Proprioception!

When I awoke this morning and went to the washroom, I heard a muffled "woof" from Dojo, which was actually his way of stating that based on his "chowkidari" there is an intruder in the house. I quietly admonished him about his inability to distinguish between "da-da and an intruder":-) He promptly gave a soft wimper and turned over on his back for a customary tickle on the belly. I laughed at this cheeky gesture of his; actually extracting a truce from me, when he was the one that displayed insolence:-)

My "speedwork" was being done a day late because I'd found that I was coming down with a cold which I attributed to a combination of sleep deficit, stress and the 20 miler I'd done last weekend. My cautious approach actually worked cause I felt a bit stronger today and the "sniffles" had reduced. I wore a double vest; something I'd picked up when I was in Malaysia and set out for another "rock-n-roll" session:-)

As I jogged slowly to Aarey Colony in the dark, I realized with dismay that my stop-watch was not on my wrist! I stopped and contemplated walking back to look for it in case it had fallen off my hand. I realized the futility of this time-wasting notion and dejectedly jogged to my starting point. Damn!! I hoped that I'd forgotten to wear my watch cause I would be very depressed if I lost this particular one. It has helped me track 11 marathons! This was the first time in probably 8 yrs, that I'd have forgotten to wear my stop-watch. How does one do speed-work without a stop watch? "Elementary my dear Watson"!

I have been doing distance running for a while now and have come to understand the "feel" for various paces. The body learns this thru' a process called "proprioception" - kinesthetic awarness of space, direction and velocity (gymnasts, figure-skaters and ballet dancers have a special gift). And so my dear friends I ran 9.6K at what I think was a 99% approximation for my "tempo" pace:-))) It is amazing how, over the years I've learned the fine art of tailoring work-outs at the last minute! Dan, stop it now; you are supposed to be the modest type:-) Well, I reached home with heart palpitations that had less to do with my tough work out and more to do with the prospect of not finding my beloved watch. I entered my home and went straight to the bed-side table and Voila!; there it was lying just as I'd left it the night before. Lucky Dan! I wish I could call myself "Steely Dan" cause its my favorite Jazz group.