Chi - Running - It's Not All About Looking Like an Idiot

Some Poor Buggers Feet (taken from googling 'Marathon Des Sable Feet')

 I had a 'Chi-Running' lesson last week in Edinburgh. If you want to see me prancing around like a fat turkey on amphetamines, with tights on, you can watch the video, ill put it up when i work out how to.

Dont watch it if you have a crush on me girls, you'll change your mind, really....

Plagiarised from my trainer Nick Constantines website -

'ChiRunning combines the inner focus and flow of T'ai Chi with the power and energy of running to create a revolutionary running form and philosophy that takes the pounding, pain, and potential damage out of the sport of running. The ChiRunning program increases mental clarity and focus, enhances the joy of running, and turns running into a safe and effective lifelong program for health, fitness, and well-being.'

Despite seeming a bit like a Chinese Eckhart Tolle, the main principles are sound -

1. It's all about biomechanics. You dont see gazelles getting sore knees. Or even cats for that matter. Thats because they move efficiently. In the west, people run like clunky robots, with terrible technique, which is why they end up with niggling injuries that keep with them all their running lives, or keeps people saying total crap like 'yeah i cant run, i get sore knees/back/shins...' doh!  Chi-running aims to allow you to run smoothly and without injuring yourself for long distances.

2. To run ludicrously long distances without getting injured, you need to sort out the basic technique perfectly first. The whole intelligence here is to tweak your technique and improve it so you both speed up dont die.

The Videos (thanks to and another free plug for Nick Constantine from soul in motion ) were extremely helpful. Not only did they show me that actually i'm not all that good looking after all, Nick was kind enough to put me through a structured programme where i could see where I was making small errors in technique, so I could fix them, followed by a powerpoint focussing on where I can improve (In my case i needed to relax my ankles, and watch my footstrike, and increase my cadence towards 175 per minute)

And stop eating pot noodles.

Anyway I recommend the lessons, i'm looking forward to using the remainder of this month (in an extremely cold and icy Baltic Estonia) to run indoors with my pack, get my technique right, and build up to some decent mileage. And to try not to drink more than 3 nights a week. Bring on the Marathon Des Sables!

Fatties of London, You Have No Excuse

 I found that the Capital Ring is actually not a Gay bar in Old Compton Street, it's a ring of running/walking/cycling paths all round London - a kind of 'walkers M25' as the bumf says.

Runners are completely spoiled in London - it never gets cold, and there are hundreds of tracks and paths, by canals, in parks, along motorways...so you London fatties have no excuse, im afraid.

I gave it a shot round Finsbury park yesterday, just the usual slow 10km with the pack on, I think I can start building up the mileage now at last though after a succesful 'Chi-running' lesson in Edinburgh last week (more about this in the next post).

The place was teeming with runners, junkies and alcoholics. Every now and then, i'd come face to face with the mangled up crazy eyes of some nutcase with his can of strong lager, and we'd both look at each other, each of us thinking 'Thank God im not you' . A very special moment.

New Year Resolution

Despite having flu for the last ten days ive finally made the first (hopeless 5km) training run of the year, on the icy roads, before the snow came back on again...I now have 3 months to get into super shape and fitness levels - if its not been snow/icy out, ive been down with flu, so im totally out of shape. However, this is how i plan to change that (got to act serious now - whether i can deliver, theres another story!)

1. January - Im in Scotland, London and Estonia (which is about -15 right now) After being out for most of December due to snow/illness/laziness, my aim for this month is to get back into basic good shape again. I've a chi-running lesson in Edinburgh this week, so i can learn to chi-run with the pack on.  Talking of which, the casino was nice to me last week, so i splashed out and bought all my kit online - i now am the proud owner of lots of dried chicken korma packets, compass, headlight, desert running shoes (they look great shoes actually) and a superlight raidlight backpack. It seems that my weight will only be about 8kg on my back which is fine.

2. February - Im in Estonia, Buffalo, then to Panama. Just in case anyone asks why, its because I am actually homeless, ie i dont have a home. Pretty weird feeling but ill sort that out after the Marathon Des Sable. I'll buy a tent or somthing. Again i'll be in frozen countries and i dont want to humph around winter kit but i think ill have to. I'll be in Panama, which at least will be above zero degrees, from 12th Feb so this is when my peak and most intense training will take place, im hoping by then to be in good enough shape to increase my running distance to 10km short and 30km - 40km long again, with pack.

3. March - Panama and Madrid. I'll have most of this month in the warmer and cheaper climes of Panama City, so ill be able to spend the first week and half pushing my fitness up and maybe looking at other things like speed and diet and so on, and tweaking any kit that doesnt work right. On 20th, ill fly to Madrid, Spain and try to get down to Morocco from there for the race. After 20th, i plan to wind down training and relax ahead of a lovely week long walk/run in the desert.

Fortunately ive been reading up about the Marathon Des Sables. It actually seems like a much easier race than i thought it was - it certainly is no longer the hardest race in the world, although i suppose its still in the top ten. But i imagine if im not careful it is still possible that my last vision will be a vulture plucking my eye out somewhere in the desert.