• Make a commitment to yourself to train 3 days a week. 
• Sign up with friends or family members so you can support each other during training.
• Think about whether you want to walk, run or walk/run the event and train accordingly. Use one of our 5K training programs to help you learn the techniques while building distance. 
• Start with whatever distance you can comfortably handle and add 10 minutes per week to each workout until the event.
• Practice your ChiWalking and/or ChiRunning technique to stay injury-free:
  • Good posture increases your lung capacity, makes deep breathing easier, and lightens your step.
  • Your lower abdominal muscles are your support system during movement. Focusing here will strengthen these muscles and keep you emotionally centered.
  • Practice relaxing during your walks or runs, especially your arms and legs. Use your workouts as a time to stop thinking about all you have to do and start feeling your own body and being.
  • Enjoy the outdoors and fresh air as much as possible.  A treadmill is a great alternative, but fresh air and open skies will lift your spirits and give you energy.
  • Think of moving forward with your upper body, your forehead and shoulders making a triangle with which you push the air in front of you. This will make walking or running easier than pulling yourself forward with your legs.
• Don’t use increased exercise as an excuse to eat more.

If you can't train for a Turkey Trot this year, make sure you take time to get outside, move, and breathe deeply. When you take a break from friends and family to quiet yourself, you’re much more likely to stay in tune with your body's needs, eat wisely, and reduce stress. This holiday season, make a commitment to yourself to gain peace of mind instead of pounds.

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Nonidentification (p. 122) - Meet your body on its own terms. At the start, I was tempted to try and stay with my friend (who is faster), but instead, I told her to run her race. My knee was more important! When the gun went off, as I ran easy, I checked in with my form, made adjustments, and settled into a nice floating feeling that comes with the lean. 

Gradual Progress (p. 37) - Let the run come to you. I started out slow and easy, and let my body warm up to the race. At about a half mile, I felt loose and really started enjoying the run. I felt aligned and relaxed and almost giddy as my body came into the run. This was a good idea to do this race!

Use your y'chi (p. 44) - direct the energy and movement through your eyes. The run along the bluff felt like a comfortably hard run, and there was a great view of Puget Sound. I allowed myself to look over at it now and then, but mostly, I directed my gaze forward down the road and let that pull me along. It really made the gradual uphill climb seem flat(ish), and helped me stay aligned and direct my chi forward.

Tap into your fire band  (p. 175, Chi Marathon book) - use your upper body to climb the hill; use your obliques. As the race progressed, and we came to the turn off the bluff, we hit our next hill (though we had sort of been climbing all along). I used my arms even more and added in the use of my obliques to drive up the hill. This made good use of my fire band and got me up the hill with relative ease.

Needle in Cotton (p.35) - lengthen your spine and engage your core. All that climbing eventually led to a downhill - a really steep downhill. As we started to descend, my first thought was 'gotta protect that knee from pounding!' The hill was a very steep descent, so I went into a grounding stance (p. 182-83 of the ChiRunning book), engaging my low abs to keep my pelvis stable, and rolled heel-to-toe down the hill until the descent leveled to a more runnable downhill. Keeping a lengthened spine and relaxing around that center, allowing pelvic rotation helped keep the weight off that knee and made my landing happen under instead of out front of my body. 

As I turned the corner to come to the finish, I did a quick posture check and then leaned into it. As my stride went out behind me instead of way out front, my knee thanked me for that. The bonus at the end was I placed third in my age group! All it took was staying mindful, body sensing, and applying Chi Running principles. I was grateful to have the tool box of focuses to allow me to run again. There's something to be said about those principles...

I have two babies, Jacob (now 3) and Cate (1.5).  I ran through each pregnancy, and continue to run with them every day.  It's non-negotiable time for me - for all of us - to get out doors, to clear our minds and to move.  In my 3 years of pushing a stroller, I've learned many things and here are the top 5:

5)  Breathe deep.  In my running practice I have been working on my exhale.  Getting everything out, and then allowing the inhale to happen naturally.  This relaxes and loosens my body (shocking how a little bit of oxygen can do that.....)  This has carried over into my every day.  If I'm stressed because we’re late, and frustrated trying to get the kids out the door with everything:  deep breath.  Fully exhale and allow that inhale.  This automatically relaxes me.  My shoulders drop, the tension seeps out and I can focus.  We may not be on time, but I feel better!

4)  Posture is king (or queen as the case may be).  If my posture is out of line while running, I feel it.  Same thing happens with my babies.  If I use my body to bear their weight - jutting out my hip to carry one or using my body weight or back to push the stroller - bad things happen.  My IT band and hips get to do work they weren't expecting.  My back aches.  I get tired more easily = impatient momma (no one likes her!).  If my posture is in line, I can go for hours  = happy momma (everyone LOVES her!).

3)  Listen to your body.  My body is my first cue when something is wrong.  When I'm running it's usually my shoulders creeping up near my ears with tension.  Funny, how the same thing happens when I'm frustrated at home.  I can feel tension seep in - and hence, I can also make an adjustment, relax and let it go. 

