I have to admit, treadmill running is not my favorite. Regardless, I needed a good run. My day at the gym started on the treadmill with 2 miles of progressive pacing with treadmill angled at 1.5% grade. I watched my reflection in the TV screen (off) and followed my image to see if I was bouncing up and down, or swaying side to side. I tried to Body Sense what technique change made the biggest difference (pelvic rotation had a distinct effect on any bouncing). Another check-in I did was to look at a side-view mirror to see if both heels were coming up symmetrically (my left foot can be lazy and not float as high as the right). And, I tried to feel for the correct angle of slope on the conveyor belt that created the same tension on my achilles tendon as when I'm running on flat roads. I also spent some time practicing my pelvic rotation. Keep these Focuses in mind next time you’re forced to run on the treadmill.

Then, to the Spin bike. I raised the seat post to where my toes were just able to stay with the pedals and used the toe clip/straps so that I could pull up on the pedals. Then I did 1-minute heel-lifting drills at 90 rpm, using no downward pressure on the pedals (lifting only), followed by 30sec. of resting spin @90 rpm. Did 5 intervals (building up to ten would be suggested). Sat upright in the seat throughout the entire set of drills to allow the hip flexors to open up after contracting them on the pull-up. This is a great workout and perfect for triathletes wanting to practice T-2 from the bike to the run. Lifting on the pedals for the last 200 meters of the bike leg will prepare your body for the run by firing the hip flexors, relaxing the lower legs, and setting the cadence at 90 spm as you take off on your run.

After the bike, I went into an adjoining mirror-lined room and did 15 minutes of t'ai chi, which really brings my whole body into a sense of quiet unison.

Finally, I went to the pool and swam 20 laps working on the following focuses: relaxing my arms as I bring them forward and into the water; not initiating the pull stroke until my other hand enters the water. Lengthening my posture line and keeping the crown of my head pointing forward at all times. Relaxing my legs as much as possible and using them only minimally.

I came away feeling that wonderful sense of “pleasant fatigue” having had a very full-bodied workout. It felt so good, I’m thinking of trying to get one of these workouts in at least twice a week. As I get in better shape on the bike and the swim (my weak areas) I’ll be able to increase the intervals and/or the intensity. Who knows I might someday try a TRI!
 

People ask me all the time, “So, what does it feel like when you’re doing Chi Running?” That’s a fair enough question. So, what I tell them is…”I don’t feel a thing.” Here’s what I mean by that statement: I don’t feel my muscles working. I don’t feel the impact on my legs, knees and hips. I don’t feel myself overworking. I don’t feel myself getting out of breath. I don’t feel pain anywhere in my body. I don’t feel physical effort. Like I said… I don’t feel a thing.

So, if someone were to ask me, “So, what would your ideal shoe feel like?” I’d prefer an answer very similar to the previous question: I don’t feel any lumps or unevenness under my feet. I don’t feel any stiffness in the shoe. I don’t feel any restriction of movement and I don’t feel any irritation or hot spots. I don’t feel their weight. Basically, I want to feel like I don’t have any shoes on, except that I don't wince with every little rock and pebble I happen to step on. So, when I put on a pair of shoes, I don’t want to feel anything from the shoes. I want a shoe that allows my body the total freedom to be itself so I can actually feel how I feel when I’m running… not how the shoe wants me to feel.

The Stem shoe comes pretty darn close to meeting the high demands of my tender toes.

Toe box: I found the Stem shoes to have the perfect toe box. It’s a great shape and conforms well to my 4E foot, yet has plenty of adjustment for narrower feet. There’s plenty of room to spread my toes and they’re more flexible than 99% of all the shoes out there. The interior of the shoe is smooth and seamless … perfect for going with or without socks. I don’t feel any sense of binding or irritation anywhere on my foot … a huge plus for long distance running.

