The weather is starting to get cooler. That must mean fall is around the corner, and so too is the Asheville Half Marathon.

Training for this event has been pure joy. I have been using our Pain-Free 1/2 Marathon Training Program (Beginner) and it has stood me well. The form focuses, specific workout types and the reminders about weekly lessons have proved very valuable.

My mileage is up: last weekend was my 12 miler LSD, the weekend before was 11 miles. For that, I ran on a great path near Lake Okoboji in northwest Iowa where I was visiting family. When I returned from my run 1 hr and 47 minutes later, my family was rather shocked that I was upright, unhurt, not sore and ready to enjoy the day with little recovery… Leg Drains have become my best friend.

This weekend I am running the last portion of the Lake Lure Triathlon with friends as a relay … really looking forward to that, as well as my big 13 miler training run LSD. I plan to run the Asheville Half course, to prepare myself, both physically and mentally for race day.

I’ll keep you posted…

Okay, folks. It’s official. Shelly and I will be running the Asheville Half Marathon: 18 Sept 2010.

That means in the meantime, we’ll be training! So that means that I’m back to blogging like a real blogger and will be updating more frequently. Fun!

We are using the Pain-Free Beginner Half Marathon Training Program to guide our training process. We’ll be starting Week 5 this week, which is all about Pelvic Rotation. Today was my LSD of 6 miles, so I ran about 60 minutes (I still run about a 10 min/mile pace… I wonder when my body will be ready to move on to the next pace. She’s just happy at 6 miles an hour.)

I had a great long run today in the woods with Oliver (Shelly was gone, but we’ll train together during the weekdays this coming week…). I used my 5 minute countdown timer on my watch and found it extraordinarily helpful. I am starting to use a countdown timer more often with my runs. It’s a blessing.

Today I focused on several things: 1) Not stepping past my hip 2) Balancing in my “window of lean” 3) Feeling my feet at the bottom of my column, 4) the “C” Shape and 5) Limp lower legs.

All great focuses for a hilly run. For those of you who have either run the Asheville 1/2 before or are familiar with the terrain: it’s a hilly race. The good thing is that we’ll be able to train on the course, which is a distinct advantage, I guess.

I have to admit that the unknown can be more fun…

So far, so good.  I felt steady and strong for the entire run and am going to experiment with taking my ability to Body Sense/train to another level during this training round. I want to get even more in tune with what my body is doing and how I can use the Chi Running form focuses to direct my body to run and respond well.

Really excited to be training for a new event and for something to make me roll out of bed early or head to the road after a long day at work. Thanks to everyone for your support so far.

Wow. Where does the time go? I can’t believe that 1 year ago, I was writing about my first GOTR 5K experience, as a Running Buddy to my friend Haylie…

Well, yesterday I had the pleasure of getting to run with Haylie again… but this time, Jacqui, her mother-extraordinaire, got to run with us, too!

Jacqui has been battling with the same knee pain from last year, but with some good focuses and positive energy, we all got through the race beautifully!

At Haylie’s school, her grade is now participating the Girls on Track program, which is the “big girls” version of Girls on the Run. I was so pleased to know that she’d continued with the program, and when they called to ask if I could come again this year to run with them, I signed up right away… It feels so good to be part of something bigger, something that is making a real difference in helping young women find out what they’re capable of and staying active.

One benefit of being a member of the Girls on Track program is that we all got to go to the front of the line to begin the race… Score #1! We didn’t have to wade through as many runners when the race started, and got to find our pace naturally without getting caught up in the crowd.

The course changed from last year, and I think it was hillier this year. At the approach of each uphill, I reminded us all of the benefit of really using our upper arms to get us up the hill, and to not even think about our legs. It was really helpful to all of us. Haylie totally got it when I said, “Pretend that you’re doing an upper-cut, almost punch your chin…” As soon as she did that, she swiftly moved up the hill.

On the downhills, we really focused on maintaining good posture, staying tall, and really relaxing…Letting the road take us along, not trying to fight it.

We practiced our Y’chi, or focusing our eyes on one spot ahead of us, like the stop-sign at the top of the hill, or the girl with the green streamers in her hair at the next turn… things that were bright, easy to watch and on the horizon.

We practiced breathing, too. When we got out of breath, I’d count to 5 and make sure that we all did an exhale for at least 5 seconds, to clear out the “old” air in our lungs.

