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Runcast6- Just Added! April 30th ChiRunning, Trail Running and Yoga Retreat
The ChiRunning, Trail Running and Yoga Retreat was Beautiful
L-R Kathleen, Ken, Carolyn, Carrie, Gary, Heather, Kristin, Greg, Janice, Emily -Photo by Steve
Our first ChiRunning, Trail Running and Yoga Retreat went off without a hitch last Saturday. We had a great group of new ChiRunners attend the retreat on one of the most beautiful days of the year. The location couldn’t have been nicer, a view for miles.
We have given plenty of ChiRunning workshops but our idea of a whole day retreat took it to another level. Whether it is a 4 hour group workshop or a 2 hour private, It seems like there is never enough time. We were able to focus on the ChiRunning lessons with over four hours of instruction, have two fantastic trail runs and two restoritive yoga sessions.
The retreat theme carried through the day. Nothing is better than not being rushed and enjoying nature. We enjoyed an organic lunch, the wildflowers, good conversation and fun company.
We would like to thank Emily, Ken, Janice, Carolyn, Heather, Carrie, Greg, Kristin and Kathleen for their fantastic spirit, great attitude and willingness to learn. Now they know how to run in order to prevent injuries. They’ll have to practice of course, and they now have the knowledge for a lifetime of softer, kinder, more flowing, natural running. We will be sending them some additional tips privately.
If you missed it, you still have a chance to participate in our next ChiRunning, Trail Running and Yoga Retreat, Sunday, April 30, in Palos Verdes. That’s right, you have one more chance to get in our retreat before our next one in July. We will leave the price the same for SoCalRunning.com members, Beach Runners and Pasadena Tri Club members, $175. It will be $195 for non-members. To become a member, all you have to do is sign-up on the SoCalRunning.com front page. It’s free and you save $20.
Namaste,
Gary Smith & Steve Mackel
Check out our workshop page for our new workshops/retreats.
Our ChiRunners take a rest in Savasana, one of the yoga poses during our yoga session
Catalina Marathon Part 2: Imagination is more important than Knowledge
“We don’t need to be good all the time, we just need to love what we love for more goodness in the world.”
Catalina like so many of my goals was a dream. Just a vision in my imagination. Some years back, I learned the power of visualizing. Lately more and more of my readings have been pointing to the power of this latent ability of the mind. But the trick is to feel the results of your dreams. That is when the subconscious mind and the power of the infinite mind really kick in to create these very images and feelings in your world.
So what all that spiritual ramblings mean is that do this simple exercise to accomplish your running goals…
Visualize running the race you have always dreamed of doing. But feel the exhilaration of crossing the finish line–the joy, the exhaustion, the excitement of the crowd, and your pride for finishing the goal.
So I had been doing this for months. I had seen myself on the trails of Catalina, and crossed that finish line many, many times in my imagination.After arriving at Avalon, my parents picked me up at the boat dock and I had the good pleasure of their company for the weekend as I stayed on their boat. It is always wonderful to spend time with my parents, and this was an opportunity for them to spend the weekend in Catalina also. I ate breakfast with them to the pouring rain. Would it rain during the Marathon again? Would the trails be covered in mud making them unrunnable? Silly negative thoughts I had to quickly dismiss.
Took a nap, and watched the rain come down. As soon as it let up I went into shore at Avalon to go in and watch Southern Illinois University, my alma mater, play West Virginia in the NCAA tournament. I watched a half of basketball, quickly observing that SIU would get crushed by a larger, better organized team.
Then I tried to find the “greatest radio station in the world”. KISL 88.7 in Avalon. I found the radio station, but no-one was there. I had been listening to the station as I trained and their mix of real roots reggae on Sunday morning gave me the spiritual inspiration on those long trail runs. Unfortunately, you can only catch their radio signal right next to the coast. Well worth listening to. After too many chips and salsa, I needed something healthy so I found some vegetarian soup at a coffee shop and met Sophia, who was doing her first marathon. I love marathoners because anyone that chooses to run 26.2 has imagination and belief in the impossible that makes for a courageous interesting life. She shared stories of Morocco, training, and we reflected on spiritual principles of correct thought. I love when conversations get spiritual with someone I just met. I can learn something from everyone I meet.
Then the rain let up and I saw my first Catalina rainbow. I cannot remember ever seeing rainbows in Southern California and this month I’ve seen three. A nice reminder that the universe will bless us with beauty when we least expect it.
I registered for the marathon and headed back to the boat with my parents. I practiced yoga on the back of the boat, having to get creative with some asanas. I saw the sun go down. And I prayed for a good result the next day. That night prepared everything I had for the next day. Camera, electrolytes, vitamins, aspirin, vaseline, rain gear, sunglasses, and backpack.
