both a way for me to unwind and a way for me to challenge myself outside the world of music.
I took this year off from graduate school for various reasons. I have always dreamed of running a marathon, and I realized now is the time to actually make it happen! I immediately started training and registered for my first marathon. I have enjoyed explaining to my musician friends and family what it is like to train for a marathon because there are so many similarities to music that are helping me. Preparing for a recital, audition, or competition is much like preparing for a marathon. Like running, the practicing that leads up to the deadline is meant to increase one’s talent and endurance and is as important as the race or performance itself.
What might be the most interesting thing is the difference between practicing violin and running. When I practice violin, it takes a lot of physical and mental concentration because to improve, a musician can’t simply play the instrument. A violinist has to constantly read difficult music and simultaneously translate it to the instrument, all the while coming up with creative ideas for approaching the phrasing – two entirely different things. The former is very left-brain oriented, much like math, while the latter is very right-brain oriented and can’t be done properly without allowing oneself to experience every emotion known to man in order to turn notes on a page into music the way the composer intended. With the art of practicing the violin, my brain and fingers work at a mile a minute and if there is anything else on my mind unrelated to the music, I can’t accomplish anything because it takes so much focus. A good practice session is very intense and exhausting mentally, physically, and emotionally. I know I have accomplished something when after practicing, I feel I have nothing left to give because I gave it all to my violin. When in school, I typically practice 6-8 hours a day on top of 6-8 hours of rehearsal.
The art of running, for me, is the opposite. I can and do prepare to run with other thoughts on my mind and during the run, everything I was thinking about melts away and my mind becomes absolutely clear. I hear and feel the rhythm of my stride and breathing pattern and just focus on those natural sensations: It feels much like meditation. I finish a run feeling only physically tired but mentally and emotionally rejuvenated. Contrary to a violin practice session in which I start with a calm mind that is ready to focus and develop a very busy mind, running starts with a busy mind and restores it to being calm. This is why training for this marathon has been nothing but a gift to myself in which I enjoy, appreciate, and learn from every step I take, both in the training program and literally with my feet. 
Chelsea & Frodo
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