The finish was downhill (thank goodness!) and we all crossed the line, smiling, and thrilled to have finished together. We stayed together every step of the run and I am so proud of both of you! Haylie, you ran fast, girl! And Jacqui, your knee didn’t bother you… Score #2!

As Jacqui said later, “The glorious-ness of our run lingers like an after taste of chocolate.” I couldn’t have said it better myself!

Thank you for a great experience two years in a row, Haylie (Score #3)! You’re a special chick, and I look forward to running again with you next year.

Post-race success and smiles... Look how much she's grown up!

Hi everyone… How’s your running? I have a an event to report about:

Biltmore 15K last weekend, May 16th. The last race of it’s kind (it’s been going on for about 13 years) was held inside the grounds of the beautiful Biltmore Estate here in Asheville. I was on top of my game enough to register early, and had the good fortune of running a very humid, very fun, visually satisfying race last weekend.

I realized after the gun went off that it was the first race I’d ever driven to/signed up for by myself… It was sort of a strange feeling! But I didn’t feel alone; I got to connect with a bunch of fellow ChiRunners near the start and felt good, positive vibes the entire way.

That morning started off foggy, so by the time the clouds lifted, the air was thick with humidity and made for a very sweaty race. I loved it. Felt so great to be out there running with almost 1000 other people, enjoying the Asheville morning air, taking in the sights (horses, baby ducklings, birds galore, rolling hills, Blue Ridge mountain vistas, winery, stables, the Biltmore house, bass pond, rose garden…). Really it was a sight to behold.

It was a fairly hilly course, and I remembered to take it easy, and really use my upper arms to get me up the hill, relying on my legs as little as possible. It worked; I’d get to the top of the hill and feel about the same exertion level as I had at the bottom, while listening to plenty of other runners huffing and puffing along.

I didn’t go out for speed, but more just as a personal event. I didn’t “train” for the event, which I probably could have, but I wanted to use it as a carrot to help maintain my regular weekly workouts (which have become less and less frequent!).

Did any of you fellow ChiRunners check out the race? It was so much fun.

I did a good mid-week follow up run around the Shut-In trail/Bent Creek on Wednesday and that was really fun (Thanks Ed and Frank!).  I suspect many of you who have read my blog from the beginning get tired of hearing this, but I still have a hard time referring to myself/believing that “I am a runner”… WOW!

That fact was thoroughly validated when Ivan brought home a little gift for me on Saturday: a little pendant necklace with a stainless steel medallion of a “runner girl” … If that didn’t drive the point home, I don’t know what could have!

Looking forward to seeing you fellow Ashevillians at the ChiLiving National Running Day event at our office on June 2nd. Click here to read more about it and remember to come and bring your friends!

This weekend, I have the honor of working with a small group of lovely ladies who are on their way to becoming Certified ChiWalking Instructors. We will spend the entire weekend together (ChiWalking Instructor Training), going through the ChiWalking form, lessons, tips, tricks, exercises and drills, which they’ll eventually teach to their own students across the world.

What has hit me in the last several hours is that in some respects, ChiWalking is almost more difficult to learn than ChiRunning. Why? It’s more subtle. ChiWalking and ChiRunning both revolutionize the way people move, and both rely on the tenet of Alignment & Relaxation (the principle from T’ai Chi of Needle in Cotton) to produce efficient and mindful movement.

The devil is in the details. I think that part of the reason it takes more focus to truly Body Sense ChiWalking is because we all walk more than we run; therefore, the amount of re-learning (and re-teaching) our bodies must undergo as we rewire synapses and connections is more significant with the act of walking than with running. So, in a way, you can almost develop deeper mind-body connection with a more subtle way of movement. I think learning ChiWalking can make learning ChiRunning enormously easier…

Many of you who use and love ChiRunning might be “waiting” to discover ChiWalking… I urge to go read the ChiWalking book and watch the DVD as soon as you can. You’ve felt the benefits of open, joyful, pain and injury-free running, and certainly created an exceptional mind-body connection. When you try ChiWalking, you will be amazed at how intently your mind must quiet itself to listen to your body speak. It’ll do you worlds of good, both for your running practice, and for your overall feeling of well-being.

I was working with a client this morning who has had a little flare up of the dreaded plantar fasciitis.