2)  Relax into it.  The more relaxed I am while I run, the better and easier it is.  My core does it’s job, while the smaller muscles go along for the ride.  I love that.  By the same token, the more relaxed I am as a mother, the better and easier it is.  I swear my kids can smell fear.  They can feel tension.  So I relax (mostly).  If we’re late, we’re late.  If the kids get sopping wet and dirty - we have a washer and dryer.  If I get it wrong, I’ll get a do-over another day.

1)  It’s a practice.  Running isn’t simply a workout for me - it’s a practice.  Something that I do every day and work diligently to get better at. I don't always get it right, but yet I get up every morning and try again.  The same thing is true of motherhood.  It’s something that I do every day.  I’ve learned not to expect perfection, to be patient, to be kind to myself and to my kids - even when it’s not easy.   The art of motherhood, much like the art of running, is a practice!

In the Chi techniques, various sections of the body are represented by these five elements. Your bones, ligaments and tendons are represented by the element Earth, which creates stability in your body and connection to the earth. Water represents the rotational movement of the pelvis, which allows the fluid motion of swinging of your arms and legs. The fire element can be felt in the power and energy of the core muscles. Your core is called the powerhouse in Pilates – for a good reason. In more advanced levels of ChiRunning® and ChiWalking®, you can use your oblique muscles to create more energy for moving forward. Air feeds fire, so in your lungs and breathing you can see the most important source of energy for the body. Ether is related to your mind and to chi energy. And, though they are both invisible and unmeasurable, they are the most powerful tools you have when it comes to moving your body. When you have a thought and your body responds immediately, the element of ether is at work, guided by your mind to move your body. 

Earth
As you learn the Chi techniques, you start from the ground up with good posture (earth). This provides your body stable support with every stride. If your posture is not aligned during the support phase of your stride (shoulders, hips and ankles in a straight line) you will rely too much on your muscles to support the weight of your body instead of your skeletal structure. This wastes valuable energy and you’ll tire more quickly. This is the first phase of learning the Chi techniques - earth-like stability.

Water
As you learn to run with good postural support, the next element to emulate is water, which will add some fluidity to your structure. This requires incorporating a level of relaxation into your stride. This takes a lot of practice, as most of us tend to hold tension in our pelvis and shoulders. Many of us try too hard and don’t allow the natural flow and flexibility of our body to create smooth, flowing movements. The ChiRunning Body Looseners will make a huge difference, as well as Body Sensing tension and learning to release it. Learning to relax is the crucial second stage - water-like fluidity. Water is especially important in the flight phase of your stride, when you want to allow for the greatest stretch and range of motion in your body.

The element of water is a lot about letting go. As water flows down a mountain and over a waterfall, it does not hold back. In the Chi techniques there is a sense of ease that needs to be developed in order to understand that you do not have to work hard to make movement happen. As you learn to trust the watery aspect of movement, you’ll go faster with less effort and reduce injury as well.

Fire
As you progress through these first two stages of your ChiRunning, it is important to keep in mind that until you fully feel the stability of earth and the fluidity of water, there is no point in focusing on the use of the core muscles (fire element) to enhance your movement. If you add fire to an unstable or overly rigid technique, you’ll be creating a recipe for injury. Forcing water down a twisted pipe can create a lot of problems. However, once you are moving with these two elements functioning well in our body, adding some heat and some fire can create a lot of power, especially by engaging your obliques. This is an advanced technique described in the Chi Marathon book in Chapter 9 Advanced Techniques, where you use the obliques to drive the pelvis which, in turn, drives the legs.  This allows you to “use” your legs for propulsion without using your leg muscles.

Air
When your skill with all the Chi techniques is at the stage where you can run comfortably and all of these first three elements are working like clockwork, the next ingredient for your running will be air. An interesting word associated with the breath is “inspiration,” which has a double meaning. The physical definition of inspiration is to inhale. The emotional definition is to be inspired, which is what your running or walking will be. At this level a practice session begins to feel more like a dance than a workout!

Ether
The last element to enter into your running or walking is ether. When your mind and body are integrated, just a thought can create truly effortless movement. In Chinese philosophy, moving and directing the flow of ether through your body is called Y-Chi, which can also be described as intention, where you direct the movement of your Chi to move your body.

The study of the elements is a great way to get a different feel for the Chi techniques. When you are feeling yourself stable yet fluid, learning to regulate the chi moving through your body, and getting to the place where an idea creates movement …anything is possible. 

I had some tests done at the time to determine my training zones and the aerobic zone is where I have done most of my running.  Although I have seen some improvements in pace for the same heart rate, there has not been enough for me to want to continue what I am doing.  Frankly, running was becoming less enjoyable and I couldn’t let that happen.  I may be busy trying to unleash my inner athlete but I also run for fun and the pure enjoyment of it.

