read an excerpt from chi marathon!

8/2/2019 Read an excerpt from Chi Marathon!

1/18

ChiRunning.com ChiWalking.com ChiLiving.com
http://www.chirunning.com/http://www.chiwalking.com/http://www.chiliving.com/http://www.youtube.com/user/chilivinginchttps://twitter.com/#!/chirunninghttp://www.facebook.com/ChiRunninghttp://www.chiliving.com/http://www.chiwalking.com/http://www.chirunning.com/


2/18

AbDaDrradKatrDrr

C h i W A l K i n g

C h i R u n n i n g


3/18

Chi MarathonT h e B R e A K T h R o u g h n A T u R A l

R u n n i n g P R o g R A m f o R A P A i n - f R e e

h A l f m A R A T h o n A n D m A R A T h o n

Danny Dreyer

and Katherine Dreyer

A T o u C h s T o n e B o o K

P u B l i s h e D B y s i m o n & s C h u s T e R

n e W y o R K l o n D o n T o R o n T o s y D n e y n e W D e l h i


4/18

TouchstoneA Division o Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1230 Avenue o the AmericasNew York, NY 10020

Copyright 2012 by Danny Dreyer

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portionsthereo in any orm whatsoever. For inormation address Touchstone Subsidiary

Rights Department, 1230 Avenue o the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

This publication contains the opinions and ideas o its author. It is sold with the understanding thatthe author and publisher are not engaged in rendering exercise or health services in the book. Thereader should consult his or her own medical and health providers as appropriate beore adoptingany o the exercise programs and suggestions in this book or drawing inerences rom them.

The author and publisher specically disclaim all responsibility or any liability, loss or risk,

personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, o the use and ap-plication o any o the contents o this book.

First Touchstone trade paperback edition March 2012

TOUCHSTONE and colophon areregistered trademarks o Simon & Schuster, Inc.

For inormation about special discounts or bulk purchases,please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at

1-866-506-1949 or [email protected].

The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event.For more inormation or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers

Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

Manuactured in the United States o America

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

Library o Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataDreyer, Danny.

Chi marathon : the breakthrough natural running program or a pain-reehal marathon and marathon / Danny Dreyer and Katherine Dreyer.

p. cm.

1. Marathon runningTraining. 2. Tai chi. I. Dreyer, Katherine. II. Title.GV1065.17.T3D74 2012

796.42'52dc23 2011038844

ISBN 978-1-4516-1795-5ISBN 978-1-4516-1799-3 (ebook)


5/18

This book is dedicated to the ever-growing Chi Team,

and all of you who support our journey.


6/18vii

Contents

frwrd xi

itrdct:lvRfrvr xiiiThe Ideal Training Triad: Form, Conditioning, and Mastery xvTai Chi and Running xviRunning: An Innate Part o Who We Are xviiFinding Yoursel in This Book xxi

PartoChapter 1: The Many Faces o the Marathon 3

The Dilemma 5Pain-Free 7The Chi Marathon Vision and Challenge 8Natural Running, Bareoot-like Running,

Minimalist Running 9

Intelligent Movement 10The Key to Eortless Movement 11The Chi in Chi Marathon 12


7/18

viii Contents

The Application o Tai Chi Principles to Your Running:Creating the Conditions or Energy to Flow 13

Cooperating with Forces 15

The Whole-Body Marathon 16Body Sensing: A Process o Discovery 17The Seven Phases o Training or a Marathon: Technique-Based,

Race-Specic Training 19Its Your Choice: Choose Quality with Every Step 23

Chapter 2: Phase I: Vision, Goals, and Planning 24The Power o Intention 26

Personal Assessment28

Choosing a Training Program 40The Anatomy o the Ideal Workout 42Your Training Schedule 44Shoes, Accessories, and Clothing 45Nutrition 49

Chapter 3: Phase II: The Technique Phase 51The ChiRunning Training Principles 52

Needle in Cotton: Alignment and Relaxation 52Form, Distance, and Speed 53Converting Your Running from a Sport to an Internal Practice 54Gradual Progress: The Slow Way to Learn Quickly 54

The Form Focuses: The Building Blocks o Good Technique 561. Posture Focuses 572. Lean Focuses 703. Lower Body Focuses

