I’d venture to guess that if you’re like many regular runners, you have some semblance of a running program. You might have certain days you like to run or favorite running routes. Or, you go about your weekly training schedule getting in your weekly mileage and doing your best to stay healthy. But, how often do you actually work at getting better at your running? I’m not talking about getting in better shape; I’m talking about working to become a better runner…in whatever way that means for you: more relaxed, more efficient, being able to go farther or faster without increasing your effort level, maybe not having any injuries? For those of us who love to run, there’s a part of us that wishes we could keep running with no problems well into our later years. That’s why we made this app. If you’ve wanted to find a quicker and easier way to improve your running form, this is for you. 

The advantage to working with the ChiRunning App is that you have all of the ChiRunning lessons at your fingertips. You can instantly watch audio and video reminders of each of the ChiRunning focuses before heading out on your run.

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You’ll be able to design four basic workouts – Intervals, Tempo Run, Long Slow Distance Run and Custom Run – by preselecting which ChiRunning focuses you’d like to be reminded of during each workout. Then, the app will save your choices for next time, or until you update them.

Keeping tabs on your training progress will be easy with the tracking feature. At the end of your run it will give you all the stats you need to know: mileage, pace, elevation gain, calories burned, and give you a map of the course you run, complete with mile (kilometer) markers.

One of the best features of the app is having my voice guiding you through every run, telling you which focuses to practice and when. It’ll be hard to go wrong, and your learning curve will be drastically shortened.

This app is like having your own personal ChiRunning coach, showing you what to do, how it’s done, and why it’s important. 

Watch the ChiRunning App Trailer

The app is divided into two main sections: “The Guided Run” and “Chi Lessons.” I’d suggest going through the Chi Lessons first to help you set up the “framework” of your ChiRunning technique.

The Chi Lessons
In this section you’ll find short video clips, laid out in a nice sequential flow, of how to do all the Chi Running Form Focuses. You see lessons on Posture, Lean, Upper Body, Lower Body, Footstrike, Gears, Cadence, and much more… right up to Begin Running. It’s like having All-things-ChiRunning right there in your iPhone (Note: This first version of the ChiRunning App is compatible with iPhone. Android version will be out by fall of 2013).

The Chi Lessons also contain video clips for how to do the pre-run Body Looseners and the post-run stretches. We’ve got you totally covered, from your warm-up before you run to your recovery once you finish.

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The Guided Run
The second section of the app is the Guided Run, which, for me, is really the most exciting part of the app. We went a little crazy with the features for this part. The purpose of this section is to help you instill the ChiRunning Form Focuses in your body while you run.

There are five sub-categories to the Guided Run section: 1) Run Type, 2) Metronome, 3) Chi Focuses, 4) Body Looseners and 5) Post-run Stretches. This allows you to custom-design your own Guided Runs from beginning to end and store them as presets. In this way you can repeat each Guided Run until you can sense a good “body knowledge” of the Chi focuses, and how (and when) to use them.

1) Run Type – Preset four different workouts with the focuses you’d like to work on. The Run Types are: Intervals, Tempo run, Long Slow Distance and Custom.
2) Metronome – Set the metronome to your ideal cadence and practice running at all speeds with the same cadence. This teaches you how to use your “gears” and not overwork your legs. There are two sounds to choose from, and the range of the metronome is from 34 bpm to 220 bpm with options to emphasize every beat, every other beat, or every third beat, depending on what works best for you. Separate volume setting and on/off toggle.
3) Chi Focuses – 23 ChiRunning Focuses to choose from. Each one is a recording of my voice reminding you of what the focus is and its importance. In this section you can determine how many focuses you practice on any given run and set how often you are reminded of the focuses. They’ll play in sequential order and repeat at preselected intervals between 1 min. and 15 min. This feature can be toggled on/off and has a separate volume control. (If you listen to music while running, the music will fade while the focus is playing.)
4) Body Looseners – This feature has an on/off toggle and will automatically play sequential video clips of the complete Body Looseners routine before you begin running.
5) Post-Run Stretches – This feature allows you to choose and preset your favorite stretches. Then, it plays video reminders of your stretches at the end of your run.

