Creating a seasonal race schedule and planning your running goals is exciting, but it’s especially important to make staying injury-free a top priority. If you’ve spent more time in your slippers than your running shoes this winter, remember these three words: Take it slowly.

Follow Chi Running’s three-step formula for successful, pain-free Spring training: 

Step 1: Improve Technique
Take the first six weeks of training to work on your pain-free running technique. For starters, practice leaning slightly forward from your ankles, landing midfoot, and engaging your core muscles. On every run, pick two Form Focuses from the Chi Running book or Chi Running DVD to work on, and practice each running focus with as much precision as possible. Do Form Intervals to instill the technique in your body.

Step 2: Increase Distance
Increase your running mileage slowly so your body can adapt to running longer distances. Don’t increase your total weekly running mileage by more than 10% per week, and remember to refuel and rehydrate more often on your longer runs.

Step 3: Gain Speed
Speed will come easily if you lay a good aerobic base first. For the first six weeks of training, never run faster than your maximum aerobic heart rate. This will build your aerobic capacity so that when/if you add speed workouts to your training, your body will be able to easily handle the increased oxygen demand.

Running faster than your maximum aerobic heart rate actually inhibits the production of capillary beds in the lining of your lungs and in your muscles, so resist the temptation to run speedy workouts at first.

While a heart rate monitor will give you the most accurate reading, here’s how to roughly calculate your heart rate on your own:

• Go out for a run and, after a good warm-up, take your pulse (at your wrist or at your carotid artery on your neck) by counting your heart rate for 15 seconds and multiplying by four. This will give you your current heart rate.

To determine your maximum aerobic heart rate, follow this simple “180 Formula” created by running coach Phil Maffetone:

• Subtract your age from 180.
• If you are recovering from a major illness, surgery or on any medication, subtract 10.
• If you have not exercised before, or have been injured, regressing in your running,  often get colds, or you have allergies, subtract 5.
• If you have been exercising for up to two years with no real problems and have not had colds or flu more than once or twice a year, subtract 0.
• If you have been exercising for more than two years without any problems, making progress in competition without injury, add 5.

If you let your heart rate get close to, but does not exceed, your maximum aerobic heart rate, you'll find that your speed will gradually increase, but your effort level will remain the same. You’ll be able to begin running longer distances faster and without pain or injury - that’s quality Spring training.

I have found heart rate running training fits very well with Chi Running.  Gradual progress applies to this kind of running training and non-identification is key.  I have been practising Chi Running for nearly 6 years now, applying the running focuses (like midfoot strike, lean, etc.) is second nature to me.  However, that does not mean I still don’t have to work at it, it just makes it easier for me to be running while keeping an eye on heart rate too.  When I first started Chi Running I would not have felt ready to add something else into the mix too.  Practising my running technique alone and the process of re-wiring my body was more than enough to be getting on with!

What I have learnt over the last few months is that certain elements of my form will lower my heart rate.  If I let something slip like my cadence for instance, my heart rate will rise.  If I re-focus my heart will come back down again.  If I lose my alignment, it will rise, if I re-focus on staying tall and aligned, it will come back down again. 

Best of all running has become incredibly relaxing.  Mostly I believed I was relaxed when running but having taken a step back, I realise there are different levels of relaxation.  By allowing myself to run slower, perform each movement with the least amount of effort, I have been able to dig deeper and really tune into my body.

I am beginning to see the fruits of my labour as the pace increases for the same or even lower heart rate.  I am running most days, I do not feel fatigued in any way.  I usually want to keep going and when my run is over, I can’t wait to get back out for the next one!

Happy running.

Michelle

Clearly I must return to my home base of meditation, yoga and Buddhist thought to answer these concerns and why I think the simple act of running can help so much if approached from a different viewpoint. Before then, let us remind ourselves of the quantitative evidence about exercise, and specifically running and walking. 

