Chi-running

LOVE LOVE LOVE Danny Deyer and the ChiRunning Program. I've taken a class from a local instructor as well. I started running in March with ChiRunning and ran my first marathon in October. I bought the book and DVD. The metronome really made a difference in my running style. I also run in a minimalist shoe, which is promoted by the ChiRunning program. There is a website on it you may want to check out. I ran into an injury but was able to go straight to the experts with my question, regained my focus and have been doing fine.

I started using minimalist shoes (vibram) this year when I started running again. I also have adjusted my form and cadence along the lines of what Chi Running promotes.

For the first time in my life I am running entirely pain free. I have built up to 50 mile weeks including several hard workouts a week and zero knee pain and zero shin splints. Also am able to run seven days a week at a generally faster pace than I was able to run in the past.

So, I am an enthusiastic promoter of fixing one's running form to make running enjoyable.

I've read the Chi Running book and more recently, "Born to Run," which is about mimimalist/barefoot running. In reading the latter book it dawned on me what the Chi Running book was all about! I'm at the very beginning stages of learning from my feet how to improve my running form, and I'm really looking forward to hearing about how minimalist shoes and/or Chi running is working for others.

I was intrigued by the whole barefoot thing, so I bought a pair of vibrams and started running in them. Loved how it felt & how it changed my form.
Then I read Chi-Running and it made a lot of sense when I related it to my barefoot running experience. I need to re-read the book and try to better visualize a few more of the finer details, but I think the book is great for getting proper form and the dvd & instruction would probably work even better.
THEN I read "Born to run" and besides being an amazing read, sealed the deal with my belief that proper running form can let a person run many, many miles per week without doing their legs & knees harm.
My speed to effort ratio has made incredible improvements in the past year. Some I have to contribute to really improving my endurance capabilities, but a lot of credit has to go to developing a much more efficient running stride.

As promised: Having read the first 4 chapters of the book I did an 8km run today, trying to follow the techniques described.

1) At a slow (warm up) speed it felt really uncomfortable - more effort than normal power running. FYI, on a tread mill this is about 6.5 mph (10.5kph) for me. The first km of my run is down hill anyway and I always find this the highest impact from a technique perspective.

2) I didn't take my iPhone with me on this run so I'm not sure what speed I was doing most of the time... but once I hit 'cruise' speed (normally 7.5 mph (12kmph) on a treadmill) - it started to feel really different - it wasn't less work - but I was using different muscles - much more at the top of my legs and in my core. The biggest and most important difference was that I really noticed the absence of a heal strike with my leading leg. I can get really bad shin splints and even on a good day I feel bruised around my shins after a run - today is significantly better on this front.

3) On the straight I tried some higher speed sections - again - no idea how fast I was actually going but it felt... different! extending the stride behind you definitely allows you to cruise at a higher speed: I will have to take the phone next time so I can get some section statistics.

4) Final time 38 minutes - which is better than my normal target speed (5 minutes per km)



In response to the comment

i tried to read the chi running book but something about it rubbed me the wrong way. it came across as a bit... alternative therapy-esque

to be honest - I agree - I am not too keen on the writing style - and if I hadn't been introduced to the style by an instructor who basically showed me 3 things in a 1 hour session which MASSIVELY improved my technique I would not have gotten to the meat of the book at all.

Ironically my instinct tells me the trend for minimalist shoes is hippy bull-****... I'm probably wrong about that too! I suspect that using the two things in combination will work very well: But until its time to buy new trainers I'll stick to Chi technique. Its a pity trainers are so expensive because if I dont like it that's 50->100 quid wasted!

Any way, net-net: so far, so good.

chi-running is awesome unless you believe in things like gravity and laws of physics...

i tried to read the chi running book but something about it rubbed me the wrong way. it came across as a bit... alternative therapy-esque to me and all i wanted was a striahgt forward explanation of the alterations i'd need to make to my form, to run in minimalist shoes. which i found online, in abundance.

ChiRunning wasn't written as a minimalist guide. Yes, it's a little spacy and out there, but "chi" alone should have tuned that in What I found with ChiRunning was it gave me, a person who had never ran in my life, a basis to actually start with some type of "form". I had no idea how to even start running other than picking my feet up and moving the, I wanted an understanding of heal strike, stride length, cadence, and I got that from ChiRunning.

agreed that this technique IS NOT for everyone!!!!!!!! if you like it, awesome... but so many people dont get ALL the information and just go balls to the wall and do more damage... We may have walked around in the stone ages without proper footwear, but we also were expected to work hard laborous jobs and die before the age of 40, so be happy with your program, or try out a new one...

Either way just keep it moving!!!!

Bump

nikki_zav bump. This sounds interesting to take my running to the next level. I feel very stalled at my current pace and battle on and off with shin splints (especially when I am forced to a treadmill). Looks like I'm making a trip to the bookstore this week!

I've read the book and many of my friends rave about it and have attended workshops. I thought it had some good ideas but I wouldn't invest in a seminar just to run three miles. To be honest you can get the principles from a quick Google and YouTube. For me the best bits were about posture and mid-foot landing (combined with under-body landing position). The latter suits me perfectly and I'm convinced has helped prevent injuries that previously plagued me.

It is possible to fall fowards on a hill. Just stand on a hill and try it. No one suggested that gravity lifts you up the hill but it can still be used to contribute to the forward motion. I find it easest to apply uphill as its natural to lean forward- just avoid doing it from your waist.
Ps - i have a degree in physics and can draw you the necessary vector diagrams if required. Gravity doesnt pull you forward. Ever. But it can be used to create momentum which can be translated to the horizontal plane, and this is a different motion to power running. The book is poor in its explination but the results seem to work.

Clearly you're correct! Funny, when I took the class, the instruction to run hills had nothing to do with falling uphill. We did hill work, and no one fell or even suggested to fall. The work was in arms and a zig zag approach. Apparently there is some lacking of common sense on the boards today. The book isn't near as informational as the DVD was. And frankly, to the negative poster, if you don't support ChiRunning it appears if you are replying to the thread to be a troll, hope that works for you.

Your answer to number 2 also answers 1.
If you choose a minimalist shoe like the adizero or saucony kinvara or the others like them, I would guess you could fit your insert in them.
And in a "minimalist" shoe like those described, you will easily be able to deal with rocks and such.
The big definition for a minimalist shoe is the heel to toe thickness ratio and just a bit of cushioning. No motion control or anything. Shoes like that would easily handle trails & rocks.
They might wear out quicker because the sole is softer, though.

He also runs in Newton minimalist shoes - but when he is rough terrain he has to be careful - he hit a branch and really hurt his foot!

I kept an open mind when trying Teh Chi Running method. I found some of the tips to be common sense. But I do not agree with their "no strength training" rationale.

But I kept an open mind, because this went against everything I had learned as a personal trainer, and from running coaches. I developed terrible TFL problems as a result. Not until I started doing unilateral glute and quad training again, did I get better.

Sorry, I tried it, and other than a few posture techniques, which I already understood, I found it elitist and harmful.