Chi Running and other activities

On Cass' point, I, too, have noticed a heightened awareness to body position with other activities. It's cool to realize how interconnected key body positions are between activities (soles of feet, ab "tuck", shoulders relaxed, staying elongated, etc.). Being aware of key points and making the corrections is gratifying and probably improves performance.

So, Monday is Colt State Park run. Many in the group may be doing other things because it's a holiday. I see we are still meeting late, at 6 p.m. Is there interest in meeting earlier because of the holiday? I'm wondering if parking will be a problem, especially since it's supposed to be 90 degrees on Monday and many may be at the park (...because it's a holiday).

Cycling and ChiRunning

Haven't been doing enough cycling but trying to get back to it. Last Sunday (May 16) I forgot my shoes for the NBW bike ride and rode with my sneakers. My mind is now in the habit of focusing on my feet and body from our work in ChiRunning and I noticed that at least with my sneakers, the most powerful place for my feet to be was NOT where the cleats on my cycling shoes are positioned. Wasn't sure if it was just the sneakers. Yesterday I rode with some of the Tri-NE'ers (with my cycling shoes) and noticed again that my feet were not positioned where I thought they should be and that I was essentially pedaling with my toes. I got dropped quickly on the hills and never regained ground. When I got home I moved the cleats back all the way (1/4 inch total each side) and today Joe at Prov Bicycle tweaked one to one side (he said yes they should be back) and I feel much more powerful. I had been riding with them in the wrong place since beg of last summer at least! I also notice I am now in the habit of "checking in" for relaxation even on the bike (apparently I am not naturally relaxed... ) Anyway, just wanted to share that the benefit of chirunning and Michael's coaching is spilling over into other areas of my life and training! I wish I could blame my cleats for my slowness (not a chance) but I doubt I would have noticed it without the ChiRunning training. As I said, I have been riding with them in that position for quite awhile...Thanks Michael!

Hills

Starting to understand the differences among the gears - I can feel the difference coming out of the faster ones while my cadence stays the same. Need work in sustaining 2nd/3rd gear though. Let me know if you are interested in speed intervals. Michael what are good beginner training goals for time/distance in faster gears? Just go with what is somewhat uncomfortable speedwise for short enough periods of time that I don't lose the form? Cheryl and I went out last week and ran in beautiful Rehoboth/Seekonk area and played with the gears. We are planning a bike followed by a run end of next week (20th or 21st) early morning if you are interested. Our cadence is about 83 (84 next week) and we are flexible on stopping if necessary (I had some upset stomach issues Thursday) or slowing down and just generally listening to what our bodies are telling us for that day so it quite pleasant.

Nike +

Does anyone use Nike + wristband? It's a fairly neat way of logging your runs and recording how you felt in the little comment box. I'm feeling more connected with the feel of 1st vs. 2nd gear. The lean reminds me of a plank (plank as in the exercise posture). Sorry i can't join those of you running this weekend. See you Monday night.

Running

Anyone want to run with me this week and do the homework? I am in the Prov/Seekonk area but I don't mind traveling some. My scheduleis flexible. My 1st gear is about 11-minute miles. My cadence is 82-83 but to maintain it (and not speed up or slow down) I need the metronome. Let me know.

Hitting the Trails

I wanted to ask if anyone else has tried Chi running on trails and if so, what they thought of the experience? I got out on some nice wide rolling trails through the woods this past week and I loved it. But I'm not sure how much of it was Chi running. I found that I had to use the metronome tempo as more of a general guide. It was very difficult with the rolling hills and all of the trail obstacles to stay on a steady beat. And I wondered whether there was a Chi running approach to getting over tree roots and rocks that are in the way without the leading leg having to jump forward over them? I got to practice my runnable and unrunnable hill techniques and was very impressed with how well they work. Although my boyfriend did look at me a little strangely on the steep uphill :) Overall, it was a very positive experience. My legs weren't fatigued while I was running and I didn't feel sore the next day. And it was definitely mentally engaging. I am looking forward to our group trail runs that we have scheduled so that I can get some feedback on my form.