There is clear physiological evidence that exercise is mentally good for us, seratonin levels rise and our 'feel good' outlook increases.  Exercise has lasting effects on us and is not isolated at the point of exercise so all this is a good thing.  I would, though, like to ask what motivates us to run? Do we approach running and exercise as an escape from our daily lives which are uneasy in terms of balance, relationships and direction? Do we use running as a sort of shield that needs thickening up on a regular basis from the daily onslaught of work, tasks and simple survival.  Is it possible for exercise and the act of running to develop clear thought and careful attention to detail in terms of work and relationships?  Can running do this? 

Jon Kabat-Zinn, in his book "Coming To Our Senses," points to a requirement in society to come to terms with our dis-ease. In the book he clearly details the benefits of mindfulness and the practice of meditation in developing this laser light awareness of breath, self and of a deeper awareness of others.  He suggests, I agree with him, that we are ill at ease with ourselves and the uneasiness is countered by busy-ness and distractions from the moment by moment issues that we all must face.

When you run are you dominated by thoughts of time, training and the next challenge?  Do you need these challenges to motivate yourself to  run?  What if there were no challenges at all. No T shirt or medal would you still run? Are you running to lose weight and look better?  I understand  completely about the benefits of training, competition and challenges. You can use these to hone your skills, improve your performances and do some great work for charity. But as a yogi, there are no competitions or performances only you.  The principles of yoga are based on alignment of the mind and body, yoking and tying the two together with the postures.  It is not about who is the most bendy, supplest and who looks good.  You focus on you and where you are at the moment.  Postures come alive with that focus on energy, breath and alignment.  What is interesting is that as you develop practice then this practice informs and changes your life.  You become present and aware of self and your surroundings.  You certainly become more in tune with people and resonate an awareness back.

So now we come to running and the development of this point in your running practice.  This though is my first point. Your running practice, not competing, not completing ... just the process of running.  Chi Running does focus on running form and the meaning of that in your running in terms of the biomechanics and efficiency however it also clearly stresses identifying clear signposts in your body to align and focus on.  Hence it equates in my eyes as a yoga posture with clear benefits equal to yoga.  Either way minimalist running insists that you must attend and be attentive to your running technique and feet.  You are more in tune with the environment and as a result more mindful and thoughtful.

Approaching running as a practice I have found that I naturally run more.  In running training terms, I have increased my volume for running but only as a natural consequence of form development and extending time spent running matched to aerobic improvement. This does parallel well with a yoga posture I know, and I have finally come to terms with it.  "Dog with head down" is, in yoga terms, a resting posture. When I first met this I could hardly keep the form for a minute!  It was so tiring and stressful. Now 15 years in, yes it is a resting posture, I understand the form and my body has conditioned itself to focus on the key elements that bring the posture together.  So there is the parallel with focusing on your form as a runner.  Fluency develops with time and provided you have the correct signposts at your disposal then your practice develops at the correct rate for you. 

The best effect of form running is that this does influence you outside of your running time. As you become more aware of your body and it's responsiveness to different environments, you become more acutely aware of your inner you (breathing) and how you respond and engage with the outer you (improved relationships, becoming calmer, focused, steady, etc.)

A lot to take in and I suppose it again may challenge some.  Finally if people were more mindful, compassionate and understanding would we be in this mess now?  It is such a shame but I have not heard those words being used in the very senior debate that world leaders are having regarding the world and it's economy. Perhaps they should try running?
 

Lifelong health and fitness requires personal acceptance of different phrases, like: use it or lose it – just keep moving – or, you’re only as old as you act.

Lifelong, pain-free fitness is a realistic goal, as long as you keep moving while you age. In this blog, I’d like to explore a couple of very doable approaches to physical activity that will certainly enhance one’s health and fitness and can be done at all ages: the Chi Walking tehcnique and Chi Walk-Run.

Before I say a few things about Chi Walking and Chi Walk-Run, I’d like to mention an interesting AARP pamphlet I read recently which was extolling the health benefits of walking including a clever 1913 quotation by George Trevelyan: “I have two doctors, my left leg and my right leg” - in other words “get up and walk” (and maybe you won’t even need a doctor!). I was also interested to see reference to a new National Institute on Aging “get off your duff” campaign called “Go4Life”. Clearly, these days there is more and more attention and interest in keeping older adults healthy, active and fit – and repeatedly, walking is seen as the best way to do so.