Additional features include:

Help section – Where you can find the latest tips and tricks for using the app.
History – The app tracks and stores all your data from every run. This includes things like distance, overall time, pace, elevation gain, calories burned, a map of your route and a comment window where you can record notes after your workout. You can also share your workouts with friends on Facebook and Twitter.

As you can imagine, the possibilities this app offers, in terms of high quality training, are endless, regardless of your level of expertise or conditioning. Training for any race will take on a whole new level of mindfulness, preparedness and performance as the quality of your running becomes the focus of your workouts.

We put the app in happy running! Click here to get your app today. 

Watch the ChiRunning App Trailer

A primary focus of ChiRunning is quality; it’s great to get out and run, but it’s so much better for your body and mind when you run well. ChiRunning’s mission has always been to help people experience the joy of running for a lifetime, and we built the ChiRunning app to help you practice effortless, injury-free technique. You don’t have to worry about getting sidelined with injuries, and you come back from a run energized instead of exhausted and aching.

The ChiRunning app has some cool features: video lessons, a built-in metronome, and guided runs where I’m in your ear, giving you audio reminders the whole way (don’t worry – it’s easy to turn me off!) It’s like having your own ChiRunning coach running along with you.

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If you’re using an app to track your workouts, why not improve the quality of your running at the same time? Potential injuries are a threat to every runner, and the more resources we can give runners to prevent them, the better. Click here to learn more about the app features and how they can make your runs faster, easier and injury-free. 

Running never felt this good!
 

Whether you are new to running or a seasoned veteran, using a metronome can help you in many ways. As Danny Dreyer says, “Start out focusing on your form to build a strong running foundation.” Well, your running form is partially dependent on your cadence. Unless you have perfect rhythm, let a metronome set your cadence (how many times your feet hit the ground per minute).

A metronome is objective. It doesn’t lie and doesn’t get tired.

For the beginning runner, the metronome can help set up good running form. Using a metronome usually helps a new runner keep their strides shorter, making it less likely that the stride will lengthen in front of their bodies setting up a heel strike. The metronome can also have cardio-respiratory benefits. When you move your feet and legs faster your heart rate tends to rise. If a beginner can be patient and work in the 170 – 180 strides per minute (SPM) range , after several week the body tends to adapt to the legs and feet moving at that speed and the heart rate and breath rate begin to adjust downward. In the adaptation phase, the new runner should expect to take frequent walk breaks when heart/breath rates rises. A benefit with be breaking a sweat and burning more calories. As the beginner adapts to the metronome they will enjoy the benefits of less braking, better form, and will burn a bunch of calories.

For the seasoned runners a metronome can make you faster. Remember speed is a mathematical formula: 

Stride Length x Cadence = Speed.

Read any long distance running book and almost everyone agrees that 180 SPM is the gold standard. But running at 180 SPM for hours takes training. It took me almost a year to run an entire marathon at 180 SPM. The fact is, most people run at much lower/slower cadences. Imagine if each of your strides were 3 feet long, taking just 3 more strides per minutes would add 9 extra feet of road covered each minute. In 10 minutes you would cover an additional 90 feet, and in 1 hour 540 additional feet. This translates into speed, and by only taking 3 extra steps per minute.

Improve your personal practice with Danny's metronome of choice

Plus, the metronome helps you pay attention. I know it sounds tedious and many of you would rather run with music but remember, each song has a different tempo or cadence.  Yes, there are websites that say they mix their music so each song has the same tempo but it is pretty difficult to keep the songs sounding good as the pitch is increased or decreased.

Every race that I have set a personal record has been while I was using a metronome. When I get tired it reminds me to keep my feet moving to it’s exact cadence, rather than my foot turnover slowing down . It also reminds me to check in with my body and focus. It is a great tool to help you with your ChiRunning®. Give it a try.