75

4. Pelvic Rotation Focuses 805. Upper Body Focuses 826. Gears, Cadence, and Stride Length Focuses 86

The Form Focus Workout: Repetition and Accuracy 89Practice Makes Perect 90

Chapter 4: Phase III: The Conditioning Phase 92Gathering and Issuing 94

Functional Relaxation 94Body Sensing 2.0 96Preparation or the Conditioning Phase 97Review Your Vision and Goals 97


8/18

Contents ix

Assess Your Conditioning and Your Technique 98The Time Trial 98Pacing and PRE 99

Functional Workouts 102The LSD Run 102How to Become the Ultimate Fat-Burning Machine 103Use o the Heart Rate Monitor 105Fueling, Hydration, and Electrolyte Replacement 109Managing Your Energy or the Long Run 112Conserving Energy 114Midweek Training Runs: Expanding Your Running Horizons 122

Intervals 122Surges 124Tempo Runs 125Hill Runs 126

Fun Runs ( Recovery Runs) 126Cross-Training Workouts 127

Chapter 5: Phase IV: The Mastery Phase 128

Race-Specic Training 129Assess Yoursel: Physically, Mentally, and Emotionally 130The Mastery Phase Time Trial 131Race Planning: Know the Territory Ahead and

Train Accordingly 133Weekly Workouts in the Mastery Phase 137Tips and Suggestions 139

Chapter 6: Phase V: Taper Time 142Your Training During Taper Time 143Rest, Relax, Flowbut No Funny Stu 145Race Week Pre-Race Diet 146Preparing or Race Day 146Race Week Logistics: The Big List 147

Chapter 7: Phase VI: Race Weekend 149Pre-race Preparation 150

What Notto Do the Day Beore Your Race 155Race Day 155Crossing the Finish Line 157The Day Ater 159


9/18

x Contents

Chapter 8: Phase VII: Rest and Renewal 162Your End-o-Event Review 165The Fringe Benets o Failure 165

Keep Moving 166Moving Forward 167Multiple Marathons 168Upward Spiral o Chi 168

PartTwChapter 9: Advanced ChiRunning Techniques 173

The Five-Element Theory o ChiRunning 174Are You an Advanced ChiRunner? 176Advanced Topics 179

Chapter 10: Training the Whole Person: Liestyle Componentsor Success 191

Creating a Lie with Flow 192Nutrition 193Have a Consistent Schedule: An Exercise in

Rate and Rhythm 198Support rom Friends and Family 200Rest and Recuperation 202The Multiple Marathon Liestyle 203Energy Management and the Mindul Liestyle 203Inuse Yoursel with the Positive 205

Ackwdt 207

AppdxA:BrhamaratTraPrra,16Wk 209

AppdxB:BrmaratTraPrra,24Wk 231

AppdxC:frfc 267

AppdxD:PacCart 275

idx 279


10/183

C h a p t e r O n e

The Many Faces ofthe Marathon

mdactjdttrtdcbrd

rt.

i Ching

Like an art museum or a symphony, a marathon is a great place to go

when you want to eel good about the potential o the human race.Whether you cheer a riend on rom the sidelines, volunteer at an

aid station, or run the event yoursel, you get to witness and experiencea side o humankind that is both elemental and exalted. I love beingat marathon events because o the singular connection o spirit thatbonds everyone. Its maniested as the innate drive to evolve, to betteroneselto be that bridge between heaven and earth, between the invis-ible and visible worlds, between mind and body.

You dont need to have expensive or special equipment. Heck, themore low-tech the shoe, the better, these days. The best runners in theworld are those whove run bareoot most o their lives. You dont need


11/18

4 Danny Dreyer and Katherine Dreyer

to be part o an elite cluband yet there are plenty o clubs and groupsyou can join to enjoy the camaraderie. Going out or a run is one o thequickest and least complicated ways o getting t.

Along with the elemental beauty o running is the individual story oeach runner; every one as inspiring as the next. For some, it is their rstmarathon. Perhaps they had been signicantly overweight or never eltparticularly good about their physical abilities; but they decided they toocould run and reclaim their health. They have trained or months andare putting themselves at that start line to join in with the thousands oothers who also at some point were in their rst marathon. Some ndthat running helps them manage their depression or addictions and cel-

ebrate their internal victory by joining the uniying spirit o the mara-thon. You might nd someone running his tenth marathon in as manymonths and this one being the one hundredth in his lie. Story aterstory is lled with the wonder o the potential o the human spirit toovercome diculty and sometimes conquer impossible odds. Marathonevents are brimming with the excitement o athletes o every level andconcern, collectively reaching beyond themselves.