So, how do Chi Walking and Chi Walk-Run fit in the lifelong health and fitness equation? In my view, they are absolutely center stage and invaluable in terms of what these pioneering approaches can offer to help create a healthy and fit aging process. As we know, running, and even walking, can lead to injuries and can become difficult to do, especially for older adults. Chi Walking, Chi Running, and the new, integrated form called Chi Walk-Run move walking and running to new levels of effortless and injury-free movement. They share key ingredients derived from T'ai Chi having to do with alignment with nature, core strength and energy efficiency, all of which lead to an easier and lighter form of movement.

As one enters “older age”, Chi Walking and Chi Walk-Run may become the recreational and fitness workout activities of choice. The former may be the primary approach to aerobic and cardio fitness with its steady, one-foot-on-the-ground approach but the latter can offer variety and the intermittent increased intensity that comes with running even if the running is not much faster than the walking. As outlined in Danny Dreyer’s recent article about health, fitness and the heart, aerobic activity is the first priority in one’s fitness workouts with periodic cardio activity an important complement to it. Chi Walking and Chi Walk-Run offer opportunities for both aerobic and cardio exercise.

My personal experience as I have walked and run through 6+ decades of “the ages” leaves me committed to and optimistic about continuing to do so for the rest of my life. Over the past eight years as I have become a Chi Runner, Chi Walker and now a Chi Walk-Runner, I am even more convinced that I can meet my personal goal of lifelong, pain-free health and fitness. I intend to keep moving and do so with nature (gravity), ease and injury-free as I continue to move through the ages. Check out Chi Walking and Chi Walk-Run and give them a try. They sure are working for me!

• Lack of regular exercise – disallows the free flow of oxygen in your bloodstream which can compromise your immune system.
• Eating processed foods high in trans fats and hydrogenated oils – can thicken your blood, leaving plaque on the walls of veins and arteries, which in turn makes your heart work harder than it needs to.
• Stress and anxiety – increased levels of epinephrine which increases muscle tension, inhibits fat burning, raises blood pressure and increases your heart rate.
• Excessive consumption of alcohol and refined sugars – can compromise the immune system and inhibit the body’s production of dopamine (the sleep regulating neurochemical).

I am guilty of every one of these … at various periods during the year. But I make it a point to not make any of these culprits a regular part of my lifestyle. I do my best to avoid processed foods and refined sugar at all costs, but I still slip during holidays and festive events. I try instead to be mindful of how I’d like to experience life when I’m 80 years old, and it helps keep me on track with my moment-to-moment choices. Use whatever incentive works for you, but it will have more “bite” when you can tie it to quality of life and a real experience of how good you can feel.

Diet and exercise seem to be the two key factors in maintaining a healthy heart. I’m going to focus on exercise - pain-free running and walking -  and which workouts will do the most to insure your heart stays healthy for years to come.

Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise is important for building your body’s oxygen transport system, so that you can provide more oxygen to your muscles and organs with each breath. In Chi Running, the pain-free running and walking workouts that build this high-efficiency oxygen-transport system are aerobic workouts, done at a low-to-medium intensity level for relatively long periods of time. A good example would be LSD (Long Slow Distance) running or walking, where you’re moving along at a sustained effort level and elevated (but doable) heart rate for an extended period. This trains your body to burn a higher ratio of fat and conserve glycogen in order to remain mobile for extended periods. In the process, your body produces increased levels of serotonin (the “feel good” neurochemical) and dopamine (the sleep-regulating neurochemical). Increased amounts of the former help to calm the nerves; and increased levels of the latter help you sleep better. So, you can see why these two “anti-anxiety” neurochemicals can keep your life more calm and your heart healthy.

