Feel the (moderate) burn!

While visiting a good friend of mine and fellow horn player last week, I was whining/fretting about the fact that, though nothing catastrophic has happened yet, I feel like my endurance is less than stellar lately.  For me to get through a demanding chamber music program, like I had to recently and have to again in the very near future, I have to be totally fresh, have barely played that day or even the day before ideally, and feel really warmed-up.  But in the big professional world of NYC, that's not an option with dress rehearsals and sound checks and gigs the morning of.  Girl's gotsta pay the bills. 
So my wise and cheerful friend who has extremely demanding chamber programs of his own, gave me his secret to endurance success: practice a lot.  Like, really a lot.  (For brass players).  Like 5 hours a day for the week or two leading up to the performance.  This really hit home for me.  I mean, I practice very consistently and a decent amount for someone who's no longer in school: usually 2-3 hours.  But 5?  That's a whole 'nother ball game.  A ball game of serious muscle. 
(Speaking of muscle, my friend even does straight-up face pilates, basically stretching and stasis exercises for the embouchure muscles.)

Though I missed the boat on the whole two weeks before the big show intensity cuz I was too busy eating ice cream for breakfast and having beer for lunch with afore-mentioned friend,

"Practicing's just a crutch for the talentless, right?"

I have been trying to pump it up this last week and a half.  And I gotta say, though it sucks cuz it hurts and cuz I sound OMG bad by hour three, it also feels good.
So much of my relationship with music has become intellectual in the last few years- mental practice, detailed analysis, trying to verbally explain something to a student.  It feels good to just think about MUSCLES.  I'm like an athlete in training!...for something extremely nerdy that very few people will watch. 

Though I have mixed feelings about the raw-egg smoothie before concerts.

The only downside is, for brass players in general and yours truly in particular, there is quite a small distance between feeling strong and powerful and ready to take on any long tone you throw at me, and feeling exhausted and weak and like I just want to soak my lips in a bathtub of hot chocolate.  But I'm headed for 30 hours of rehearsal of a not-easy piece in the next five days, so at this point, it's just a matter of trusting my muscles (and rocking out to "Eye of the Tiger" at every rehearsal break).