I think of Gradual Progress as the framework around which ChiRunning can be learned. One step at a time, things should be incrementally and fully learned before moving on to the next step. It’s not the only way to think about ChiRunning form, but for me, is an important one.

As you’ve read in my blog, my knee has been bugging me and I have tried to work through it to see what would help and what I was doing incorrectly. Because the condition of my knee (and even more so, the condition of my form) has not improved, I have been disappointed and embarrassed to blog about it. I can walk the talk, but it’s going to take some deeper more mindful work.  Here’s what I think happened:

My training regularity from August ‘08 through the race day in January ‘09 was dedicated and mindful. I worked hard on my form, and did decently well, but when it came to race day, I had (and still have) leagues of room to improve. While I do think that I went a little hard during the last couple of miles without keeping my form together (eg, I was taking longer strides, but in hindsight, don’t think I was keeping my core engaged/pelvis level), it has been the months since the race when my own running form has been the problem, not the race.

Danny’s been using the term “feel what it feels like” a lot lately, and it’s the perfect little phrase to continually remind me I need to get into my body, every chance I can. It’s 6 months after the race and my knee hasn’t gotten any better. I want to get better and stay better, I don’t want to have knee issues again.

I will be using Gradual Progress for real as I take the time to learn again. Thank goodness I know about ChiRunning. It will guide me through this process, through beginning to run again mindfully, and through my daily activities. Thank goodness for ChiLiving, a business that does so much good for people and encourages us all to go deep.

Katherine and Danny wrote a great article recently about teaching and letting your mind and body really communicate. I am going to read it again myself: Mind over Body vs Body over Mind (June 2009).

… for not writing more frequently? Probably not, because this post isn’t going to be all that incredible, but really… the race is coming up THIS SUNDAY! Wow! I wonder if I have stage fright. I’m avoiding telling you all what’s been going on with my running (or actually NOT going on.)

Anyway, after my last post, I left the next day for Orlando, where Danny and I traveled for the Disneyworld Marathon Expo, three days of unadulterated hard work and fun. The long hours and lack of internet in the hotel room kept me from writing, but I’ll tell you in brief:

Friday I ran the 5K in 29.38, which I was really surprised and happy with. I started the first and second miles with a 10+ min/mile so I really caught up some time in the last mile, and I am proud to report no soreness anywhere in my body except my core muscles… I think that’s a great sign!

Then on Saturday/Sunday mornings I ran about 45-50 minutes each day in/around Disneyworld grounds near where we were staying. It was kind of rough and I had a hard time enjoying it. I don’t know why, but I suspect it’s because: a) I had spent 2-3 full days on my feet talking non-stop and b) hadn’t really been running and beat myself up about how I felt.

I can tell that my aerobic fitness has dropped remarkably fast after not having exercised truly while we were in South America, so I have learned a valuable lesson through that.

Because my peak fitness isn’t where I wanted it to be, I am trying to follow Gradual Progress principles and not beat myself for not being in perfect shape. I’m only human, right? I can’t do everything perfectly…
In any event, tomorrow is an 8+ miler day for me, and the weather is kind of cold, so I plan to run in the late afternoon. I am going to take it easy, just get the miles in and not walk. I haven’t decided yet where I am going to run, but I’ll figure it out before I leave and make sure it’s at least 8 miles. No classic taper week for me!

I promise to give a full report of tomorrow’s run, either tomorrow night or Thursday morning.

I am really looking forward to the run to see where I am and gague what to expect for Sunday’s race. I thought that perhaps I could run the race in 2 hours, but now I am thinking probably 2.15 is more reasonable. Either way, my goal for this race is to have a smile on my face at the end and not be injured. It’s only a race, after all!

I have been listening to the new CD set that Danny recorded last summer, and it’s great stuff. I hope to take my iPod with me on the run and listen to one of the guided runs and Danny’s voice as he discusses the ideas behind ChiRunning. Listening to it tonight was rather calming and made me realize that I need to get out of my head and back into my body between now and Sunday. Really need to take a moment to give myself permission to just feel what I feel and Body Sense what is really going on with my body and respond appropriately. I know I can finish the race, it’s just that fine line between body/mind or mind/body. It’s all about balance and I think my new goal for this week (instead of beating myself up) is to listen to my body as best I can and let it tell me what it wants/is ready for and to do a lot of visualizations about how I want the race to go on Sunday.

Any pre-race advice is much appreciated and as always, thank you all for reading and giving your wonderful support along the way. I don’t plan to cease existence (in the blogosphere) after the race, but rather keep you updated on my training for the next race I choose!

But before I get ahead of myself, let’s get through this week first…