The Economy of Motion
When I was a kid I used to trip going up the stairs. Our piano was in the basement and since that was where I spent most of my time I often was running up the stairs to get places at the last minute. Only kid I know whose Mom told her she had practiced enough and to take a break. I would fall and then hear my Mom say half laughing - are you okay? I was always, just clumsy and would often laugh out loud too. I am a big boned gal with a bit of weighty heartiness to go along with those bones. I am not the most coordinated woman and there is nothing real subtle about me - not physically or emotionally. When I was in New Zealand and Italy, I stood out like a bit of a sore thumb - but here in Minnesota I am a regular old broad. People often say that I look familiar - yeppers - I a your average Scandinavian Minnesota Mix.
I am built for endurance. I like to exercise but I don't keep up with my siblings - a brother and sister who have qualified and run the Boston Marathon and my younger brother who was a dancer, a quarter back and pitcher and runner too. When I was in my early 30's I did a few years of training and participating in triathlons. Later I started trying to do more endurance running. I was never a racer and never cared about where I started or for that matter where I finished. I cared that I finished. I liked to register for the races where there were walkers too - I figured there might still be a chance for someone behind me at the finish line. For me the fact that I was out there doing anything seemed pretty amazing to me - so it is true that my expectations were low - but my goals were different than most people - I wanted to enjoy myself and see what I could do, any push past the last event was an accomplishment for me. I did some trail running and Mountain Biking. Much of what I read focused on the conservation of energy for these endurance events - perfect for a girl like me - economy of motion. You save it and you last.
You can imagine how this goes over with Gromit - the gangly white dog who is all about the sprint. At the dog parks people are always amazed when he catches their dog - I know he is big and lanky but he has caught all of them save the whippets. I have seen him outrun the ridge backs, the border collies, the Aussies, the dobermans, the weirmeraners, and the variety of retrievers we see at the park. He runs because he loves to run. When there is no one to run with he will go out and just race around the park in big circles - the meadow part, the swamp and through the woods. He makes me dizzy! Mind you he has run smack into a tree on occasion - because he didn't see where he was headed - so he may have a bit of a focus issue at times. And all that running - seems to give him more energy. He smiles and hangs his tongue out the dis of his mouth when he runs and he sounds like a galloping horse when he pounds on the grassy fields.
Chewie on the other hand - he runs full out for one thing and one thing only - the ball, his ball. His compact muscles sprint for only this. He races after that ball until he drops. He gets so hot I have to put my foot on the ball and pour water down him to get him to drink. He is powerful when he goes after his ball - head down, straight ahead and all four feet off the ground when he runs. He runs wth focus and drive and direction - and he never runs into anything.
On the other hand - when the ball is absent, his whole body goes into slow precise careful motions. He spends a lot of time sniffing and knocking things around before he ever puts a paw on them. He was a bit slow to start jumping - just not interested and really pretended not to see the jump - he would run around it and then sit looking expectantly at me waiting for his treat. I was scolded by my agility instructor this week for raising the jumps on Chewie. She says for a dog like Chewie everything has to be slow and fun. I have yet to see a dog with as much work drive look like they are enjoying their run - they are all so serious - almost clenching their jaws with focus... Chewie looks like he is tryng to hold on for the next thing and trying to anticipate how much energy he is going to need - and what is the very minimum he has to give out in order to get that kibble. When he finishes an exercise he lets go with a barking howl just to let go of all the pent up energy he has been hanging on to - conserving. In my defense I would like to say I watched Chewie jump like a Flipper when he and Gromit were competing over the same jumps for the cookie - he jumped at the top height with ease.
There are other things too - like the way he has perfected his jump onto furniture - he only leaps once and lands on his stomach so he doesn't have to move around, he can just lay his head down in place - ahhh, relax. Or the way he won't jump into the car - he prefers to be lifted into the car. Boy, he has no issue bolting out of the car. He likes to use the pillows for his head. He lays down to drink his water at the dog park - now that is true economy of motion.
I am built for endurance. I like to exercise but I don't keep up with my siblings - a brother and sister who have qualified and run the Boston Marathon and my younger brother who was a dancer, a quarter back and pitcher and runner too. When I was in my early 30's I did a few years of training and participating in triathlons. Later I started trying to do more endurance running. I was never a racer and never cared about where I started or for that matter where I finished. I cared that I finished. I liked to register for the races where there were walkers too - I figured there might still be a chance for someone behind me at the finish line. For me the fact that I was out there doing anything seemed pretty amazing to me - so it is true that my expectations were low - but my goals were different than most people - I wanted to enjoy myself and see what I could do, any push past the last event was an accomplishment for me. I did some trail running and Mountain Biking. Much of what I read focused on the conservation of energy for these endurance events - perfect for a girl like me - economy of motion. You save it and you last.
You can imagine how this goes over with Gromit - the gangly white dog who is all about the sprint. At the dog parks people are always amazed when he catches their dog - I know he is big and lanky but he has caught all of them save the whippets. I have seen him outrun the ridge backs, the border collies, the Aussies, the dobermans, the weirmeraners, and the variety of retrievers we see at the park. He runs because he loves to run. When there is no one to run with he will go out and just race around the park in big circles - the meadow part, the swamp and through the woods. He makes me dizzy! Mind you he has run smack into a tree on occasion - because he didn't see where he was headed - so he may have a bit of a focus issue at times. And all that running - seems to give him more energy. He smiles and hangs his tongue out the dis of his mouth when he runs and he sounds like a galloping horse when he pounds on the grassy fields.
Chewie on the other hand - he runs full out for one thing and one thing only - the ball, his ball. His compact muscles sprint for only this. He races after that ball until he drops. He gets so hot I have to put my foot on the ball and pour water down him to get him to drink. He is powerful when he goes after his ball - head down, straight ahead and all four feet off the ground when he runs. He runs wth focus and drive and direction - and he never runs into anything.
On the other hand - when the ball is absent, his whole body goes into slow precise careful motions. He spends a lot of time sniffing and knocking things around before he ever puts a paw on them. He was a bit slow to start jumping - just not interested and really pretended not to see the jump - he would run around it and then sit looking expectantly at me waiting for his treat. I was scolded by my agility instructor this week for raising the jumps on Chewie. She says for a dog like Chewie everything has to be slow and fun. I have yet to see a dog with as much work drive look like they are enjoying their run - they are all so serious - almost clenching their jaws with focus... Chewie looks like he is tryng to hold on for the next thing and trying to anticipate how much energy he is going to need - and what is the very minimum he has to give out in order to get that kibble. When he finishes an exercise he lets go with a barking howl just to let go of all the pent up energy he has been hanging on to - conserving. In my defense I would like to say I watched Chewie jump like a Flipper when he and Gromit were competing over the same jumps for the cookie - he jumped at the top height with ease.
There are other things too - like the way he has perfected his jump onto furniture - he only leaps once and lands on his stomach so he doesn't have to move around, he can just lay his head down in place - ahhh, relax. Or the way he won't jump into the car - he prefers to be lifted into the car. Boy, he has no issue bolting out of the car. He likes to use the pillows for his head. He lays down to drink his water at the dog park - now that is true economy of motion.
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