I am still a huge fan of a heart rate training approach though and so have looked at other ways to use it.  I rarely race but as I mentioned in my last blog, I recently ran a 5k and have decided to use the maximum heart rate reached in that race as a basis for my training.  This has given me a few more beats per minute to work with and allows me to run more fluidly.  Most importantly for me, I am able to run without having to stop and walk because my HRM tells me I am no longer in the zone yet again.  This was soul destroying especially when you have put months of work into it.  Mentally, this has a negative effect and only causes your heart rate to rise in any case.

I am a tall long-legged creature.  Having to run as slowly as I did for a few months is fine but not on an ongoing basis.  My body was screaming at me to stretch out, increase the range of motion, run fast for goodness sake!

I was reminded recently by fellow instructor Ryan Miller about the four chi skills taught in Chi Running; too often, he said, the focus on running form is just on the mechanics.  I thought how right you are.  As a reminder to you, the four chi skills are: focus your mind; body sensing; breathing and relaxation.  Body sensing was the key one in making this decision.

Stay mindful of what you are doing and why.  Most importantly, listen to your own body, if after giving it your best shot something doesn’t feel right, change it.

Three weeks in, I am much happier with my running and enjoying this new phase of my training.  If you are training to heart rate, I would be really interested to hear your experience.

Happy running.

Michelle
 

Coach J-R here.

Since begining July 2012, I ceased coaching Chi Running full time to become a recruit Fire Fighter in the Northern Territory, Australia. This is an achievement of a life long goal that was hidden away somewhere, however the universe, it its mysterious way, lined up all the planets for this to happen at the age of 48, (and now since September, 49).

I am just about finished 4 months of basic training, which has been tough in many levels, physically, dealing with the intense and humid tropical heat in Darwin, learning a lot of theory with intense weekly theory and physical exams, as well as managing younger peers, mostly half my age! Also being away from my wife and cat, having to live 4500 kms away, in single accomodation (imagine army barracks) for basic training has been all very challenging, (but fun of course). However, now, 4 weeks before graduation day and my first posting onto one of the Darwin Fire stations and what will be my first real baptism of fire on the fire ground, I would just like to keep you informed of how ChiRunning has so very much helped me during my training.

Those who know me are surely aware of my strong belief and practique in ChiRunning since 2006, whether teaching or running myself, whichever the distance or discipline.

However during basic training it has been so evident to me, and so damned helpful, that any of the ChiRunning skills, any of the ChiRunning technqiues that make up the big picture of ChiRunning have made the physical side of basic training a much lesser burden, especially at the ripe young age of 49!

A particular example that I will share with you, is the benefits of the lean and arm swing when running up stairs (up hill).

One of our regular benchmark tests is  wearing full Fire fighter turn out gear, boots and helmet, breathing apparatus (air tanks and masks) (all together nearly an extra 20 kgs), we get to run up 37 flights of stairs (about 12 stairs/steps per flight), and then run down, then run up again, and again... The great benefit of just running up with a slight lean to the side from the ankles, using that opposite arm to swing and take you up the stairs, landing midfoot, and just cruising up the stairs to the top, I found that I could just keep going on and on! Meanwhile, my younger colleagues who are just as fit (certainly younger, thus should be  fitter), really stomp and grind their way up the stairs and suffer with cramp, sore legs in the afternoon/next day.                                                                               However thanks to ChiRunning, I do not and could do it all over again. It is all about using less effort, thus less air from my air tank, and thus being able to stay autonome for longer to save lifes, which is ultimatly, one of the goals of the training. I could go on as well about the sand dune hill reps, the MSFT, intervals and charged hose drags, stretcher carries etc, in which I have always used many of the far reaching principles & techniques of ChiRunning, be it working with the flow of my chi, cadence, or just staying aligned in sprint intervals, or dragging a charged fire hose (weighing over 100kgs) over distance, or any of the many many other challenges and drills that we are faced with daily.

I have of course  tried to pass on some basic tips on ChiRunning to my fellow recruits, however despite the proof in front of their eyes, they seem to prefer going the hard yard to achieve less and enjoy the pain and injury more! Such is life

As I near the end of basic training, I am preparing to take up back coaching ChiRunning, although now part time, here in Darwin, and eventually elsewhere in Australia as the demand arises as before.

So wether you are "old" or  "new" to ChiRunning, wether as an instructor or as a ChiRunner, I do encourage you to explore the many possibilities that ChiRunning has to offer, not just limiting it to running. If you play soccer, football, do bootcamps, whatever your discipline, if you are maybe joiningthe army or other, ChiRunning can help you in so many ways that it allows you to to achieve your best, (faster if thats your thing), allows you to  enjoy a faster recovery, not to mention the avoidance of  injuries and physical strains/drains on the body, and go again, again and again!

I will see some of you at the CRIT in Singapore, where one of my proteges that I have trained as a potential CR instructor over the last year will be attending, and also of course, in November in Asheville.

Take care everyone, with my best wishes

J-R Campion

Darwin, Australia

http://www.vortexperformancesports.com