Don't Spill the Chi

...well. I finally made it home to Chicago.

After 15ish hours of traveling from Norfolk with 2 canceled flights, being re-routed to DC, 7+ hours in a car driving through a white out (for a drive that was only 190 miles), then nearly an hour sitting on the tarmac as they de-iced the plane...I was finally home. I was relieved. And the memory of the drama that ensued was nothing short of epic. As a result, I've met my quota of snow for the year...so imagine my displeasure to wake up to white crap falling from the sky this morning. (but I digress...)

So sometime while I was up in the air, the Chief of Pain called and left me a voicemail.

Mike and I had been invited to a free Chi Running clinic that would be taped to help another coach earn their certification.

[Editor's Note: Chi Running is something that has been on our radar for years now. I've read the book. Been confused by the book. Sorta gave up on the book when I couldn't figure out the body positions. And honestly, I never wanted to spend the money on the class at the end of the day. Let's face it...it can get pricey.]

Given my exhaustion, I was on the verge of declining. I wanted needed a chance to sleep in and just regroup before the insanity of the work week hit (2 days in and I'm already eager for February to be over--it's that crazy). I wanted to go home and simply pop open a bottle of wine. Watch the Kansas basketball game and slip into a syrah-induced hibernation and then camp out in my jammies all day long.

...buuuuuut that little voice in the back of my head kept reminding me that it was free. And mocked me for lasting all of 20 minutes on the hamster machine at the hotel (seriously...how do people rely so heavily on the treadmill!? it's mind-numbing and makes me want to gauge my eyeballs out with a spoon!)...meaning I needed to get some running in the mix. Stat.

I decided that my participation came down to two things...

1. Is the class outside?

2. And how early does the clinic commence?

(The last thing I wanted to do was wake up with the sun and attend a running clinic for a few hours in the bitter Chicago cold.)

What's that? It's indoors and at 10am? Bring it. I owed it to myself to give it a whirl.

The clinic was insanely helpful. Nothing short of information overload. The instructor explained everything really well and I truly believe it's going to make a difference in my running this year.

The body positioning will certainly take a while before it becomes second nature...there's so much to think about. Your head angle, weight in the front foot, pushing the earth behind you, cadence, arm swing, the lean, the angles, the pendulum, maintaining a level pelvis, and of course...not spilling your chi...

Spilling your cheese?

No. Chi. And yes, you don't want to spill it. Spilling chi is bad. Very bad.

Your chi rests in your pelvis. And you have to keep it level to avoid having your chi runneth over and all onto the street. Because if that happens, you're left with nada.

Theoretically, of course.

You see...your chi, is in essence, your energy...your life source in sport, if you will. (And no, I'm not pulling this outta my ass.) See...

CHI (chē)
The vital force believed in Taoism and other Chinese thought to be inherent in all things. The unimpeded circulation of chi and a balance of its negative and positive forms in the body are held to be essential to good health in traditional Chinese medicine.

In its most basic form, Chi Running is learning to let gravity pull you along rather than forcing your body forward. By doing this, we remove the excess stress from of our body, thus helping avoid injury. Less aches and pains...looser hip flexors...minimal IT band strain. Strange as it sounds, the biomechanics of it all totally make sense.

It all goes back to your lean and all those little positional tweaks.

And when you're in mid-run...it's a lot to remember. And even when you do remember it, piecing all of it together correctly is sort of like chewing gum, patting your head, rubbing your belly, humming the star spangled banner and skipping backwards through rush our traffic all at the same time.

So last night, I bundled up and set out for my first "practicing" run. With all the craziness from the weekend, I ditched my 7 miler on Sunday afternoon...so rather than run an easy 3 as scheduled...I decided to go somewhere in the 5-6 mile range (close enough, right?!) and test out everything I had learned, leaving all the hi-tech gadgets at home.

The first few hundred yards were overwhelming. I kept running down a mental checklist, adjusting things along the way. After a while, I found it best to focus on just one thing at a time (starting with pelvic tilt) and slowly introduce the other learnings throughout the course of the run.

By some grace of God, I managed to tie most of the key tenants together correctly. Hopefully without looking too goofy.

In the end, I covered 5.6 miles...

...in 53:50...

Uhmm...hullo...that's a 9:36 pace.

Homegirl doesn't run that fast on a training run. Ever. Exception to this is laying down 1600's on the track...and it's been a while since I've done that (and even then, it hurts...).

This year all of my 4-6 mile runs have been in the 10:30-11:30 range, usually leaving me feel like I put forth a moderate effort by the time I was done. So I was beyond shocked to maintain a 9:36 pace and have it feel so! freakin'! easy! I could've cranked out 10 miles at that pace and been fine. Once I nail the body geometrics of it all, I hope to hone in on the zen-schutff that goes with it all.

If things continue to go as planned and I can keep this type of momentum in my training over the next few months, I thiiiiink I should have a pretty respectable year in regards to personal bests...

...assuming I don't spill the Chi.