Here are some pre-workout tips to help you get started:

• Dress warmly, but make sure you can still move easily. Wear light layers. 
• Do the Body Looseners to warm up before going outside. Go up and down the stairs a few times, or walk around the house briskly to get your circulation moving.
• While workout clothes are mostly functional, they can still represent your style. If you have clothes you like and you feel like yourself in them, you’ll be more likely to want to work out in them.
• When you’re dreading taking that first step outside, put yourself 10 minutes in the future – imagine yourself warmed up, endorphins flowing. You’ll feel great.

What to wear in mild/moderate cold (30°-50°):

• Don’t overdress. If you’re too bundled, you will overheat and become less efficient. You’ll also have to carry the extra gear you’re taking off when you get warm.
• Dress as though it is 20° warmer than it actually is. For 40°, I’d recommend shorts or light pants or leggings, a long-sleeve shirt, and some lightweight gloves and a headband to protect the extremities.
• If you get too warm, roll your gloves up to expose the palms to release heat, but keep your fingers covered. Tech shirt layers that have a short zipper are great for protecting the neck; when you warm up, just unzip it to let the trapped heat escape.

Master Instructor, Jeff Carnivale, gives tips to prevent overheating on winter runs. 

What to wear for temperatures under 30°:

• Running tights are great in temperatures between 20º and 55º, depending on how sensitive your legs are to the cold. If it’s below 20º, wear lightweight warm-up pants over your tights.
• Wear a hat made of fleece, wool (ideally with a non-wool lining on the inside of the headband) or some other wicking material. Our reversible fleece hat can be worn during workouts, and also while running errands.
• Cover your face if it’s below 20º. It’s important to protect your lungs from getting too much cold air to stay healthy.
• Smartwool socks will keep your feet cozy. A good way to block wind from freezing your toes is to cover the top of your socks with duct tape. Another option is to get some running shoes with Goretex uppers, which do the same thing.
• A thick, wicking, zip-front turtleneck top works great for any temperatures from 25º- 40º. If you have trouble maintaining body heat, you can add a lightweight nylon vest or jacket with a high collar. Jackets and vests also have pockets, which are handy for storing anything you take off.
• If you run in icy conditions often you might consider “equipping” your running shoes with ¼” sheet metal screws drilled into the bottoms, or you can use Yak Trax for more traction.

You don’t need a lot of fancy gear, but a few quality items will keep you comfortable and make winter workouts much more enjoyable. This season gives us a great opportunity to slow down, observe, and refine our technique. When Spring comes again, you’ll be ready to move your best self forward.

Two weeks ago, I decided to do something CRAZY. I purposely chose to run the Women’s Half Marathon in Phoenix without my Garmin!  CRAZY, right?! Here's why...

Well, for starters, this was my 3rd year running this race. Since it’s been the same course, last year I was dead set on having a PR (personal record). It was probably the worst race I ever ran. Did I achieve the PR? Yes, I did. As much as I am proud of that, it was a miserable race. All I kept doing the entire time during this race was check my GPS, making sure that I was staying ahead of my last PR. I hurried through water stations and mentally and physically pushed myself so hard that I did not enjoy the race at all. Plus, I was really sore a few days after, which told me I was not focusing on my ChiRunning form either.

It was a tough decision, which I did not make until the day before the 2012 race, but I decided to leave my Garmin at home this year. IT WAS ONE OF MY BEST RACES EVER! And, I had another PR!

As I had a chance to reflect on my race, here is what I have learned:

• Being in the present moment, as opposed to worrying about the final outcome, is a wonderful place to be. I have learned this through ChiRunning but also with my daily meditation practice (not only has meditation improved my life, but also my ChiRunning). It’s really true when they say; "it’s about the journey, not the destination." I focused on my form continuously and enjoyed every single moment. I thanked the volunteers, police officers, and spectators. I took in the beautiful weather and scenery that we have here in Arizona.

• Relaxation truly is the key. Since I was so relaxed mentally, this translated into physical relaxation. I stayed relaxed the entire time, even up the hills towards the end of the course. I stayed focused on my form and continually focused on my breathing to stay relaxed. I was shocked when I wasn’t sore one bit the next day!

