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Chi Running and my 10k race

by Tyler Hurst » on Dec 12, 2010 1

It’s been one week since I watched my first Chi Running video and seriously adopted as many principles as possible into my running. Just yesterday I ran a 10k, my longest run since my failed half marathon in L.A. on October 24, and I woke up this morning feeling oddly…good.

Now, I’m not pain free. The outside of my right foot is stiff, my right calf is tight but not painful and my left shin hurts a bit, but each of these spots feels more like lingering issues rather than new pain from yesterday’s fairly long run. My groin is also a bit tender and my lower back feels like I worked it pretty good yesterday.

BUT I HAVE NO PAIN. Seriously, I ran 6.2 miles in Bikila Five Fingers using Chi Running techniques and I don’t feel any pain in my IT bands, no real hurt in my calves or shins and nothing but normal stiffness everywhere else. I’m shocked. Here’s what I concentrated on yesterday:

Keep my feet pointed forward
Try as I might, I couldn’t always keep my feet pointed forward, as it was tough to do this while still relaxing my legs. Chi Running principles say I should be doing this in order to lessen the pressure on my knees, but when I turn my feet forward, my knees turn slightly inward, which doesn’t seem good either. Still, NO PAIN!

Keep my column straight
This was tough. My muscles that connect my pubic bone, lower ab muscles, are obviously in need of some work. I had a hard time keeping my pelvis level, which in turn made it hard to keep my body straight up and down. I slowed down a few times to a fast walk to reset, which helped tremendously.

Pick up my heels
Chi Running dictates that my feet should be peeled off of, and not push off, the ground. This was harder than I expected, as focusing on my heel too early made me want to over stride, but as long as I kept my lean going, I didn’t have to worry about it.

Run like you waltz
Yep, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3…counting this way enabled to to more easily keep to 85+ strides per minute and made running feel a bit more like the art it is rather than a grind simply to get the steps in. When I think of running in terms of dancing, my steps get lighter and quicker.

Body looseners work
I’ve always been a big proponent of stretching, but have never tried any looseners until this past week. I copied what Allison did in the next video and they worked pretty darn well.

Not bad for a week’s worth of training and instruction. Any questions or tips?

1 Comment

  1. Allison says:

    Tyler,
    I’m glad the videos were helpful for you! I love those body looseners. They really help and won’t let you pull a muscle like stretching can do before running. Glad your 10K went well!

    Allison

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