BUT, if you run or walk your aerobic workouts too fast, your body produces more epinephrine (the “fight or flight” neurochemical) which increases your heart rate and blood pressure (both of which overwork your heart) while inhibiting the production of serotonin and dopamine. Epinephrine also inhibits the burning of fat, and instead, increases the burning of glycogen as the primary fuel.

Another thing that happens when you do your longer pain-free running and walking workouts too fast is that your body produces endorphins which are a natural pain-killer. In one way, it’s good that your body has a way of managing the input from your pain sensors because, who likes to feel pain? But the downside is that when you can’t feel pain, you might have a tendency to over-work your muscles or over-train, which is very hard on your heart health, and can lower levels of dopamine in your system. One of the signs of over-training is having poor sleep habits.

The Cardio Workout
What is commonly called a Cardio Workout - running with shorter, faster bursts of speed - also helps to strengthen muscles and increase your range of motion. This is the workout to do if you aspire to be a faster runner or walker. Once a week the cardio workout of short fast intervals with a resting jog break in between is a great idea for the heart, but for the long haul (figuratively and literally) it is the aerobic workouts that are most important.

The American Heart Association recommends we do a minimum of 30-60 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise 3 - 4 days each week. If you’re walking, we recommend 5 times a week. One of your weekly workouts should be a 30-minute Cardio workout. The rest of your shorter runs can be 30-45 minutes of nice, comfortable running or walking. Then, do a weekly 60+ minute workout at a long slow distance pace.

A Healthy Heart
Here are some “healthy heart” numbers to shoot for:
RHR – Resting heart rate < 65 bpm
Blood pressure < 120/80
HDL > 40mg/dl (good cholesterol – the higher the better)
LDL < 100mg/d (bad cholesterol)
Heart Rate Recovery of at least X beats per minute

Here’s what these numbers mean:
Poor: less than 12 bpm recovery 
Fair: 12-20 bpm recovery
Good: 20-30 bpm recovery
Excellent: 30-40 bpm recovery
Outstanding: > 40 bpm recovery

(Note: Any recovery rate greater than 35 bpm means you have almost zero chance of sudden death by heart disease!)

Here are the at-home tests that you can use to check:
A.) your Resting Heart Rate and
To measure your RHR, take your pulse for 15 seconds, first thing in the morning (before getting out of bed) and multiply by 4. Log that information and check your RHR monthly. Your RHR should be 60-100 bpm depending on your age and physical condition (lower is better). If you have a RHR higher than 100 bpm you should consult your doctor.

B.) your Heart Rate Recovery. But, make sure you know and keep an eye on your blood pressure and cholesterol levels as well. All of these numbers should be recorded in your training log, so you can watch your progress week by week and track the effectiveness of your work. Your Heart Rate Recovery is how fast your heart rate decreases after exercise.

Do a 5-10 minute warm-up and then increase your heart rate by running or walking at a fast rate for 30 – 60 seconds.
Drop to a slow walk and immediately take your pulse (count for 15 seconds and multiple by 4). Immediately after your brief, high-intensity run/walk, take your heart rate. Then, take it again 2 minutes after. Add these two heartrates and divide by 2, and that is your average heartbeat recovery per minute.

We highly encourage you to monitor your progress in a fitness journal so you can verify the effectiveness of your pain-free running or walking fitness program. Tracking your progress also helps you to stay on track if you’re looking for long-term results like a lower cholesterol ratio, lower triglyceride levels, lower resting heart rate and lower BMI (Body Mass Index). Begin by getting a physical with all the accompanying blood work. This will give you your beginning benchmark to enter into your journal.

Follow every aspect of your fitness progress with the Chi Running/Chi Walking Daily Fitness Journal. Get a week-by-week workout plan with any of our pain-free running and walking training Programs, from 5K to a Marathon. You’ll get specific walking and running technique and training directions for each week and each workout, whether you Chi Walk, Chi Run, or Chi Walk-Run.

The health of your heart is in your hands. And by improving the health of your heart you will improve the quality of your whole life.