• It’s not always about the numbers. When you are measuring something, it means you are going to do better or worse. What happens if we don’t improve? We tend to beat ourselves up which is not a good place to be. And what about those things that aren’t measurable? Like the beautiful scenery or those moments when you get to run with a friend you haven’t seen in awhile?

My bottom line:

Sure it’s great to push yourself to reach new goals in your running practice, but please don’t forget the reason why you run. One of the elements I love most about ChiRunning is having constant "AHA" moments. Not only "AHA" moments that affect your run, but more importantly that can be translated into your everyday life.

So try it one day:  let go of tracking your miles, your pace, or distance on your next run. 

Feel the freedom and love of ChiRunning, which really can’t be measured!

Lisa Pozzoni, Certified ChiRunning/ChiWalking Instructor in Arizona

http://www.EasyFitnessSolutions.com

In terms of making sure each walk is a valuable fitness workout, the best tool I use is a metronome. I walk almost every day, sometimes twice a day (thank heaven for our dog who nudges me out the door when I’m ambivalent) and I use the metronome for at least 3-4 walks a week. Otherwise, I slip into a slower pace and sloppy walking habits.

The metronome is especially important for ChiWalking because in ChiWalking, your stride length stays the same and your cadence changes as you go faster or slower. And, your pace may be different than someone else’s. For me, I really need to be walking at 140 strides per minute (spm) to get the kind of aerobic workout I need. It’s a good pace that I can hold for longer distance of 30-60 minutes or more. I start walking at 130 strides per minute and then build to and hold at 140 spm for the majority of the walk. For a longer hike of two hours or more, my cadence sets in at about 134 spm.

The metronome does more than just keep you moving at an aerobic pace. The steady rhythm quiets and focuses the mind and brings your walking form together. When you walk with the metronome you’ll feel your whole body working as one, rather than as separate parts: legs, arms, torso, and head.

The metronome is a fabulous tool to get an interval workout, which you want to do twice a week. The aerobic workouts are what will burn fat, but the interval workouts build strength in the most important muscle in your body – your heart. In an interval workout you can walk for 2-3 minutes at 140-150 strides per minute, or whatever pace elevates your breath and heart rate above an aerobic pace. You want to elevate, then lower your heart rate several times during the workout. Then lower your heart rate by walking at an aerobic cadence of 130-140 for 1-2 minutes. Warm up for five minutes, do 3-5 intervals and then cool off with a 5-10 minute aerobic walk.

Your metronome will keep you on task to keep your heart strong while keeping your body safe from injury and pain with good walking technique. 

I’d never heard of using a metronome for running, but I used it often, practicing with it regularly. Then, in 1999, when I began to teach the first ChiRunning classes, I tested it with students, and sure enough, I saw good runners get even better, and beginning runners began to look like experienced long distance runners.

Since then I have experimented with using the metronome to improve my own and my students’ running form. One thing I’ve found that helps me deeply relax and settle into a very comfortable and economical stride, is to synch my breath rate with my cadence. My normal stride rate (cadence) is 180 strides per minute (spm). When I’m out on a training run at a comfortable training pace I’ll set my metronome to beep at 60 bpm and I run with a “waltz step” where I hear a beep every third step, just like in a waltz. So, whatever your normal cadence is, just find your waltz tempo by dividing total steps per minute by three to get your setting. (i.e. 180 ÷ 3 = 60). It’s much more relaxing (and quiet) than listening to 180 beats every minute. (Note: I recommend 180 spm for runners with shorter legs, like mine, and 170 spm for you long-legged runners. It is less efficient for anyone to run with a cadence slower than 170 spm or faster than 180 spm.)

When I synch my breath rate to my cadence I can keep my body’s movements rhythmic and consistent, while I practice moving chi energy through my body in various pathways: up my spine, down my front, in figure eights throughout my body, gathering into my center, or issuing energy while running downhill as fast as I can (my favorite!).