Sole: The Stem shoes have good traction and a very efficient lug pattern on the sole which allows the sole to have a multi-directional flexibility, just like your foot. I like the roundedness of the heal because it allows for a much softer footstrike when walking and a nice transition into a midfoot stance. The only drawback I see with the tread pattern is on trails, the independence of the lugs on the sole accentuates the feel of all the little lumps and bumps in the trail. I alleviated this by using an insert, which spread out the impact over a wider area and reduced the sharpness of landing on a pebble.

Uppers: The lacing system is excellent … couldn’t ask for better, and the ventilation is decent. The insides of the shoes tend to pick up debris because the ankle collar flares out as the shoe flexes and opens up the inside of the shoe to debris. The only other small drawback is that the side walls of the shoe’s sole are so low that water can get into the shoes very easily. I’m sure if there is a Stem trail shoe, a higher sidewall will be added.

Overall impression: Very comfortable and easy to run in. They’re great on smooth surfaces and one of my favorites for an every day kick-around shoe. Not one of my favorites for trail running because of the lack of a membrane to disperse the impact pressure of rocks and gravel. A certain amount of feeling the ground is good for proprioception, but these shoes seem to magnifying the sense of the ground. I prefer a little more cushioning than the basic shoes I have, so I use an insert.

Fabulous company to work with and excellent customer service. I’m thrilled to see someone take on the big box minimalist companies and make a shoe that does everything a Vibram does without making your feet and toes feel claustrophobic and everything a VivoBarefoot does without costing and arm and a leg.  

And there were definitely crowds. The Health and Fitness Expo was a sea of runners, families and industry people sharing in the build-up to the race. I was the first speaker in their speaker series on Thursday afternoon and we had a sizable crowd despite the fact that it was the first day of the expo and I was scheduled to start speaking only 15 min. after the doors opened. Many thanks to all the wonderful  ChiRunning fans who came by our booth to give us their testimonials, which we hope to post on the website soon. If it's ChiRunning that keeps them going, it's their success stories that keep us going.

Michael Sandler and Jessica Lee stopped by to say hi. They're the folks who wrote the book Barefoot Running.

I also gave a ChiRunning talk and demonstration to the AMAA (American Medical Athletic Assoc.) Symposium that was happening across the street from the convention center. It's an annual meeting of doctors who gather to share their knowledge of the latest in the care of running related injuries. The "act" that I followed was a discussion on barefoot running given by Dr. Dan Lieberman, Dr. Ilene Davis, and Dr. Mark Cucuzzella.  It was perfect timing for me to directly follow them because the attendees had been sitting and listening to speakers for hours. So, as usual, once the ChiRunning talk started they were up on their feet. I am VERY interested in more doctors hearing about the positive benefits of ChiRunning and we're winning more over every year. The talk was well received and many of the docs came by the booth afterwards to get a copy of the ChiRunning book. 

THE RACE REPORT:

The weather on race day couldn't have been more ideal... as you can see by the finishing times of the leaders. (The winner deserves to hold the world record even if the course is a net downhill. Running Heartbreak Hill, preceded by the Newton Hills, at the speed those guys are running is amazing.) The temperature at the start was about 45º and it was a cloudless day. The constant tailwind varied between 5-15 mph and was a wonderful boost up the hills. The peak temperature never felt hot (≍55º). 

The start is a nice downhill and I was just running by feel for most of the first half. I felt very comfortable  holding a 7:45 mpm pace for the entire first half. It was incredibly crowded, as you can imagine, so I spend a lot of time running in the dirt off to the side of the course, which felt like I was trail-running my way through the Boston Marathon. Lots of weaving up front. I must give the organizers a lot of credit. The start was one of the most organized and easy starts of any race this size I've ever seen. 27,000 people took off without a hitch. Having the chip stuck on the back of my race bib was also a nice feature.

Most of my up-front focuses were: a. keeping my hips and legs as totally relaxed as possible, b. pelvic rotation on the downhills, c. lengthening my spine and keeping my shoulders low, d. leaning into the downhill sections to make up for any lost time on the uphills.

