Today the plan said I needed to run for 40 minutes. Since the weather has radically changed recently from sunny and nice to foggy and freezing, I decided to do it at the gym and avoid the much dreaded itchy leg syndrome. I was also looking forward to trying out something from a new book I got about running, Chi Running by Danny Dreyer, and I thought I might be a lot less fumbly on a treadmill than tripping along a treacherous sidewalk.
Has anyone else heard of Chi Running? Apparently he has been in Runner's World and is a well known coach and running teacher from San Francisco. Anyway the basic idea is using the core, as in Tai Chi, yoga, or Pilates, while running, which should improve your running form and drastically reduce injuries. Having done both yoga and Tai Chi I was intrigued when I saw this in the bookstore! I also thought it might be something for Stefaan to try to possibly eliminate his knee pain. It's a very interesting theory.
There are several techniques he advocates, and he also suggests that you work on one at a time, until you become proficient at it, before moving on to another one. One of the techniques he recommends is leaning forward while running instead of being more upright, which is what I was trying out today on the treadmill. The theory (which is explained in detail in the book) is that the force of gravity will pull you forward and you will therefore have to use less muscle power for running. You have to keep your ears, shoulders, hips and ankles in a straight line, so it is not like you are bending over at the waist, just leaning gently forward.
I must admit, it felt kind of weird and I was so busy concentrating on it at certain moments that I almost felt a bit light-headed, but I do think it made my run seem a bit easier. I ended up doing 5.8 km in the 40 minutes. I'm going to keep trying the Chi Running techniques, if anyone else has any experience with it, I'd love to hear about it.
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3 comments:
It will be interesting to see how it works out for you! Keep us posted!
Amy, your post peaked my interest. I'd heard of it only in passing. I found this instructional clip on YouTube and gave it a try last night on the treadmill. Instantly I could tell that I wasn't pounding my heel on impact, and it did seem that it made my gait a bit smoother. I'll have to check out the book and see what it says.
Here's the clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UYkAB18wgs
Topher, thanks for the tip on the clip, it is interesting after having read the book to see someone demonstrate it in a video. I think the whole theory makes a lot of sense, but applying it is very subtle and I find it sometimes hard to tell if I am doing it correctly. Jenny and I decided we are going to film each other running next time we're together like he suggests in the book!
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