As part of a recent trip to Florida to visit family and friends, my lady friend and I had scheduled in a Half Marathon run in Melbourne,  just south of Cape Canaveral.  Coming from winter weather in Oregon, we looked forward to a nice change from rainy skies and cool temperatures - running a Half in the sun would be a real treat.  But we had overlooked one thing  in our race strategy planning - the wind.

So, there we were, starting out at daybreak among a couple of thousand others at the second running of the Melbourne and Beaches Marathon and Half Marathon. As is my usual practice, I went through my looseners, scanned myself for tense or needy areas, thought through some of the form focuses I would be using during the run - and then I noticed the wind. People around me were discussing the likely impact of the wind on certain parts of this one loop Half Marathon course with its two long, elevated bridges where the wind would definitely come into play.  What should, and could, I do about it? (more…)

As those of you who have been reading my blog will know, I had hoped to run my first marathon in April this year.  I have been following the ChiRunning Beginner Marathon Program which I was really enjoying but I simply wasn’t able to get in the required long runs due to circumstances beyond my control.  I could probably still run it but I would not be as well prepared as I would like to be and I really want to be in the best place physically and mentally before I take it on. (more…)

On Super Bowl Sunday I ran in a 7 mile race, aptly called the Super Bowl Run. It’s a unique and fun race, with staggered start times and individual handicaps. Part of the fun is all the pre-race begging and complaining and bribery that goes on when runners receive their handicaps, which are not revealed until race day. There are great prizes too — the top 25 runners receive a bottle of red wine. Good wine.

Fast forward to the finish line. There I am, running as hard as I can and the race director is yelling “Hazel, you got the last bottle of wine!” I’m happy, I’m proud and I look down at the finishing stick that was handed to me. Even without my glasses the number looks clear: 26. Bummer. (more…)

Recently there has been a lot of discussion on the concept of running barefoot. There are some purists who suggest we should all be running barefoot, period. Personally, I don’t care for the word ’should’ in any context. It implies someone else telling us what to do or be, when we all have to decide that for ourselves.

But can we just go run barefoot? To help you answer this, consider how long it has been since you ran barefoot. 20 years, 40 years, 60 years?; most of us have not been running barefoot since we first learned how to run as toddlers (*). How many years of shoes, dress shoes, high heeled shoes, perhaps periods of inactivity, or of modern running shoes do you have in you? These are just a few examples of all the stimulus the body is adapting to every minute of every day. This adaptation happens slowly and if we want to reverse the resulting changes in posture, muscle strength, flexibility, balance and confidence; then (more…)

A few days ago, my boss forwarded a Nature magazine article to me that he thought I’d be interested in.  Thinking it was about something we were working on, much to my pleasure, I found it was an article by Daniel Leiberman et al regarding barefoot running. By now, most of you have probably read about this article, (more…)

Its week 13 of marathon training and I have managed to keep up with the marathon training plan more or less.  I’m not quite where I should be in terms of the length of my longer runs due to other demands on my time and as the long run is the most important part of marathon training, I will have to decide at some point if my April marathon is too soon.  

Running continues to get better and better.  I am running more often and for longer which gives me the opportunity to practise even more.  The habit of engaging my core and staying aligned has become deeply ingrained.  (more…)

For those of us in northern climates, winters with cold, snow and ice are facts of life. Nothing against my surfing ChiRunning buddies, but northerners know that our winters make us tough. They can also make us better ChiRunners.

I’ve come up with a few examples of how ChiRunning in the great white north is not only possible but can improve your running form. (more…)

With the start of the New Year I’ve got back into hill running. Some people love running hills; others avoid them like the plague. I’m one of those runners that normally enjoy running uphill more than downhill. Unfortunately I’ve slowed down and perhaps as a consequence my love of hills has waned a bit. A little voice has been talking to me though, with a gentle reminder that it’s time to improve my ChiRunning hill techniques. The race that I love — the Dipsea, celebrates its 100th anniversary this year and I want to be in good shape for this extremely hilly race. (more…)

It’s week 10 of marathon training.  The weather is conspiring against me and the ‘big freeze’ has made following the marathon training plan challenging to say the least. I was away for Christmas and I brought my beloved NB790s with me not thinking about the weather.  As much as I love these shoes, they have zero traction and are downright dangerous when running in icy conditions.  So I missed a couple of runs and had to reduce the length of my last long run because I fell!  No damage done, just some bruising and I’ve been fine since. (more…)

I’m always amazed and grateful at the tools that ChiRunning has given me to make my running a more pleasant experience. And I’m even happier when I can share them with a running partner, and see the beneficial effects almost immediately, while we are running. I was running the other day with some friends who are training for some long distance trails runs. They’ve been putting in a lot more miles than me, and they both were commenting on various aches and tired spots that were coming up. I can empathize as I have been there too. (more…)