I started drinking water at every aid station after the 6-mile mark. My countdown timer was set to beep every 10 minutes, so I grabbed a small 6oz. water bottle from someone along the route and carried that. All I really needed was to drink every 10 minutes, not at every aid station. It worked just fine. The other thing I did was to take chocolate PowerGel about every 45 min. I'd do them in thirds and with each glob I would chase it with a mouthful of water and not swallow it until the gel was completely dissolved in the water. 

I also took one Succeed! capsule every hour throughout the race. I tape them on my race bib with masking tape and peel them off as needed. I call them my "bullet pack."

After the halfway mark the Newton Hills start showing up at mile 16. That's when my legs started feeling the effects of standing on a concrete Expo floor for the three prior days. I did my best to switch to lots of upper body usage and driving with the obliques and it worked well on the uphill sections. My pace through the Newton Hills slowed to anywhere from 8:15's to 9:45's.  After I crested the top of Heartbreak Hill (late in mile 20) I was able to re-cohere my energy and focus all the way to the finish. 

The throngs of encouraging spectators lining the course was a total inspiration. The Wellsley Girls were there as usual and gave everyone a good boost before heading into the hills. I'd have to say the best-crowd-of-the-day award goes to the folks on both sides of Heartbreak Hill... the "uphill" crowd lifted everyone's spirits the "downhill" crowd was over the top  

I ran a couple of easy miles with Ryan Miller who graciously met me at mile 8 (where he grew up). Go to his FB page for a "running interview." No matter how much I weaved through the crowd, every time I looked around he was right there beside me like a shadow. 

Many, Many heartfelt thanks to all the aid station workers and organizers who helped to make this year's Boston a fabulous experience for all the runners. There is NO WAY we could do it without your support. 

I have only a very slight soreness in my quads today from the downhills. I went for a bike ride this morning to circulate the blood through my legs and they're feeling great right now. Thanks also to all of you who have cheered commented on my Boston training on FB. It's sooooo inspiring!

DD

Here's the stats. First place in my AG finished 1 hour ahead of me!

First and foremost, focus on the basics: exercise, good nutrition, fresh air, and more rest and internal time. We take this seriously. Somehow getting older means we’re more susceptible to winter’s maladies, so we are either Chi Running or Chi Walking almost every day; we’re eating many more fruits and vegetables than ever before; and we always try to balance out all of our activity with some down time.

Exercise is Key: Exercise is crucially important to keep the chi moving in our bodies. Many people slow their exercise routine down too much in the winter. It’s a good season for more rest, but exercising is absolutely key to keeping healthy. I don’t run as fast or far, but I do run and lately I’ve really been enjoying long walks in the woods. You can exercise indoors if the weather isn’t friendly, but getting the right clothes and getting outside and breathing some fresh air is always best when conditions allow. There are always times when getting out is not a good idea, but effort should be made to get fresh air. If you do need to be indoors, mall walking or running/walking on the treadmill is a great way to keep moving.

Make exercise a regular part of our life all year long.

Good Nutrition: Eat Fresh Nutrient-rich Foods
Holidays are the hardest time to eat well. Tempting sweets and baked goods are everywhere and it feels like a treat to eat a bit more and indulge. In most cultures celebration and food are closely linked. The key is to counterbalance it with foods that are high in nutrients and low in calories – specifically vegetables. Eating plenty of fresh vegetables can do a world of good to build your immune system and fight off illnesses. It’s also smart to go online and find a list of alkaline foods to help counteract the high acid content of the sweet holiday foods that are always so plentiful and tempting.

Additional Preventive Measures: We both, however, like to indulge every now and then in something sweet and delicious; we certainly don’t always get enough sleep; and we’re pretty busy. So, if we start feeling a twinge of a cold or creepiness coming on we do two things:
1. Take Occiloccinum
2. Take buffered vitamin C

Occiloccinum is a homeopathic remedy that has helped us many, many times. These days I’ve even seen in it regular pharmacies occasionally, but it can always be found at a natural foods store. It comes in little vials. Rather than taking an entire vial, we’ll take 1/3 or 1/2 the vial at a time. (Makes it a little less expensive). We’ll take this amount if we’re around anyone with a cold just as a preventive measure or if we begin to feel even the slightest inkling of something amiss in our system.