A few years later, after establishing my pain-free Chi Running practice, I returned to pool running to keep an injured friend company. One night another friend showed up, hopped in without a belt, and began running. In 12 feet of water. He chatted with me and ‘ran’ for almost an hour. Inspired to give it a go sans belt, I took mine off - and started to sink. Then I started thinking in terms of my posture, Needle in Cotton, and getting more aligned and relaxed. This was something the belt was supposed to do for me, but now that crutch was gone (does this sound like something you’ve heard regarding overly structured shoes?). As I engaged my core, all the way down from my pelvic floor, the water level moved to about my collarbone and I could talk, laugh and sing without fear of taking in water!

Chi Running focuses are really helpful in being able to run without a belt, and work on core engagement at the same time. Here is a quick recap of one of my deep water pool running sessions, using my running focuses. I start off easy (think: first gear), allowing my body to find its way in the water. I feel my column, and think about ‘sitting up in my chair’ and reaching for the sky with the crown of my head. As I begin to feel the water and get more comfortable, I add a very slight lean, feeling one long column from my feet to my ears. When I do this, speed happens, even if a little! I play with this back and forth. For a reality check, occasionally I relax my core (making sure I’m ready to go underwater!). As I start to sink, just realigning my column and engaging my core brings me back up.

Another focus to check is how much I’m depending on my arms to keep me afloat, versus my core. I allow my arms to float a little, and check in with my alignment, and if I sink, that’s a sign I’m over-using my arms, and not engaging my core enough. I also drop my shoulders away from my ears, just like on land, to keep the shoulders relaxed. The pelvic rotation is fun to feel in the water, and fairly easy to feel happening from the T12-L1 pivot point. Partly that’s because in swimming, that’s where the moment of kick happens. Relaxing the low back (breathe into it) allows me to feel that even more.

Keeping the focuses going in pool running make the transition back to the road even easier. Practicing those pain-free running focuses in the pool also alleviates the boredom and keeps me looking forward to the next session!  

I am a yogi first and a runner second, I happen to be a chi running instructor ,  Iyengar yoga student with 15 years experience and a keen tour cyclist. I do 'stuff' to keep myself fit,mentally, as well as physically.  I have, thanks to my PE and Maths teaching background, a lot of 'coaching awards'.  So I understand about technique, drills and performance related targets.  They do work but I believe there is a missing element when one only approaches exercise in this manner.

Let me first explain why I practice yoga.   I will then briefly discuss how I changed my running programme to fit my overall well being philosophy. I  can only give signposts here but I have recommendations for further reading at the end of this article.

When I first began yoga it was three weeks after we lost our first daughter to tragic circumstances. A friend recommended the class and to be honest I needed something after two years of all consuming care, hospitals and the ultimate decision any parent would wish to avoid.  I was, in a sense, I believe ripe for re-scripting my views on exercise.  I should explain that in my twenties I was somewhat of an exercise junkie, long distance swims, cycling, weights etc were all consumed with a desire and perhaps even a narcissistic passion.

My time in the armed forces demanded competition and physical exertion. Put these two together and you have a description of me of old.  Attending yoga class for the first few times I focused on the territory I knew and could achieve.  That being 'who is the bendiest, who can keep the pose for longest'. I attended with a group of three other men; we certainly enjoyed it but again the desire for fitness was all consuming.

To cut a long story very short, yoga is not about exercise.  Yoga is about gaining an understanding that mind and body unite together through the asanas (poses) which are bonded by the breath ( the wind of the instrument).  Over the years I have learnt to be compassionate and generous in practice. To still my mind and focus on the now, the moment.  The outcome of yoga permeates life and as a result I have to come to terms with what mental and physical well being means.  The problem with yoga is that benefits are not immediately apparent ( western minds again). We demand immediate results, the now and do not pay attention to the process.  Yoga demands that we evolve in practice and grow mentally, becoming more resilient to what life can and does throw at us.  I am not sure a pure exercise regime does that.

Now we come  to running, as much as I love yoga I also love to run. The joy in simply being outside ( I stress here natural trails, beaches and mountains)is a real stimulus and gives further balance.

