At what point does a race become a Ryanair Race? A race that calls itself one thing but actually takes place somewhere else? Like the Edinburgh Marathon, where most of the miles are in Musselborough. Or this year’s Kirkintilloch 12k which starts at the end of Kirkintilloch and takes a detour through Moodiesburn?

Not that it should have been in Moodiesburn. This year, due to building work on the route, the course had to be altered to avoid a closed section of road. This wasn’t a surprise to me as I’d run the race route a few weeks before and had thought then that the race might even be cancelled. Instead, the route was changed so that the race could go ahead.

While it was disappointing not to run the same route and compare my time against previous attempts, it did mean that whatever time I ran was a new personal best. Result.

The change of route also meant that the two steepest climbs were omitted. The race is known for being a hilly race, with 7 climbs in 12 KM. But although the organisers promised the new route would match the climbs, the new section was much flatter and easier.

As always the race was well organised and there was a good selection of treats at the finishing line. And, unlike Ryanair, the treats were free.

I cannot play any of these songs. Or any part of any of these songs.

But I did try this, and it worked. 

In my two previous January challenges – 31 days of fitness and 31 days of stretching - by the time I got to this point I was starting together into a routine… and into a rut. Not another run! Not another yoga pose!

But, at this point, it doesn’t feel like a chore to play the piano. It remains fun. It’s something I look forward to doing when I get home. And it still doesn’t feel like homework, even if the musical theory is now looking at more than just what the black blobs on a music sheet are called.

It turns out I like banging away at chords. I’m now spending more time just randomly playing patterns of chords than following the app itself. I’m not sure if this is a good or a bad thing.

I think it’s good to practice myself and see what I can learn by trying different rhythms, different keys and hearing the difference it makes (usually awful). But am I getting into bad patterns that will hamper me later?

For the moment, I’m going with it’s good to noodle. Elton John didn’t have an app. Lang Lang doesn’t take an iPad out when he wants to practice. So why should I?

(Obvious answer – because they have years of experience and I have only a couple of weeks).

I’m going to be number one!

But first I need to learn how play chords. So far I’ve been playing with my right hand and learning the essentials of how to read sheet music. Today, I have to chose. I can continue with essential skills or I can change course on Simply Piano to learn about pop chords.

The choice is easy – I’m going to be number 1 and all I need is “three chords and the truth”!

However as three chords and the truth is considered to be the basis for all country songs, I might also need a stetson, a heartbreak, a truck, a Bud, a hometown gal and the Good Lord above. None of which are offered in the app.

My number one might be a long time off yet.

I now know the basics of reading sheet music. And by basics I mean that as long as the sheet music shows a single note I think I can work out how to play it. If it shows anything more complicated, then it might be a language I recognise, like English, but spoken by someone from Aberdeen in a broadest Doric, fit like. Incomprehensible.

I like the fact the app tries to teach both theory and practice. But I don’t know how well it does this as I’ve nothing to compare it too.

They say that if you learn a foreign language then you pick up the accent of the person who teaches you it. So, if you learn English from an Aberdonian you will pick up their accent too. You won’t sound like a BBC newsreader, you’ll sound like a sheep farmer.

For all I know, the app could be teaching me to sound like a sheep farmer rather than Elton John. But I am enjoying it and it provides a useful guide to progress as I can see that songs and concepts are becoming more complicated as I progress through it. Just don’t ask me to read more than one note.