We also take a buffered vitamin C pretty regularly…not every day, but many days and especially if we’ve eaten something sweet or are feeling at all tired, run down or vulnerable to getting sick. We don’t take regular vitamin C because most have added sweeteners and a buffered vitamin C helps bring your system back to an alkaline balance. One teaspoon of our powdered vitamin C contains about 3000mg of C … a healthy dose.

Wintertime is a deep, rich and restful time and much more enjoyable when we’re healthy.
 

Here are a few of the “radical” changes Salazar made in Ritz’s form: 1. getting rid of his heel strike and moving him into a midfoot strike (where have we heard this before?) 2. telling him to keep his arms more bent and not let them hang so low at his sides (sounds familiar), telling him to lean forward instead of running upright (now this is just too uncanny…). The list goes on as you see in the article.

It’s nice to see an American coach finally thinking about running form and trying to work with it. It’s too bad Salazar wasn’t following the principle of Gradual Progress, Ritz’s stress fractures could have been avoided. I hate to see runners being experimented on, but in some cases I guess it’s necessary.

I’ve said for many years that our American runners will never beat the Kenyans and Ethiopians until they start running like they do. It can’t be done on shear muscle strength. It has to be done largely through efficiency of motion (ie. less muscle mass, less fuel consumption, less inertia and less deceleration at foot strike).

Read the New Yorker article and then watch this video that Jennifer Kahn made.

From the video I can see where Ritz is doing reasonably well, but still has a way to go before he starts running like the Kenyans and Ethiopians.

Observations on his current form
His arm swing is not as efficient as it could be. He’s still carrying his hands too low and pumping his arms instead of swinging them held in a bent position. He’s dorsiflexing some and still leading with his legs a bit, but I’m sure it’s way better than it was. It’s not easy to change and my own left leg has a mind of its own and wants to do the same thing, if I don’t pay attention to it.

He’s leading with his legs because he’s leaning at the waist instead of leaning from his ankles. He’s also not taking advantage of the use of his obliques for speed, as Lawrence Walker mentioned in the New Yorker article, because he has very little pelvic rotation.

The article I linked to here is about gaining smoothness and efficiency in your stride by allowing your spine to twist and your pelvis to rotate with each stride. This allows your legs to truly be able to relax and allow your forward fall to pull you along. Once you have your leg mechanics to the point where you’re not using your leg muscles for propulsion, you can then (if you’re interested in competitive level speed) add in some drive to the pelvis from the obliques and get more speed out of your legs without increasing the usage of your leg muscles. I don’t talk much about this in my Level I Chi Running classes because it is important to not skip steps in the development of your running technique. It’s important to get your legs relaxed, and moving efficiently and correctly first, or you could end up increasing your leg usage as you run faster… and that’s definitely not what we’re after.

Ritz might beat Meb or Haile someday, but I doubt it’s going to happen this time around (Watch them all in the NYC Marathon this weekend).

Thanks to Jennifer Kahn for a great article and a great video.
Good stuff!!!

My Race-specific Marathon Training Program
Asheville is a hilly place. Dayton, Ohio (relatively speaking) is not. So, in the weeks leading up to the marathon I ran at least two of my weekly runs on the only flat road in town to get my body used to running for long periods on a flat surface. These runs helped to increase my aerobic capacity. The rest of my runs were my typical daily hour-long trail runs with my dog. These very hilly runs maintain my cardio conditioning. I ran 5-6 days a week and my average weekly mileage topped out at about 30 miles per week. My two longest training runs before the race were 13 miles and 14.7 miles… two weeks out and 3 weeks out respectively. It works for me, but I definitely don’t recommend this approach for others. On these long runs I spent the entire time working on my running technique, specifically my pelvic rotation and on totally resting my legs whenever my feet were off the ground. I also spent considerable time matching my cadence (90 spm) with my breath rate (3 steps out-breath and 2 steps in-breath) with a rhythmical gathering and issuing technique I’ve been testing lately with great success. It’s an energetic   blend of armswing and pelvic rotational focuses. All of this technique training worked wonders to improve my efficiency which allowed me to sustain an 8:24 mpm marathon pace without having to run tons of miles in training. The week before the race I practiced my starting pace (8:45min./mi.) during every run.

