Proper Running Form

Focus on landing on the balls of your feet. It will help absorb the shock to your legs when you land.

As promised, here is what I was able to find regarding proper running form.

Click here for Coach Joe’s and Coach Dean’s weigh in on proper running form.

Chi Running – OK, I know this is popular in some running circles, but it sounds a lot like the Pose Method by Dr. Romanov. Click here for a nice animated video.

Click here for an example of  everyday posture. She shows you what neutral hips look like and how to achieve them.

Click here for another video on proper running form. This one is put out by the renegade health guy.

Setting My Sights on Chengdu

This isn't me, but I wish it was.

I have envisioned myself running again. Just as soon as I move to Chengdu, I want to start a training program. That means at least 4 times around the track every morning around 6AM.

The sun rises around 4 AM in far east Shandong province. It really puts me off. Fortunately, the sun rises at a more reasonable hour in Chengdu. I believe it is around 6 AM and that means that my circadian rhythm will be on an even keel once again.

Recently, I’ve been watching short snippets of the Running Evolution video and even tried one of the drills last night. Usually, my body adjusts to the demands running puts on it before my lungs catch up. I believe I read somewhere, that it takes about 3 months for your lungs to catch up with your body. I even looked into ordering one of those Power Lung things, but the feedback was kind of negative on the Runner World forum and then there is the whole shipping to China issue and the cost of the product too, so it looks like three strikes and you’re out.

I think the Body Flex breathing technique may serve me better and certainly be a lot more cheaper, since I already know how to do it. Body Flex works best when your stomach is empty, so I have to remember to do it in the morning.

Regardless of the hype and deceit surrounding Greer Childers, I believe that the breathing technique she promotes will help increase my lung capacity and if this helps me achieve my goal of running a mile without taking a walk break quicker, then so be it.

Running Form & Finding Running Shoes in China

I’ve been studying up on running form and have been watching 2 different running techniques. The first one is the Pose Method by Dr. Romanv and the second method is called Evolution Running by  Coach Ken Mierke.

Both are good systems and very similar, but I prefer the explanations on Coach Ken’s video over Dr. Romanov’s videos. Maybe it’s a language barrier thing?

Also, Coach Ken created his “Evolution” after Dr. Romanov created the “Pose Method.” So, you be the judge.

Anyway, it all makes sense, but my problem with Pose is that they want you to run in flat soled shoes with no sort of support. That’s fine if you don’t have any pronation issues. I happen to have a moderate pronation problem, so running in shoes without any sort of support is pretty much out of the question.

Speaking of pronation support, if you come to China be prepared. Bring your orthotics and a couple of good pair of running shoes. The concept of pronation support here is quite literally foreign to them. If you need pronation support, then have someone mail your shoes from the States or have them shipped over directly from a reputable online shoe store.

I went to several name brand athletic shoe places in my little city and tried on several pairs of shoes. None of them had any type of pronations support except Merrel and they weren’t even running shoes!

I’m not sure what I’m going to do now. Once I figure it out, I’ll post it and fill you all in on the details.