In the lead pack, youll see human beings who have spent a good dealo their lives dedicated to perecting their sport, putting everythingthey have into that event. No matter where you arecheering rom thesidelines, watching rom a television screen thousands o miles away, orrunning in the back o the packyou can eel the energy o their eortliting us all up and sparking our imaginations. What cant the humanbody do? Better yet, what can this bodydo?

In 2009 almost hal a million U.S. runners ran a marathon, and more

than 600,000 ran a hal marathon. The number o emale nishers nowoutpaces the number o men who nish. Not only are the participationnumbers in marathons increasing each year, but so is the number omarathons. In 2009 more than twenty-ve new marathons were intro-duced in the United States aloneand this during a downturn in theeconomy.

There is no comparison to the palpable energy o a marathon event.Where else do thousands o people come together in such a large mass

and challenge themselves physically and mentally to such a degree?How oten do elite athletes and everyday people get to participate in thesame event? Theses events have made long-distance running accessibleto anyone willing to stretch hersel beyond her perceived limits.


12/18

Chi Marathon 5

Considering the many health benets o running, the annual increasein hal and ull marathon events means that more and more peopleare getting t, improving their cardiovascular and aerobic health, re-

leasing excess weight, and eeling mentally more clear and ocused.Distance running oers all o those benets and so many more. Insideevery endurance athlete is the desire not only to do something that isbeyond the normal but also to step beyond what he has accomplishedbeore, whether its his rst hal marathon or his sixtieth marathon byage sixty. Humans live to evolve, and we run with the desire to expandourselves, to see whats possible and to eel ourselves stretching ourlimits.

The Dilemma

There is, however, a downside to our dreams o grandeur. Our mindscan be too altruistic and tend to dream without enough considerationo what our bodies are currentlycapable o. Notice the emphasis on cur-rently. The human body has a great capacity or learning and or growth.

And it is our dreams that motivate and inspire positive change in ourlives. Our bodies, however, dont change as ast as our minds (thankheaven). They need time to catch up and collaborate with the ideas inour minds. You wouldnt expect a six-month-old to walk, and it wouldntbe air to expect your body to run a marathon without being prepared.I youre going to run that ar, why not enjoy the entire process romconception to reality? This book is about maniesting your dreams intoa healthy, positive physical reality, pain- and injury-ree, by ollowing a

sensible and sustainable path o learning and growth, one that thrives onthe teamwork o the mind and body.

When we push our bodies to longer and longer distances withoutproper preparation, our chances o getting injured increase astronomi-cally. Running is a high-injury sport when done without proper training.The injury rate among runners generally hovers between 50 and 65 per-cent, depending on which studies you read. Among marathoners, thatnumber alls between 65 and 90 percent, which is worth taking seriously.

It does not have to be that way, and there is no reason why you shouldnd yoursel among these statistics.

As with any sport, your ease, enjoyment, and perormance will im-prove when you train with good technique. At some point in our lives we


13/18


have all had some kind o instruction in a sport or tness activity, such asswimming, tennis, gol, or yoga. With almost every sport instruction howbest to move is considered the norm. But when it comes to running, we

think we canand most coaches sayjust go out and do it. Unortu-nately, or many it means getting injured.

Paradoxically, we have an innate ability to run long distances. It ispart o our evolutionary makeup, as the studies o Dr. Dan Liebermanand other researchers have shown. It is exemplied in the grace o theEast Arican runners who continue to be so successul in distance run-ning events.

I we are meant to run long distances, then, what is the problem?

Between lack o enough physical movement as we sit in ront ocomputers and TVs to social norms or what looks good, including poorpostural habits, our bodies are no longer in good running readiness. Ourliestyle habits have unctionally changed how we move. But it is wellwithin us to make the change back to good movement and posturalhabits. We all just need to choose to do so. It is essential i you want torun a hal or ull marathon pain-ree. You might be able to complete the

distance without having good running technique, but dont be surprisedi your marathon transorms rom an event to an ordeal over the courseo those 26.2 miles.