Days 6, 5 and 4 before the race I ran easy and ate meals heavy on protein which helped my muscles to rest, recover and rebuild from training. On Days 3, 2 and 1 before the race I ate only carbohydrates…no protein. This helped my muscles tank up on glycogen stores for use in the race. After the race I ate a couple of heavy protein meals accompanied by colorful salads rich in minerals.

My Chi Running Focuses During the Marathon:
• Breathing only through my nose, which kept me very relaxed (I wore a Breathe-rite strip).
• Not letting myself get boxed in by runners in front of me. I would position myself running off to either side. I run best with no one in front of me.
• Lengthening my spine and leading with my forehead (I’d hit my “refresh button” every time I passed a mile marker.)
• Dropping my arms once every mile to let my shoulders relax and rest. I also leaned into the downhills and allowed my legs to totally rest on every downhill section.
• Shortening my stride on every uphill section, and whenever I felt the slightest bit of fatigue creeping in.
• Drinking 1-2 oz. of water at every aid station (There were 21 in this race …which was fabulous!)
• Thanking as many volunteers and roadside supporters as possible.
• Taking a teaspoon-sized slug of honey/maple syrup mixture every two miles after mile 10.
• Taking a Succeed! cap every hour (and one after finishing) for electrolyte replacement.
• Varying the usage of my muscle groups throughout the race for maximum efficiency (I alternated between predominantly upper-body running and lower-body running).
• In the second half I frequently used my y’chi on the open sections of the course. I also focused on maintaining a perpetual sense of falling forward with each stride.

My Running Shoes
For the marathon I wore Mizuno Wave Musha 2′s which are racing flats but not as minimal as the Wave Universe 3′s. They worked great for me. They are a very fast, light-weight shoe and extremely comfortable at the marathon distance because of their flat ride.

The Mizuno Musha 2… fast and flat.

Vital statistics for number crunchers:

Overall time: 3:39:44
Age Group placement: 2nd in 60-64
½ Marathon split: 1:48:29 (8:17 pace!) I’ll take full responsibility for this. Every time Pacer Dave and I would start talking with each other, the pace got faster. By the half we were 1:30 too fast…whoops! We should have come across at 1:50:00 or a bit slower. I’ll keep my mouth shut next time;-)
2nd Half split: 1:51:15 (2:46 slower than first half)
Overall pace: 8:24
Qualified for Boston!

My legs recovered very quickly after the race and I was able to hike the day after (Sunday) and do a nice 6-mile trail run on Monday.

I’d say that a huge contributing factor to the race going so well for me was the total lack of pre-race worries and logistics. The Air Force Marathon is so well organized that it created the ideal conditions for energy to flow… for the entire 26.2 miles.

This way of training and running a marathon, ½ marathon, 10k or 5k is the basis of how the Chi Running training programs are set up. They’re race-specific training programs that train your body, as well as your mind, to run a successful event by matching your training to the race you’re about to run and paying attention to every detail of your technique, fueling, and race strategy…before, during and after your race.

Train smart, run smarter.
Danny

The Air Force Marathon folks gave us a booth at the Expo so we gathered a team of Chi Runners and made a full weekend of it. We had a very successful Expo and introduced Chi Running to lots of runners.

Jill Gleeson: Half marathon finisher and new Chi Living VP of Marketing & Business Development

I’d have to say that it is one of the most well-organize and well-supported marathons I’ve ever been to. I also loved the course. At first I was afraid that the course would be too flat for me, since I’d much rather run hills than flats. But it had just the right mix of hills and flats to keep my legs very happy. Surprisingly, there were many nice shaded sections of the course and the temperature was perfect (as long as you finished before 11:00am) with a light, cool breeze constantly wiping the sweat from my face.

