'Pace Yourself' is definitely wise advice to have followed over the last few days of searing temperatures in the UK!
Advice we were also given yesterday at St Albans Abbey, where we were running sound checks for our first show last night. "Some of you will be performing in three shows over the next 3 days, so pace yourself and look after your voices."
...and definitely advice we could have given ourselves 5 years ago, when we embarked on a couple of 'small' projects, never anticipating we would still be working on them 5 years later!
The thing is, even when I know I am entering a marathon rather than a sprint, sometimes I find it very challenging to curb my enthusiasm and motivation for anything I do - if something is worth doing, it is worth doing well, so giving any less than 100% in order to pace myself is less than easy!
So yes, I gave 100% in our first show last night, despite the high temperature...and I'm now wondering if I can retrospectively pace myself to ensure I give my all next time around, when our family are coming to see us perform.
I have learned some useful tips for future shows, including its OK to take my shoes off and sing in bare feet when performing on tiered staging...so at least my feet were well paced last night. I also learned its a good idea to listen to the advice of those who are far more experienced than I am...and pace myself.
Now I just need to work out how to do that!
I also learned that actually, pacing oneself is not about giving 100% at all times in terms of energy and enthusiasm...sometimes giving 100% is about getting the balance right so we can last the distance!