Part of Anjali's plans for the Sports Day are to hopefully beat a couple of good athletes who run much faster than her. 'But they are so fast and beat me easily,' she said.
'Well you can practice a bit, get better and give them a good fight if you wish,' I said. She thought about it.
A few days ago she had started cycling in the morning every day. There is a clamour to eat fruits and vegetables and to sleep on time. Now she added another small routine.
Every day in the evening she dons her sports shoes and gets ready for a few sprints. She asks me to time her. I give her whatever advice I know - stretch, jog a bit - then get into the sprint. While sprinting get you hands pumping in the direction of your goal and not criss-cross, similarly with your legs, lift the leg up high, focus on the process.
So she marked her run, some 35 metres either way, run, turn and sprint back, on the road next to the house. Day 1, the first timing was 27 seconds. It improved to 24 and then 23 seconds in the same day. On Day 2, she went to 21. As days go by she has now steadied herself at 19 seconds. The sprint routine is part of her daily routines now. It's been about 10 days and there is a minor adjustment every day - hell or toe, soundless or with sound, shoe with laces or without, and everything has a small discussion.
I don't really know what will happen to the races but the fact that we could measure her improvement, see how the effort is paying off, see her working at a goal, is itself quite satisfying. In time she will enjoy the process more than the result and well, that's pretty close to being in bliss.
'Well you can practice a bit, get better and give them a good fight if you wish,' I said. She thought about it.
A few days ago she had started cycling in the morning every day. There is a clamour to eat fruits and vegetables and to sleep on time. Now she added another small routine.
Every day in the evening she dons her sports shoes and gets ready for a few sprints. She asks me to time her. I give her whatever advice I know - stretch, jog a bit - then get into the sprint. While sprinting get you hands pumping in the direction of your goal and not criss-cross, similarly with your legs, lift the leg up high, focus on the process.
So she marked her run, some 35 metres either way, run, turn and sprint back, on the road next to the house. Day 1, the first timing was 27 seconds. It improved to 24 and then 23 seconds in the same day. On Day 2, she went to 21. As days go by she has now steadied herself at 19 seconds. The sprint routine is part of her daily routines now. It's been about 10 days and there is a minor adjustment every day - hell or toe, soundless or with sound, shoe with laces or without, and everything has a small discussion.
I don't really know what will happen to the races but the fact that we could measure her improvement, see how the effort is paying off, see her working at a goal, is itself quite satisfying. In time she will enjoy the process more than the result and well, that's pretty close to being in bliss.
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