Chi Running and YouTube

As I've mentioned before, I was recently introduced to the concept/technique of ChiRunning. After having read the book and tried out using some of the ideas, I really liked it. Being a person who likes to find out all there is to find out about a subject, I started researching on the internet about ChiRunning.

First, I found a group on Sparkpeople.com dedicated to people who run using the Chi Running technique. While reading through various threads on that team, I came across a post which mentioned Chi Running videos on Youtube.

In my initial searches, I had not come across any videos. But once I saw that there were some, I of course had to head over to Youtube and see what I could find.

There actually are a good bit of videos on Youtube related to Chi Running or Chi Walking. The author even has quite a few video blogs where he explains in great detail about proper posture, and how to stop from over/under pronating, along with other subjects.

Those videos were very interesting to watch, but there was one video in particular which I found quite fascinating, and cemented for me that I want to learn how to run like this. It is a video showing the top (elite) male and female runners in the 2008 Boston Marathon. If you decide to watch it, it does start out a bit slow, but the analysis of how the top runners use their form to almost appear as though they are flying through the air, is well worth the time.

Trying Out A New Running Technique: Chi Running

A lady at the gym where I work at (and workout with) and I were talking about running a few weeks ago. She was telling me about how she'd had some bad injuries from running too much, and had been told to stop. Well, she wasn't too enthused about that idea, so she started to look for ways to make it possible for her to keep running.

What she found was a book called ChiRunning. It proposes a technique where you used your "Chi" and core muscles to propel you forward, rather than the normal heel strike & push off from the toes. The concept sounded quite interesting to me, especially since the book claims that if you run using this technique, you will be injury free.

However, I wasn't so enthused about the whole concept of "Chi." I'm not exactly into all that middle eastern religion philosophy. She told me she wasn't either, but was able to get past it and find the good stuff.

So, with my interest piqued, I borrowed it from the library. It came in this past Friday, and I finished reading it today. However I had read enough of it by this morning to try it somewhat with my morning run.

I will have to say that I think it has a lot of potential. In fact, I probably am going to end up buying the book so that I can mark it up.

Today's workout:

Type: Endurance run
Place: Treadmill
Time: 50 minutes
Pace: 14 mpm
Distance: 3.55 miles
Plan: Warmup: 5 minutes 3.0 mph (.25 mile)
Workout: 5 minutes 3.7 mph; 5 minutes 4.2 mph (3.25 miles)
Cooldown: 3 minutes 3.5 mph; 2 minutes 3.0 mph (.30 miles)
Strength Training: Focused on legs (squats, lunges, split squats, etc.)

Thoughts:

I don't think it was a good idea to do leg work after an endurance run. :) I was actually trying to keep my pace at 15 mpm, but despite my best intentions, there were a few times where I let myself go at the faster pace for a *smidgen* longer than planned, which then of course made me have to shorten the slower pace.

Chi thoughts: One concept from the book which I really liked, and could have used in my workout today was the idea of not making result oriented goals. For example, in today's workout my goal was just to keep going for a full 50 minutes and not worry about achieving a certain distance. I have a really really hard time with that. I like seeing how far I've gone. But if I'm going to be able to keep good form (so as to not injure myself!) then I really need to be able to let go of the need for a certain distance, and just focus on the correct form and pacing.