Obsessed

After having the chance to view myself on Michael's cell phone and in the videos, I have become obsessed with my posture. I always thought that I had good posture, but it seems that over the years I have self-corrected to the point where my good posture has gone bad!!! Resulting in shoulders being held too far back and too much arch in my lower back. So Michael, I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you for pointing this out to me. However, it has now become an obsession. I can't stop thinking about it! I think about it when I'm driving. I stand in front of the mirror practicing the hand over heart exercise you showed me. I look in store windows at my own reflection to see what my shoulders are doing. And the other day I even found myself practicing the forward lean against the counter at the bank teller's window! What's crazy is how hunched forward I feel when I go into my "newly" corrected posture. But then I look in the mirror or at the window reflection and I am standing perfectly straight. Quite an eye opener. Let's just hope that I don't start over correcting in the opposite direction.

Hills

My Mom and I went to Webster Ma over the Weekend to try out the SheRox Course with a group of 4 other woman. We Biked 12 Miles up what seemed Like Mount Washington then we Jogged 2.9Miles. After doing the Bike I had wicked Brick and the Jog had some hills which Thank goodness I knew how to proceed up them otherwise I would have walked because of the Brick my legs were Heavy weights. I was able to go up each Hill with ease and no pain. Ciara

Speed

Michael, Is it too early to start working on speed? I cannot seem to shift out of first gear. I think maybe short burst or intervals would enable me to keep the body positioning but learn to shift gears without getting sloppy. What do you think?

Video

It was amazing to see the progress we have all made in just a few short weeks with our body positioning while running. Taking the video of each of us was a great tool to show us our progress and to point out the areas we still need to work on.

Body Cues & Mantras

I did the Season Opening Sprint yesterday in Hopkinton. It was a real challenge for me b/c of the cold & wind. Just finishing was my goal given the conditions. Air temp in Hopkinton as I left from home yesterday was about 40. Water: 62. With the wind, even as the morning progressed it didn’t seem to get much warmer. My times aren’t an issue– I am into smile pacing this early in my training. Actually, my run times have gotten slower every measured session from my November Turkey Trot. I take that as a good sign that I am working to encode good body positioning but I do hope that I will be able to get into second gear soon. I won't bore you with all the details, but I was in very cold and usually choppy water for about 10 minutes treading water (over our heads & we were trying to keep warm) until they instructed us out because the rescue boat had capsized. I was barely functioning on the bike and my feet didn’t stop being numb until just over 1/3 of the run and then they hurt for a bit. Anyway, to the point, thank goodness I had other body cues to focus on from Michael & ChiRunning to keep myself moving forward. I kept it in first gear although it felt more like ½ a gear. At the end one of the woman in my rack row was complaining about how her numb toes caused some real strain on my knees. I had no problems other than being cold!

Attacking the Hills

Hello everyone, I jogged a 5k on Mothers Day in Newport with my Mom, sister and Father and I got to use the New Hill Technique and It also happened to be pretty windy while jogging down along the coast which was also pretty interesting. I was able to finish the whole thing in a Light jog and I attacked the now manageable Hills with my new technique focusing on my arms being the way in which I forced myself up while maintaining a shorter stride, which defiantly helped me retain major energy to finish the race and not Walk at all. It was great, I wasn't as out of breath, my core was a little sore because of the form however I did notice my legs were sore primarily my thighs but I have been running much farther then normal and really pushing my body this past week and It is doing great under the pressure. I love it. Ciara

Runnable Stairs?

Thanks Michael for this training group! Now that the semester is ending I am hoping to get out and run MUCH more. The moves we learned Monday evening are interesting. I played with them on the stairs at work. Perhaps not the smartest thing to do, but it made the hundreth trip up & down the stairs more enjoyable and I was certainly mindful of my body positioning in ways I wouldn't be otherwise. Now to try them on some real hills! Regarding running together - I have mostly triathlons planned for the summer and would love to train with others in the group. We can check one anothers alignment and talk shop! Also, Tri-NE has a couple of run groups with different paces that meet at the Newman Y in Seekonk on Saturday, Sundays, Tuesdays, and Weds. If you are interested just give a shout.

races people are doing

How 'bout people sharing what races they're doing and maybe we can run some together? I ran up a hill tonight using the new technique and I was up it before I knew it. It was actually fun instead of draining. thinking about what you're doing makes time fly. rebecca

arms and feet

when using the metronome and changing the "counting point" to different points on feet and arms, it seems that when counting with an arm "point" it's harder to keep the pace. sort of like the arm swing is slower than the feet. do you coordinate the arm swing with the feet to keep the count on track? if so, what are the coordination "points"? does anyone know what i'm trying to describe? for example, right elbow back, left foot strike. i'm using 86 cadence this week. rebecca