We practiced running will soft feet, landing midfoot, circular foot motion and hip rotation. In order to prevent a flare up of PF, it’s really helpful to focus on not pushing off with your toes, not holding any tension in your lower legs.

In order to really feel what it’s like to keep your lower legs completely relaxed, it’s easier to stand and begin walking, practicing the heel lift: Stand with correct posture, and imagine your psoas muscle (the deep, vertical muscle that runs between your pelvis and your middle spine) doing the work of lifting your leg. It’s a very strong muscle and can lift up your feet all day long without getting overused.

Walking around on the track this morning, my client had a moment of “ah-hah!” practicing the simple exercise of lifting his feet off the ground: he was really Body Sensing his ability to let his lower legs relax completely and rely on his psoas muscle to do the work. I explained that the more he can practice that all day every day: walking around the house, in the grocery, to the mailbox, even up and down stairs, the more easily it will become for him. Then, when he goes out to run, the ankle lift will be like second nature.

For those of you who have bouts of plantar fasciitis:

• Use tennis balls on the plantar tendon, and really push down hard with your foot to stretch and passively activate that tendon.
• Don’t walk barefoot at all! In fact, if you can wear sandals in the shower and as soon as you rise in the morning, that helps enormously.
• Keep walking and running, if you can stand it. PF gets worse the less you move and the more you sit still, because it gets stiff.
• Ice your tendon after exercising: frozen veggie bags or Dixie cups of frozen ice work well
• Stay Positive! You’ll get through it, you just have to listen to your body!

It was very fun to help my friend and client have this ah-hah! moment of recognizing a completely relaxed and passive lower leg by practicing ChiWalking: it will help him recover from PF and it will also help as he continues to run, recognizing the difference between toeing off VS lifting the ankle.

Despite the lack of blog posts, I have been running regularly for the last month…

Over Christmas, I met my sister and parents on a Mexican beach, where my sister and I ran a few times together on the soft sand. Then, over the New Year holiday, Ivan and the dog and I were on the cold beach in South Carolina… and then this week, I’ve had the pleasure of running in snow and cold in Asheville. (Running in the sand and snow are great ways to check out your footprint and watch for heel-striking or toeing-off.)

Today was the 1-year anniversary of my 1st half-marathon. It was a beautiful day for a run, and while I was running, was having very happy and fond memories of my first race in Houston, and how wonderful it felt to cross the finish line, feel triupmpant and have a big grin across my face…all thanks to ChiRunning. And congratulations to my running partners from that race, Kristin and Richard, for finishing the race again today… way to go!

Shelly, my coworker, and I ran together in Bent Creek with our dogs this morning for 5 blissful miles. It was a slightly foggy, slightly cold, great day for a run. We headed out around 10am, and discovered that there was still snow on that side of town (and ice!)… The icy ground was isolated to only a few areas of our run, interspersed with wet patches of gravelly path. We had a great time with a very mellow starting pace, staying at a steady and consistent speed for quite awhile. We focused on our Columns, making sure our pelvises were tucked and our crowns tall.

I have found that when I get cold, my posture goes to crumbles. Having someone else to watch helped me stay focused on my own posture, too, and helped me stay tall and give my lungs plenty of room to breathe deeply.

A few times I caught my arms creeping upward and tightening. I took a water bottle and was carrying the dog leash, which made it a little harder to stay at 90 degrees, but it was a good focus to practice. I imagined that for every arm-swing, my knuckles brushed my hip bones — right around where my pockets might be located on a pair of jeans.

Shelly did well, and we both felt so grateful for ChiRunning; just a few years ago, neither of us felt like we could have run any distance at all without despising every step. What a contrary story we can tell now!

Next week, we plan to run a local “Hot Chocolate 10k” in Asheville. If you’re running it, we’ll see you out there!

I believe a lot in the power of thought. One of my favorite quotes is, “Change your thoughts and you change your world” by Norman Vincent Peale.

A lot of what ChiRunning and ChiWalking provide for us as we move our bodies is a) the proper thoughts and focuses to have and then b) the belief, through positive experience, that good thoughts can create great results.