Running is a license to have the best highs of life. I can come back from 2-3 hour runs more energized than when I left.

I was recently running a half marathon and felt myself losing energy around mile ten. After trying all the focuses I could think of I was still struggling to find my stride. Hey, it happens. Then, I turned my metronome on, and that was it. I regained my rhythm and shorter stride length and I soon felt energy move through my body again. I actually finished the race with energy to spare.

Here is one of my favorite metronome workouts. It’s simple. Do this as a hill or trail run (where you’re changing gears a lot), or as a flat run where you frequently change your gears (go faster or slower). The goal of this workout is to start your metronome at the beginning of the run and match your stride rate to the metronome no matter what gear you’re running in or what speed you’re going. Keep to the rhythm of that metronome as if your life depended on it. Allow your stride to open up out the back when you’re going faster or downhill in 3rd gear (has to be runnable down hills, not too steep). Shorten your stride for uphills to 1st or 2nd gear or just run in a lower gear on flats. No matter what, try to match the metronome with every step you take, and stay with a consistent cadence of 170-180 spm or 57-60 bpm if you’re doing the waltz tempo.

Aside from the metronome, it is also important to practice the basic ChiRunning form focuses. Your core needs to be engaged and your posture aligned. Your shoulders should be relaxed and your arms swinging in good form as you feel for the sweet spot of your lean. Do two of these form workouts a week and you’ll have fabulous running technique in no time.

Once you have the fundamentals the metronome will help take your running to the next level. How high and how far, I can’t say. I still feel like I’m just beginning to experience what’s possible.

I've been loving Chi Running in my new pair of Saucony Hattori shoes. Let me start by saying they fit like a glove with no weird lumps or pressure points anywhere. The uppers are soft and stretchy, but not sloppy. They allow my foot to move very naturally and I feel almost no restrictions in my movement.

They're zero-drop, and I'm guessing they have about a 6mm sole thickness... just enough to feel the ground without feeling every grain of sand.

The soles have a nice tread pattern that works great for trail running and pressure points under the big toe, the 1st metatarsal head and the heel are covered by a more dense type of rubber that effectively disallows any sharp objects from being felt. Along with this, there's a nice arch support which few minimal shoes seem to have. I like it.

There's a nice, thin Velcro strap across the instep that does a great job of holding my foot in place with no lateral slippage on rough terrain and with no feeling of constriction.

I prefer to run with these shoes on trails because my personal taste shifts toward a bit more sole thickness for road running. I've been using these shoes for t'ai chi as well and they're perfect for that.

These shoes are also a fabulous Chi Walking shoe for any terrain from sidewalks to trails. They'd even make a great water shoe.

All in all a really great, fun shoe. Oh, and did I mention that they're about as heavy as a whisper?

“I have a question...we live outside of Houston Tx and our evening temperatures, when we run, are around 95º+ with high humidity. We are trying to run within our heart rate zone and find that our heart rate goes up very quickly and we are forced to walk or run very, very slowly. Do we make adjustments for the heat or do we keep to the recommended heart and just walk if our heart rate goes too high? We are 55 and 60 years old, which gives our heart rate zones at 130bpm and 120bpm.”

My response:
I would first suggest, if at all possible, to switch your training time to early mornings, when the temperatures are at their lowest and your body is at its most rested state. Evenings are guaranteed to be hotter than mornings.

Secondly, I suggest Body Sense how you feel when running in normal temperatures in your ideal heart rate zone. What is your perceived rate of exertion (PRE) in more normal temperatures? Build a physical memory of that PRE and, when you’re running in particularly hot weather, match that effort level, but don’t lower your distance. If you’re running intervals, run your normal number of intervals, but run at the same PRE you would feel in cooler weather.

If you run with an HR monitor, ditch the device in hot weather and go by feel and you'll do much better. Running in the heat is hard enough, and worrying about staying within your heart rate zone just adds unnecessary mental work on top of an already uncomfortable situation. Your body always knows what is best. It’s your mind that complicates things.