The act is, there really does not have to be any bad news. Runningitsel is not the reason or the high rate o injury. It is how you runthat is the primary culprit, sometimes ueled by a mind-set that pushesyour body beyond sensible limits. Training or a marathon should buildyour bodys strength, conditioning, and long-term health and well-

being. There is no reason in the world or running, or training or amarathon, to break down your body or cause it long-term damage.

The vast majority o people running a marathon today are ollowingtraining programs that will train you to increase your weekly long-rundistance to build the stamina to make it to the end o a marathon. Theproblem with this approach is that it doesnt take into consideration theact that you might be running all those miles in a way that is harmulto your body, given your current biomechanics or weak areas. There is a

need to overhaul a aulty, inecient, and potentially harmul system otraining or marathons and replace it with a more holistic approach thatconsiders the needs, abilities, and dreams oeveryathlete.

I cant count the number o people who have told me they ran a


14/18

Chi Marathon 7

marathon and had a very dicult experience. Many wouldnt thinko doing it again. Some olks have even given up running altogether.Im always disappointed to hear this because I know that i theyd been

shown how to do it well, theyd still be out there enjoying themselves atwhat I know to be a sae and very enjoyable sport. Struggle is an option.You can choose to run a marathon on sheer will by gutting it out, or youcan learn to take the path o least resistance with a ocused body and arelaxed mind. One way eels lousy; the other way is un. One way eelsnarrow and limited; the other way can help you grow, move, and under-stand yoursel in ways you never thought possible.

Pain-Free

In the title o this book is the promise and challenge o running a pain-ree marathon. By pain, we mean pain that is in any way detrimentalto your long-term health and well-being. I you are a rst-time mara-thoner, you may experience some productive discomort as your bodygains the conditioning it needs to run the hal or ull marathon distance.

Many clients will let us know that they eel a slight soreness in theirabdominals, and we respond very positively, Great, that means youreon the right track. Productive discomort is not the pain were talkingabout when we say pain-ree. We want every runner to be ree o thepain that leads to injury or that hampers your running or your liestylein a signicant way. Nonproductive discomort can be the precursor topain, and you do have to listen to your body and make those judgmentcalls or yoursel. Sharp or throbbing pain or discomort that lasts more

than two to three days is most likely a warning.In most cases, running with improper technique is what causes pain

and injury. What you learn in the Chi Marathon program is to minimizethe potential or pain and injury by using good technique and a mindulawareness o your bodys needs. However, i you are running incorrectlyor ineciently, run arther than your body is conditioned to handle, orcontinue to run without nding the cause o the issue and correcting it,pain could degrade into injury.

It all boils down to the myth that pain and suering is a necessarypart o the marathon equation. Its that tired old no pain, no gain phi-losophy. As Howard Hanger, a local minister here in Asheville, said, Nopain, no gain? Theres enough pain in liewho needs more?


15/18


The Chi Marathon Vision and Challenge

The marathon boom shows one thing: people are willing to work, and

work hard, to accomplish their goals. I youre reading this book, at thevery least youre in the I think I can stage o preparing or a mara-thon. You also might be in the I thought I could stage and hoping orsome support to make the training pain-ree and enjoyable again. Ineither case, youre willing to train to run 13.1 or 26.2 miles, and that saysa lot about you.

The opportunity and the challenge o Chi Marathon is to train in away that changes your running, or the better, or the rest o your lie. Asyou change your running, youll change how you relate to your body, andyoull see your movement patterns and your thought patterns change orthe better. The beauty o training or a ull or hal marathon distanceis that you have plenty o time to practice. So you might as well makethe most o those hours on the road. The ChiRunning Form Focusesand the seven training phases o the Chi Marathon program will takeyou through a process o discovery that makes running long distances

easier, more ecient, and more enjoyable. The process is engaging andinspiring as you tap into your innate ability to run.

I have had knee problems ever since a ootball injury when I was

seventeen. While I ran as a young adult and into my ties, I did

okay, but always had knee pain and swelling. I routinely went to or-

thopedic surgeons and physical therapists to get advice, but I was still

limited in how ar I could run. Running hills was out o the question.

I picked up your book in 2005 and read it but never really applied itlike I should. Last year, when I was ty-seven, I bought the DVD

and hal marathon training program and really studied them. Im an

engineer, and the descriptions o the physical concept o ChiRunning

made a lot o sense to me. The results have been miraculous.