This was not always the case and even when practicing yoga I would run in a more muscle orientated manner.  This was fine to about mile 15 but bad form would take it's toll and I would collapse with foot injuries, Achilles strains or muscle pain.  What I did not realise but do now is that yoga is, of course, practised in bare feet.  We focus on strong feet being the initiator of a good line through your body including your core.  By strapping my feet to heavy trainers I lost my connection with my feet;my breath became ragged and I defaulted back to 'muscle man running'.

 Understanding that minimalist/barefoot running is not  a fad but about tuning into your environment in a more natural and instinctive manner.  For example, your body makes micro adjustments when you run barefoot in the sand. I get most of my chi running students to do this exercise on my local beach.  As a result of forming a running practice that focuses on good form ( chi running) then distance finally speed one recognises that fluency in running is achieved by practicing slowly, correctly and persistently this then is finally transformed to speed ( I must digress, Mozart is reputed to have said 'it is easier to play quickly and make mistakes, but is that music?).

Let me now share some thoughts from Shunryu Suzuki a Zen practitioner and master.  The book is recommended for reading among others at the end of this article.   I will take a few of his short article headers  and amplify the point through to what I think about when I run. it may be challenging for some of you to see running in this way.  I will be honest with you, it was for me but I had had enough of battling with time/speed and a former me that was no longer relevant.

BEGINNERS MIND
In Japanese, the word "shoshin" means beginners mind.  Approaching your pain-free running technique in a beginner's way every day means stripping bare all misconceptions, failures and successes.  Practicing running means beginning again and focusing as you would as if you were learning fresh, from the beginning. Yes, learn from previous but do not cloud your mind in assumption of knowing.

BREATHING
Here I challenge you to observe every single breath when running.  View your in breath as entering your inner world, the out breath as entering the outer world.  Thin long breaths through your nose work so much better than through the mouth, if you are gasping for breath and breathing hard then you are past your edge, slow down and breath long and thin.  When you observe your breath in this manner you are in tune with you, and interestingly tension in shoulders, legs and arms disappears.  Even if you get a few seconds of this feeling you will understand its potential.  Barefoot running or minimalist running heightens this sensation and, as I have found, my feet relax through this breath and I run quieter, more controlled and in tune with my surroundings.

NOTHING SPECIAL
Running is a simple practice, if you practice it everyday you will feel the power of attaining nothing special! The challenge here is to realise that yoga and running I believe give us humility in practice.  When I finish a run or complete yoga practice I do not feel the need to speak.  I am nothing.  Our lives seem to about attaining things, wealth or stuff.  Have you ever thought about attaining nothing. Run with no desire to attain.  If you find this difficult run at least once a week with no Garmin, no landmarks, just you and your breath and observe the effects.

Of course I could go on and I will not attempt to replace thousands years of philosophy but I would like to leave you with a sentence or two from Erich Schiffman about effort and practice.  

"The hallmark of practice is wholeness, wholeheartedness, not being in conflict ... it is not about pushing through the pain or overcoming pain, no pain no gain.  If you are having to be brave and courageous in order to stoically withstand excessive intensity you are pushing too hard, you are fighting.  Never fight yourself, yoga/running is not about fighting.  Intensify when appropriate. Practice skilfully.  The optimum degree of intensity is the amount that elicits your fullest attention."

I hope this article makes you reflect on what running and practising running can be about.  It may challenge a few of you but  I believe that is a good thing.  Below is a brief bibliography of books that I have read and placed in order of 'flow'.  Enjoy!

RUNNING BOOKS:
Chi Running 2009. Danny Dreyer

YOGA AND MINDFULNESS:
Yoga the spirit and practice of moving into stillness. Erich Schiffman
Light on Yoga.  B K S Iyengar
Coming to our senses. Jon Kabat-Zinn
Buddhism without Beliefs.  Stephen Batchelor
The art of Happiness. HH Dalai Lama
Healing Anger: The power of patience form a Buddhist perspective HH Dalai Lama
Zen Mind, beginners mind. Shunryu Suzuki