After using it for several weeks, I can now say that the ChiRunning technique has helped me incredibly and nearly eliminated the pain and injury I found cropping up at the beginning of my running program. From my perspective, ChiRunning has three main components and benefits.
- Use of core muscels and excellent posture for efficiency and economy of motion.
- A mid-foot strike that lands behind your center of gravity due to a slight lean.
- Uniform cadence of 85 - 90 bpm regardless of pace.
The hardest bit for me to pick up was the use of core muscles. Actually, this morning's 3 mile run was the first time I could really feel my core working and burning.
I started ChiRunning mostly to achieve #2--a mid-foot strike that eliminated my previous proneal tendon strain, and a lean that kept my body weight from squashing my lower legs with every pounding step. This element alone made an immediate difference for me.
Leave the Watch Behind
Another thing I have done recently is leave my interval timing watch behind. The means not only that I am not doing the run/walk method (I'll return to that, I am sure), but I am not really timing my runs or calculating my pace. At this point, my specific time doesn't matter. Working on my form, getting enough exercise, and not hurting myself is what matters. I also wore a knee brace on my right knee today; I just have a tiny tenderness in there, and I wanted to give that knee some compression and support. I'll try it the next few runs and ditch it.
The Road Ahead
I plan to go another week at the conservative pace I have adjusted to: 3 mile run every other day. After that, I will continue with every other day and add miles very slowly. After I feel confident, I will go to a 4 times per week schedule with a longer run on the weekend. My ideal schedule is:
S
M: short run
T
W: middle run
T: short run
F
S: long run
I think my first plateau might be something like 3/4/6, which is 16/week. I could then go to 4/6/8, which is 22/week.
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