March 4th, 2006

Chi-g:

With plans to run my first ultra race in July (Damn, Wakely Dam), I became a little focused on how best to train during the winter. First time efforts for winter strength/endurance building by way of snowshoe running and racing never panned out - during most of January and all of February there was more frost in my freezer then in all of NY! Two of the 3 snowshoe races I had entered were converted to trail runs; the 4th was canceled.

Mid-Janruary, on the advice of Marathon Jeannie, I picked up a copy of Danny Dreyer's, ChiRunning. By mid-February I had read and reread many sections of the book as I tried in vain to translate the concept from page to road - that seemingly elusive erect body-form with a slight tilt... bending only at the ankles... while running with a free-fall like forward motion... maintaining a cadence of 85 foot-strikes per minute, per foot... and, above all... without using your legs from the knees down to push-off and propel yourself forward. (I knew I needed some coaching.)

During Slammin' Sarah's high school winter break, we scheduled a 4-day trip to VA to visit the LaBella Clan. Weeks before heading south, I unsuccessfully tried to manipulate (with kindness) my way into a closed ChiRunning workshop outside DC the same weekend. When I learned I was 13th on the waiting list... all hopes for Chi-coaching vanished.

As LaBella Karma would dictate, the day before the workshop, I did get the nod. Having read the book and then tried running-Chi for over a month, I truly had an advantage over most of the participants. Danny led the group of 50 and I was happily Chi-critiqued!

March 5th:

I've learned some things from ChiRunning. First, I developed severe calf soreness during the ChiRunning workshop that persisted into most of the next week. In my post-woprkshop training week, I ran gently (45 min. jogs on an indoor track for three days) in hopes of (a) working through the soreness I assumed was triggered by my new Chi-tilt at the ankles (causing stretching/soreness to the calf muscles), and (b) practicing the monumental challenge of good Chi-form. By day-3, I had garnered good form and was able to "feel light" (almost, like having flight) as I teetered between leaning forward/backwards in front of my foot-strike zone to find my new center.

Secondly, I learned the value of a flexible shoe for ChiRunning. During pre-workshop efforts to ChiRun correctly I purchased a pair of Brooks cushioning shoes to replace my month old ASICS. Post-workshop running had improved my Chi-form, but bow I suffered from an annoying foot-slapping sound on each foot-strike. Then, I remembered Danny singling me out to demonstrate what a stiff shoe looked like. When I gave my Brooks and ASICS the ol' toebox flexibility test, there was only marginally better flex with the Brooks. Then... I compared those shoes with my new... yet to be driven... Salomon trail running shoes. Although stiff compared to the shoes Danny wore at the workshop, they were more flexible then my other two shoes. When I ran in the Salomons the difference on the road was incredible. Somewhat more flexible at the toe box, foot-slapping sounds were dampened and my foot actually transitioned through the foot-strike zone with more comfort. In the future, I'll be experimenting with an even more flexible shoe.

Yesterday I ran 20 miles. I was wearing my yet to be broken in, Salomon trail running shoes, and had used the metronome I purchased at the workshop to maintain a cadence of 85 foot-strikes per minute, per foot. I was thrilled to have completed the run with a 10:17 minute mile average pace. With reasonably good Chi-form, I felt like I had crossed a significant mile marker in my quest to run further and with greater ease. (You know... I'm going ultra!)