This is an older post. I wrote it when I was training for the Long Beach 1/2 Marathon. Hope you find it helpful:
If you read about running lately, I’m sure you’ve been exposed to the “Pose Method.” Before that, I purchased a book called Chi Running. The book is very similar to what I’ve read about Pose and I will attest that running the way recoomended helped me. I decided to try out the basic running form described in the book, which stresses the following:
“The key to it all is that your foot never hits the ground in front of your body, which puts maximum strain on your knees.”
Click above to get the book
I bought this because I had severe shin splints. I would run a few miles and the pain would make me stop. I would have to wait for the pain to go away, and then try again. I was not making progress.
I know I don’t do it correctly yet, but I decided to give Chi Running a shot and… IT WORKED! I did not suffer from shin splints or knee pain and was able to push my training forward. There is for sure something to this!
I concentrated on keeping my body aligned, slightly bent forward, and ran at a higher than usual cadence for me. I tried not to over-stride and would make sure that me feet fell under my body, not in front of it. I also ensured that I did not land on my heels, since this can lead to knee pain and the aforementioned shin splints.
However, I’m still getting back into the swing of things, so I developed blisters. I am not used to landing on my whole foot and I was not wearing good socks. I ran a total of 2 miles, but I felt great. I even sped up a little after the first mile because I could feel blisters forming. I figured, if I’m going to get them, might as well go hard since I won’t last long out here. Overall, I was happy with my workout and will try again once the blisters heal up a bit.
