I’ve been training for the Ottawa Marathon for six months. I’ve been more focused on pace and number of runs than ever before. I barely even skipped any runs. Through the winter, I ran hill repeats, I met with a personal trainer every week, I even ran the Hypothermic Half as a part of my training plan. Honestly? I’ve rocked it.

I’m down about seven pounds since the fall, my legs are lean and strong, even my arms are starting to get some definition. I feel confident in my clothes, I feel strong mentally.

There’s a ton of thank you cards I’m going to be writing next week, to all the people who donated to Team Diabetes for me. I’m waiting until after the race so that I can happily tell them that I reached my fundraising and my race goal. I am so ready for this race, it’s all I’ve been thinking about.

I owe it to my personal trainer who kicked my ass in a wonderfully positive way. I owe it to my husband, who tolerated my months of mumbling under my breath and counting on my fingers trying to figure out an optimal pace, I owe it to my parents who are flying to Ottawa to be there at the finish line to cheer for me. I owe it to myself because I’m the one who slogged those miles and miles on the road. I’m refusing to think about not reaching my goal (4:15) because I’ve done so much and focused so completely and I feel so positive and excited about this whole experience to not reach it. (But I will say this – no matter what happens on race day, I have given it my all this winter. I’m not saying I won’t be disappointed if I come in later than 4:15, but I know in my heart that I’ve really kicked my own ass the past six months.)

I have a secret though, one that I haven’t talked about much. She’s the one who often drags me out the door, she keeps my legs moving when I’m tired. She never even complains about the weather – in fact, the messier, the better as far as she’s concerned. And after my long runs, she always greets me at the door with a smile and sits by the bathroom door waiting for me to get out of the tub, then lays beside me on the bed while I rest afterwards.

That’s Milo. Isn’t she a sweetie? Nine years old and still rocking long runs (she ran 14k last weekend with my husband).

Milo’s my Ace in the Hole. There’s no weather bad enough for her to not want to run. We crash through trails together, she zooms through the puddles that I try to avoid. And then, when we’re done running and I brush her, she loves all over me with her kisses.

She’s the best running partner ever – I only wish she’d be with me on that last 10k next weekend.

In this blog I’m going to explain how Chi Running eliminates the use the muscles in you lower legs and feet to push you forward when you run. This significantly reduces the amount of running effort required, and also significantly reduces the chance of lower leg injuries. In a separate blog I’ll explain how Chi Running also eliminates the use of the muscles in the upper leg.

In Chi Running your momentum is created by falling forward rather than by using the muscles in your lower legs and feet to push you forward.

Whenever your feet contact the ground during running, the muscles in the lower legs and feet are first used to support your body weight. Then they are used to push your whole body weight forward from the ball of the foot. The amount of muscle effort required to just support your body weight is quite small to that required to push your body weight forward.

If you want to feel the difference just relax all the muscles in the lower legs from the knees down and simply pick up your lower legs and feet from the knees. Now run in place and notice how much more effort is required. This is the extra effort that is eliminated in Chi Running.

To fall forward you first align your posture so you can draw a straight line through the center of your shoulders, hips and ankles. Then you lean your whole posture forward from the ankles with completely relaxed lower legs.

The ankles form a hinge between your aligned posture and your feet. If the muscles in the lower legs and feet are not completely relaxed they tighten this hinge and resist the forward fall.

The concept can be demonstrated using a broomstick. The straight shape of the broomstick represents your aligned posture. The hinge point between the base of the broomstick and the ground represents your ankle. If you can balance the broomstick perfectly vertical it will not move. However, if you lean it slightly it will begin to move by falling.

Now imagine we add a foot to the broomstick. If there is any tension in the lower legs or foot this tension locks the hinge point at the base of the broomstick and the ground (your ankle) and resists the forward fall.

The muscles in your lower legs have to be completely relaxed throughout your whole stride. Any tension in your lower legs or feet resists the forward fall.

Running across sand can be used to visually demonstrate whether or not you use the muscles in your legs and feet to push you forward. If you only support your body weight without pushing forward you create footprints with even depression that result from even pressure throughout the bottom of the foot. If you push forward you’ll see the footprint deepen under the front of the foot resulting from pushing forward from the ball of the foot.

When Chi Running you concentrate on continuously recreating the conditions for the forward fall and forward movement happens as a result. Your concentration is on maintaining aligned posture, relaxed lower legs and feet and leaning your posture in front of your ankles.

Eliminating the use the muscles in you lower legs and feet to push you forward significantly reduces the amount of effort required to run, and significantly reduces the chance of lower leg injuries.

By: Gwen Leron

“A Customer for Life” is the motto of the specialty walking and running shop The Runner’s Den in Port Moody, British Columbia. But how do you keep a customer for life? Paul Slaymaker, owner of the Runner’s Den, has a pretty good idea.

Raised in Vancouver, Slaymaker’s love for running started in high school and though a basketball scholarship in the USA got him through school, running was always his first love. After school ended, he moved back to Vancouver which at the time was becoming a hotbed for running events. He continued his passion for running by participating in races whenever he could, including the prestigious 100K world championships in France in 1999. But thoughts of turning his passion into a business were always on his mind: “I always knew a running shop was around the corner.”