I imagine that many of you have workouts like I do, when you think, “Geez, what is wrong with me today? Why doesn’t this feel good? Why am I breathing so hard?” So, what if we all just changed the tune: “Okay, this doesn’t feel great, but I can do something about it. My knee hurts, which may be because I am stepping to far forward…”

And suddenly, your knee might stop hurting. Your brain might float to another part of your body that’s asking for attention, so you Body Sense that part of your body, and direct it with a Form Focus.  And that part of your body will relax and loosen.

I remember these lessons during my working days, too, or when I get home from work and need to do things around my house. There’s always an opportunity to change your thoughts, your beliefs, your perspectives and therefore, your experience.

So if you’re having a not-so-hot run, or a slightly-painful walk, or a crazy-pull-my-hair-out-day, take a moment and change your thoughts. Change the tone to positive. I remember a few years ago when I adamantly told myself, “Liz, you just aren’t ever gonna be a runner!”

… fast forward to today: I’ve completed two half marathons and find running to be one of the most cathartic and enjoyable things I can do for myself. All from a few positive pieces of thinking.

Go forth and think positively!

As readers, you might get bored of how ecstatic I am after running. It’s not always that way, but recently, I have been truly euphoric after each running workout.

Why? Because I love to move my body, to be in control of how my feet touch the ground, where my eyes lead me, how my breath rate increases, how my heart pumps blood so loyally to my extremities.

I wish there was a way I could shout from the rooftops that “There is a way to move pain-free, injury-free and joyfully. Step right this way, and I’ll show you how!”

This morning I headed out around 7am with Oliver to do our normal park loop, about 30 minutes. Before we left, I did a full course of Body Looseners and really paid attention to my core, keeping it engaged the whole time I did the Looseners. I made a decision before I left to go as slowly as I needed to in order to feel GREAT at the end of my run, like I hadn’t even gone running at all.

And I succeeded! While I was running, I was just focusing on staying calm, breathing, and smiling. I let Oliver off the leash and he was absolutely hysterical, causing me to laugh, as he tore around the frosted grass and splashed in shallow frozen water puddles.

I actually didn’t focus on one particular thing, but just let my body be happy, let it move freely and relaxed. I don’t quite know how to explain how I felt; I’ve never felt that way before when running. It was incredible. I really almost felt like I wasn’t running at all. I simply Body Sensed being at peace.

Now I know what people mean when the write to Danny and Katherine about their success with running and say, “I ran for an hour and couldn’t figure out when I was going to get tired! I didn’t feel like I was doing anything at all!”

There really is something to be said about joyful movement. There’s a fine line between feeling like you’re doing nothing and doing nothing; I think that fine line is joy.

We went to see a show last night at a a local venue, and I had several moments of gratefulness for ChiRunning and ChiWalking and what they have taught me about learning to listen to my body:

1. The band last night consisted of a banjo player, a bassist, a guitarist, and a drummer. Once during each song, I would concentrate on trying to hear each instrument individually, singling it out from the other instruments playing at the same moment: for someone who has no musical talent, it’s a slightly difficult exercise.

   I realized as I was doing this exercise, that it’s very much like doing a Body Scan and listening to my body as I am walking or running: taking a moment to do a Scan, sense any tightness, recognizing it and letting it go.

   I am extraordinarily grateful for the knowledge of Body Scanning: every time something in my body needs attention when I am running or walking (or standing or sitting or washing dishes), I now have the skills to listen, to respond and to learn.

2. The venue where we saw music last night has very few seats. As a result, like most musical venues, we stood for the entire show, about 4 hours.

   Partway through the show, I realized that my back didn’t hurt at all, that my knees were soft, my core engaged and my feet felt perfectly normal. I can distinctly remember in years past, going to see shows, or walking through cities, or going to a museum and feeling absolutely wiped out after only a few hours.

   Thanks to ChiRunning and ChiWalking, I have learned to pay attention to my body all the time and am always prepared to listen and respond in order to keep my body happy, moving painlessly and without injury.

Over Thanksgiving, I have spent time on my feet in the kitchen, at parties, shopping, talking to friends. I have spend a lot of time walking as well, talking strolls with Oliver and Ivan. I can say that the entire holiday has been spent blissfully, listening to my body, learning what it needed, and responding with an appropriate Form Focus right in the moment.

What a gift! There are many of you who know what I am talking about. There are some of you who are learning… Just imagine how many people out there have yet to learn about the gift of pain-free movement!