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February 06, 2005
1:48:40/156
Nathalie didn't take a very close close-up, but you can see some of the drops of mud. I ran 21 km (13 mi) down on the flats behind La Gache, trying to learn ChiRunning after having read the first 4 1/2 chapters of the book. (And it's clear that I'm not standing right in the photo.)
Although I ran at about the same speed as last week, I felt hugely better. Most of that was due to being healthy yet still running slowly in good weather (1 C (34 F) when starting out, 5 C (41 F) at the end). Yet I think part of it was from the changes even an imperfect adoption of ChiRunning made. In a nutshell, instead of pulling forward with your legs, ChiRunning has you falling and catching yourself with your legs. The faster you want to go, the more you lean forward.
I still have lots of work to do on my form. In particular, my knees bother me a little. I get the impression I was not relaxed enough, and was putting my legs too far forward. Its tough to wait until the very last moment to catch yourself with your leg and to do that smoothly. But my muscles and especially my shins are remarkably refreshed after a run that long. If I didn't know rest is a key part of training, I'd hop on the bike this afternoon.
Posted by Mark at February 6, 2005 02:28 PM