Being able to offer the latest trends and technologies from the running world in his store is of importance to Slaymaker, but when dealing with his customers, he likes to drive home the message that it is not all about the shoe, but about the entire package of knowledge they take away from their visit. “Part of why I love what I do comes from the joy of sharing my knowledge. It’s about making connections with each customer,” he says. And since The Runner’s Den will celebrate its 11th year in business this year, Slaymaker is doing something right.

To keep his specialty store special, Slaymaker keeps on top of all the current trends in the market and he makes sure he passes them along to the customer through the store. He is pleased to carry the Mizuno line in his store because of their high quality products and the fine attention to detail that goes into each item. Both he and his customers appreciate the fact that Mizuno shoes are so customizable down to the width of the shoe. “I see Mizuno as a leader with cutting edge materials and technology,” says Slaymaker.

Giving back to the community is also an important aspect to Slaymaker’s business. To date, over $50,000 has been raised through The Runner’s Den for the Eagle Ridge Hospital, a local non- funded facility. “If something were to happen to our son it’s where we’d have to go,” says Slaymaker. “They need our support and the community has been super supportive.”

The Runner’s Den offers several walking and running clinics that have become so popular, they’ve had to cap the number of participants, resulting in regular sell outs. “We like to keep the clinics small so we can spend personalized time with each participant”, says Slaymaker. “The motto of our clinics is ‘No one runs alone.’”

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The Runner’s Den
239 Newport Drive
Port Moody BC V3H 5C9
Website: http://www.runnersden.ca
Twitter: @therunnersden

Name: Tania Archer

Sport: Sprinter (former), Lifestyle Athlete

Sponsors: Mizuno, Archer Investment Group Inc., Multibionta 30 Day Trial Athlete Tweeter

What I do: Motivational Speaker, Esteem Team Canada Athlete Ambassador, Mizuno Brand Ambassador

Coach: Joe Arko

Heroes: The young people I meet through charities and speaking really inspire me with their aspirations. It’s exciting to watch them pursue their goals.

Favourite workouts: Ab Blasts (plank, side crunches, reach crunch, bosu crunch, medicine ball twists), Agility (ladder run, high knees, zig zag, staggered sprints), Hill Sprints (4 to 5 sets of 6 (six) 90m uphill sprints), Lunges

Favourite Mizuno gear for workouts: Wave Inspire running shoes, Arch socks, Jinx sport tank, Meridian sport skirt, Exodus tights.

Favourite Mizuno gear: I love my long Nine Collection pants.

Food Essentials: Acai smoothies, Sushi, Avocado, No fat Greek yogurt, dates, chocolate

What keeps me going: The rush of exceeding my expectations, sharing these life wins with others to inspire their dreams.

Training Tips:

– Set a goal, take realistic steps towards that goal, set yourself up to over-deliver, create a benchmark.

– Eat healthy, Eat regularly, Eat good food so you can cheat now and then guilt free.

– Find a great coach who will work with your goals and encourage training ownership.

– Own your workout. An empowered day starts with your attitude!

– Mix it up … Core, agility, endurance at key times, yoga etc.

Best Training Advice: Take the time to build your personalised “Fitness Prescription”. Selecting the right gear, building an achievable nutrition plan and working with fitness or coaching professionals is essential in creating a realistic lifestyle shift. Have an “I can” attitude.

My motto: Dream. Believe. Achieve.

* * * * *

Canadian Olympic Team Trialist
Motivational Speaker, Spokesperson
Mizuno Canada Athlete
Esteem Team Canada Athlete Role Model
University Of Alabama Athlete Alumni
Former Hamilton Olympic Club Athlete

www.twitter.com/taniaarcher

The essence of Chi Running is the use of the momentum of the forward fall to pull you forward rather than using the muscles in your legs and feet to push you forward. The ankles play an important part in facilitating the momentum of the forward fall.

When running, the support phase of your stride occurs whenever one of your feet contacts the ground and supports your body weight. During the support phase you create the momentum of the forward fall by ensuring your posture is aligned and leaned in front of the ankle of the foot in contact with the ground. Provided there is no tension in the ankle, the forward momentum is created by the lean which moves all your body weight in front of the loose ankle. Your ankle serves as a hinge between your aligned posture and your foot. You want this hinge to operate freely without any resistance that would impede the forward fall and its momentum. This is only possible if the ankle is completely free of any tension. Tension is created by engaging the calf muscles or the muscles in the foot. Therefore to ensure there is no tension in the ankles all the muscles from the knee down must be completely relaxed. Imagine how may fewer running injuries you will fall victim to by not using the muscles in the lower legs!