I ran with a pace group, which I highly recommend. Our pacer, Dave, was fabulous and did a great job of cheering everyone on…especially during the difficult sections. We were shooting for a 3:40 marathon time and I was able to run a 3:39:44 (2nd in my AG) with some energy still left in the tank. Thank you Dave and the rest of the pace group for the great jokes, the conversation, and your encouraging company.

I also participated in a couple of panel discussions with a few folks you might recognize… Amby Burfoot (editor-at-large for Runner’s World), Bill Rodgers (4-time Boston winner, 4-time NYC winner) and Dr. Mark Cucuzzella (Chi Running instructor-in-training, family doc, USAF Lt. Colonel, owner of the first-ever minimal-shoe-only running store and 2:35 marathoner). It was a pleasure to finally meet Amby after hearing his name for the past 30 years.

Legends: Amby Burfoot and Bill Rodgers

If you’re looking for a great marathon to qualify for Boston, I’d highly recommend the Air Force Marathon. Everything about it was top-notch and it’s the fastest growing marathon in the U.S.

Many thanks to all the volunteers, staff that made it such a wonderful weekend for the 12,000 happy runners that ran the 5K, 10K, ½ Marathon and Marathon.

I must also say that it was quite an amazing experience to start a marathon with the fly-by of a B-52!

Bombs away!

I have been a proponent of good running form, as the primary way to run more efficiently and injury-free, since I began teaching Chi Running in 1999. For the better part of eleven years now I’ve felt a lot like a salmon swimming upstream. And, because of the recent media interest in running technique, I no longer feel like the voice in the dark.

I believe that the shift in the paradigm started in 2004 when Dr. Dan Lieberman (Harvard) published a study which showed that we humans were designed to not only spend most of our time on our hind legs, but to run (either after game or away from predators). Lieberman also recently published another study, which received wide recognition, showing the difference in impact between habitually shod and unshod runners. The recent upsurge in the popularity of minimalist running has also been partly spawned by barefoot convert Chris McDougall’s book Born to Run.

I totally agree with recent studies showing that over-built running shoes are a big contributor to the 65% annual injury rate. But the Chi Running book sets out to put the responsibility for injury-prevention on the runner, not on the shoes. If you’re running in a way that creates impact and injury to your feet, ankles, knees or hips you’ll need to look farther than a change in footwear to get to the source of your problem or you could be just as much at risk for getting injured as the next runner. It always comes down to running technique.

Running barefoot or in minimal shoes allows your feet to accurately sense the ground and allows your body to find its own natural balance and alignment. This works wonders towards helping runners and walkers avoid many of the more common impact injuries. The best way to consistently guarantee that you avoid running injuries is to adopt a “barefoot-like” running style. This means that, no matter what shoes you’re wearing, or whether or not your even wearing shoes, you’re always trying to run in a way that creates the least amount of impact, imbalance and extraneous effort in your body.

Here are some of what I would call the barefoot-like characteristics of Chi Running:
• Allow your feet to land under your center of mass in a soft, midfoot/forefoot strike with your lower legs completely relaxed
• Lean forward from your ankles
• Allow your upper body to gently fall forward with each stride while your legs swing rearward
• Take shorter strides (which allows for a midfoot strike under your center of mass)
• Run with a quicker, steady cadence (170-180 strides/minute) at all speeds

These are only a few of the Chi Running focuses, but they are each crucial components to effortless, injury-free running. And, most importantly, they can all be done with or without shoes. For a complete list of the Chi Running focuses please refer to the end of Chapter Four in the Chi Running Book.

Happy Trails,
Danny

All of this media attention helps, in a big way, to spread the revolution in running that we’ve been promoting for ten years now. I just got home from teaching in NYC last weekend to two sold-out classes of ChiRunning. Sunday was the first-ever Level II ChiRunning class. It was a half-day class where we delved much deeper into the movement principles offered in the Level I classes, how to do a speed workout, how to run hills without powering with your legs and many other hot topics. I’ll be offering another Level II class in NYC in October.

Danny