Im now running aster and longer (even on extreme hills) than

I have since I was seventeen. The best news is that Im having no

lingering pain. My orty years o knee pain is gone. Im swimming,

biking, and backpacking without knee pain. My other painstoshins, Achilles tendon, toes, etc.are gone.

Thank you so much or your instructions. It really has changed

my lie.

Karl Gebhardt


16/18

Chi Marathon 9

Natural Running, Barefoot-likeRunning, Minimalist Running

In 1999, when I rst started teaching ChiRunning, Ken Saxton was run-ning marathons bareoot. A quiet man, he did not get quite the press andattention that some bareoot runners get today. Ken ran bareoot becausehe knew, as I did, that the runners with the best running orm, exem-plied beautiully in the East Arican runners who were (and still are)winning most distance events, had run bareoot most o their lives. Theireet and their bodies had been educated rom childhood by the contactwith the ground with each step they ever took.

Dan Lieberman did a ollow-up to his born to run study and pub-lished an article o his ndings in the journal Nature in January 2010.He wanted to nd out i bareoot runners experienced less impact withthe ground than runners wearing shoes. So he compared groups o habit-ually bareoot runners (Kenyans) with groups o runners who habituallywore shoes (Harvard runners) and ound that the bareoot runners didindeed experience lower collision orces with the ground. Many people

in the running community and the press took this to mean that big,bulky running shoes werent doing what they were touted to do, whichis provide a soter landing and prevent injury. He never said that in hisstudy, but he did suggest that urther studies needed to be done in orderto nd out whether these lower collision orces actually lead to lower in-jury rates in bareoot runners compared to shod runners.

Between Liebermans study, Chris McDougalls book, and the growingsuccess o ChiRunning, the running community began to seriously ques-

tion the need or thick-soled running shoes, and the minimalist shoe in-dustry was born. In 2009, the only minimal shoes available were racingfats. Today all o the shoe companies are building low-prole runningshoesand in my opinion, its to everyones advantage. Hence the newlycoined term minimalist running.

Personally, I preer a more minimal shoe (more on shoes in Chap-ter 2), but I also eel that switching rom wearing overbuilt shoes torunning bareoot or running in a minimal shoe is not necessarily the

saest or best way to learn to run naturally. It can help to strengthen thesupportive muscles in the lower leg, which is a good thing. But i youvebeen running or many years in big, bulky shoes, sitting at a desk, driv-ing a car, not doing regular manual labor, and running with incorrectbiomechanics, theres no guarantee that you will automatically run cor-


17/18


rectly simply because you take o your shoes. It takes time or your bodyto return to its original state, as when you were a child and ran aroundbareoot or in low-prole sneakers.

ChiRunning is a whole-body technique that teaches you to run as youwould have i you never wore shoes. It is a bareoot-like running stylethat allows you to run naturally and involves much more than just thecontact your oot has with the ground. It is about running rom yourdeep core muscles and letting the rest o your body relax. It is aboutmoving the way you were designed to run, rom head to toe. And as wework toward getting back into our natural way to run, it is good to knowthat modern science agrees with our goal. Our Medical Advisory Board

(visit our website) includes MDs, physical therapists, and other health-care practitioners who understand that a more natural running gait ispossible, and necessary, i your goal is to run pain-ree.

Intelligent Movement

In the Chi Marathon program, rather than training harder, youll be

training smarter. We call it intelligent movement, and we have seen,in the countless runners weve trained, that the knowledge in your mindcan save your body rom a lot o unnecessary and unhealthy stress andpain. Youll educate your mind to think in new ways about what trainingor a marathon really means, and youll train yoursel to work mindullywith your body to be more ecient. Youll learn to manage your energyto the point where you can build energy rather than burn through it likea teenager at the mall with $50.

Intelligent movement can be summed up with these three tenets:

Energy management and economy o eort Having a creative mind and a responsive body Seeing challenges in a positive light

Intelligent movement is both a vision and a challenge. The vision isthat any average runner can relearn and remember that kidlike, innate

running ability that allows them to run joyully and naturally. The realchallenge is to approach distance running in a new way and with a newmind-set. Instead o testing how long your body can last, youll train toimprove how your mind and body can work together.


18/18

read an excerpt from chi marathon!

Documents