Quote:
Originally Posted by greatwhitenorthchick
Coltrane, DTB, Ty (I think), Hank and anyone else who runs, have you ever tried Chi Running? From what I can gather, you mostly run on the front half of your foot -- i.e., the ball, so your heel never really hits the ground. Also, you run a little pitched forward instead of upright.
I have been plagued by a tight hamstring all summer. I mostly took August off from running (I was running 3.5-4 miles/day 4 or 5 times a week -- I would run more, but I run to warm up before I train, so there's not enough time to do more). I was feeling better at the beginning of the week, so I ran again -- 3.5. miles. Because someone mentioned that Chi Running does not encourage further injury, I mostly ran on the ball of my feet, and it felt great while I was doing it, but now my calves are so tight it hurts to walk. It's the sort of tightness that will loosen up by Monday, so I'm not worried. The question is, when I am feeling fine next week and want to run, should I do the Chi Running again, and build up my calves (which would be helpful overall) or go back to regular running and maybe get the tight hamstring again.
I should mention I have a very slight scoliosis, so one leg is longer than the other, which throws off my gait.
Also my boyfriend thinks Chi Running is highly unnatural and does not think I should do it again. I think he may have a point, but I'm wondering if anyone else has done it.
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I don't know much about it, but there has been a movement towards barefoot running, which is apparently based upon the fact that humans have walked/run slow for millions of years barefoot, mostly landing on our midfoot(feet?), and that shoes alter our gait, posture, etc. and force us to land more on our heels, which may cause us to get injured more easily from running. Chi Running sounds like is has some similar ideas.
I have been lucky and have been mostly injury-free, so I'm probably not the best person to answer. That being said, I run in very lightweight shoes that don't do much to assist/change my gait. While I don't have much to back this up, I do think that many running shoes are over-engineered and force people to run differently from their natural gait.
As I'm sure you've noticed, the faster you run, the more likely you are to land on the ball/midfoot of your feet (as opposed to a heel strike).
Have you seen these?