Calf muscles and foot muscles are used to actively create movement of the foot. The term “active” is used to mean muscles are intentionally engaged to cause movement. The easiest way to ensure the calf and foot muscles are not actively used is to just visualize releasing all tension in the ankles. Another great visualization that helps avoid actively engaging calf or foot muscles is to pretend that you have no feet and you are running instead on your legs only. Remember the pirate “Long John Silver” who has a peg leg? Well visualize you are “Long John Chi Runner”? who has two peg legs :->

It’s Friday, May 13^th (insert ubiquitous bad-luck joke here). The Toronto Marathon is on Sunday. I just flew in to The Big Smoke with as many of my worldly possessions as I could fit in two suitcases and am currently standing (the chairs are in a moving truck somewhere around Moose Jaw) in the kitchen of my new Toronto home. All things considered, I am pretty content… and yet…

The first official interaction I had with Tania regarding this Makeover was on Feb 1^st and since then I can (boastfully) say that I have not missed a single workout. To be honest, I didn’t know that was an option. Tania and Lucy told me what I needed to do and I did it (training is easy that way). And yet some how, at this late stage in the game, I feel unprepared.

I have seen remarkable growth in myself as a runner in those 3 months. Growth that I can literally measure in seconds and minutes and still I feel oddly skeptical of my own abilities. Can I sustain 4:15/km for 21.1km? The math says “yes”, my training logs say “yes“, Tania, Lucy and Ilia say “yes”, but my inner skeptic says “maybe“. I can coax him into saying “probably” but that is a far as he will go.

I am familiar with being nervous. I played in the band Captain Tractor for 12 years to every size of audience – 25,000 to 25 people. Prior to that I was a “Male Ballerina” (as Tania calls me) and I have also dabbled in acting, so I feel qualified to say that the feeling I have right now isn’t nerves… it’s just plain, old, unadulterated, doubt.

So, what am I going to do? Here’s the plan: I’m going to remind myself of my training sessions (luckily I have them very well documented), rest lots, eat well, go through my race plan with Lucy and Ilia (I have already gone through it with Tania), enjoy the race expo, try to be congenial (despite my worry level) at the Brunello Carbo Dinner, prepare my awesome Adidas race gear, sleep as well as I can and then “trust in the process” as they say. If that fails… I will high-5 every kid on the race course and finish with a huge smile on my face!

Well, people, it’s been a long time since I wrote last about my running.

The iRun Makeover program has been the experience of a lifetime! And that is not something that I say lightly or mean in a frivolous way; it really is a life-changing experience. Let me tell you how.

First off, the training: wow!!  You know, before I started this journey, I had run three days per week for 20 months solid – every week without fail I ran three out of seven days but I could not imagine running for more than that. I thought that three days per week was quite a lot and I was quite impressed with myself for doing that.

Being in this training program changed everything as I quickly progressed to running 4 and then 5 days per week and for a few weeks, I even ran 6 days per week. That in itself was a lesson to me that you can in fact achieve much more than you would have previously thought – all that you have to do it put your mind to it. The only difference between me running 3 days per week and 5 days per week is my thinking that “now I have to do this” and doing it! That’s all! The power of personal motivation and determination!

Also, this experience has given me a small glimpse into what it must be like to be a full-time (professional) athlete (not that I am in any way close to that, of course!) because all that my life has consisted of for the last 4 months is this: get up, have breakfast prescribed by nutritionist for a runner, go to work, work at least 9 hrs per day (and sometimes up to 11 hrs) in a stressful job, go home, change right away, run 10 K as prescribed by Tania Jones (my coach) – no leisurely runs for the fun of it for me! – go home, shower, eat my dinner in the proper portion size of proteins, carbs and fat and make sure I am hydrated enough – watch T.V. or read and go to bed at 10:30 PM as I need at least eight hours of sleep to properly recover from the day’s workout and do it all again the very same way the next day and the next day and the next day….you get the idea.

It’s a very disciplined way of life. In every free moment I find myself thinking about my running progress when I am not running, and then waiting to run the rest of the time. But it’s been very good for my bank account – no shops, no restaurants, no concerts, no movies, no going out with the friends. LOL! That has been my life since the beginning of February 2011.

But the hard work is paying off, happily. As has been documented here in iRun magazine, I ran the Mercedes Benz 10K on Sunday May 8th and ran it in 49 minutes which for a 47 yr old woman is a respectable time. Now, I feel much more confident about my running the Ottawa Marathon on May 29th. Not only do I know that I can do it, but I suspect that I can do it in a good time AND I hope that if the planets align and that everything goes well, that I might actually qualify for…wait for it…Boston!  Yes!  What an audacious and ambitious goal!  Who does this woman think she is?? Only run for two years in total, age 47 years old, never physically active in her “earlier” years, and now she wants to qualify for Boston?? Are you kidding me??

Well, people: that’s the message – that’s why this experience has been life changing. The question that we all should be asking is “WHY NOT?” Indeed, why not? If not me, then who? If not now, when?

Dream big! Take life by the horns! I am just a regular woman who wants to test her running limits and abilities and I started this journey one day about five years ago when I literally could not run for half a kilometre but I started and then I ran a bit more and a bit farther. You just have to have the patience and the discipline and the determination. As the saying goes “Rome wasn’t built in a day” and neither is a runner that is capable of running a marathon or of running Boston.

But YOU can be that person too – IF you want it badly enough AND if you have the proper support network as I absolutely could not have taken on this task if not for the help of Tania Jones, Lauren Jawno and the iRun Makeover program.