The Next Day
My father drops me off at the Catalina Flyer dock the next morning. There 700 runners line up to get on the one way boat to Two Harbors at 6:00 a.m. in the morning. I met Jason and Rebecca in line who were also doing their first marathon as a husband/wife team. They had five kids, yet still found the time to train. I love hearing stories like this. Because it reminds me that I will still find time to run marathons as life progresses in the future. Plus it’s just plain inspirational. After tackling downtown LA traffic the previous years, to run the LA marathon, to sit on a boat in the early morning hours on the way to Two Harbors, seeing the sun come up, was a welcome change–another reminder of the beauty we are blessed with in Southern California.
The starting line was drawn in the dirt. There was not starting gun, no loud music, no crowded streets–a man said go, and we were off. The first three miles were uphill. Then we hit a downhill section then more miles of uphill. Some sections were so muddy, my shoes came off a couple of times. Generally I run with my shoelaces very loose, so I had to tighten them. Finally at about mile 6 we had a two mile downhill section and I had a chance to relax and flow down the hill. Other runners could not believe my speed and leg turnover, I later had to give away my real secret: ChiRunning.
Then miles 8-18 were a combination of hills and easy hills. Maybe you get the idea of how many hills were on this marathon. Then at mile 18 came “pumphouse hill”, the steepest hill on the marathon. I thought I might be exhausted, but I was just a little tired. I took my time swinging my arms, working efficiently up the hill, breathing, conversing with others, just enjoying myself, and soon, I was at the top and had my first views of Avalon.
Only 7 more hills followed that. Then the best part: the last three miles of the marathon were steep downhill, and began passing runners like crazy. I must say I was getting exhausted the last mile of the race, maybe I hadn’t quite trained as hard as I should have.
Results: 4 hours and 19 minutes. 113th place. 9th in my age group. I could not be happier with the results. In fact, I’m always happy with the results of a marathon. As long as I finish and enjoy myself. That’s the important thing, time is relative as Einstein would point out.
It was a dream come true to finish this Catalina. I met new friends, and came to see why runners return to this marathon year after year. I will return next year and want to train some other runners to run it with me so we can go to the bars after the race and do some real celebrating. Wanna join me?
Run with joy,
Gary
RunCast5-Catalina Marathon
This is one of the hardest marathons in the United States with approx. 18 of the 26.2 miles are uphill. I loved every moment of it. The views, the people, the weather.
Spending three months of running trails to prepare really paid off.
Enjoy
Gary
Catalina Marathon Report: Part 1 Crazy Diamonds
Catalina Race Report
Part 1: Shine On Crazy Diamonds
“We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves…The more restricted our society and work become, the more necessary it will be to find some outlet for this craving for freedom. No one can say, ‘You must not run faster than this, or jump higher than that.’ The human spirit is indomitable.”
Catalina 2006 was a dream come true for me. But it didn’t start that way.
The evening before, was packing my bag to late in the evening. Fuelbelt, camera, way too many books, trying to make up for the yoga studies I’m behind in, vitamins, Ultra, batteries, sets of clothing, music, PowerBook Pro. As typical, I left all that to the last second, and I was stressed out. I had tried to make the boat over the evening before to meet my parents who had a boat over in Avalon, and all stressed out, running around LA doing errands, I couldn’t make the 5:00 p.m boat.
I made the 6:00 a.m. boat out of Long Beach with my overweight duffel bag. As we left the harbor, I sat writing yoga notes into my computer…
You are what your deep driving desire is. As your desire is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny.
Then I looked up to see the my first bit of beauty. The sunrise over the Pacific Ocean. I was listening to Pink Floyd’s “Shine on Crazy Diamond” and I had one of those moments when everything seemed so perfect–the sun on the water, the music, my Desikachar’s quote.
You see, Catalina had been a driving desire of mine for some time. In 2003, I planned to do the marathon two weeks after Los Angeles. Yet two weeks after my PR at the time (3:49), my legs were still aching. So I called it off. The weather intimidated my father from going over with his boat also.
The year after the weather turned us away again. 2004 is still famous among Catalina marathoners for just getting dumped on.
So this was to be the year. I chose to not do the LA marathon to focus my efforts on Catalina. In addition, after teaching six college classes in the fall, I got a little beat down from work, tired and unmotivated to run. Plus some other things going on my life that became those little hobgoblins giving me reasons too not run.
New Years day, like many of us, I made a fitness resolution to run Catalina. Even if I finished over 5 hours, walking, taking pictures, taking notes some long race report, I’d finish it.
My runs began short. 3-4 milers twice in the week. Then I began doing some long runs on the weekend. I wasn’t even counting miles. I train on the trails on the back side of Palos Verdes, and I had a point in my mind like the top of Del Cerro hill, and I’d run up there. I ran sporadically with my old running partner, Bob, but he was traveling up to Washington to visit a new girlfriend seemingly every weekend.
Did some group trail runs with the www.socalrunning.com community. But mostly I did some long runs by myself. I coach to not listen to music when you run, yet I really needed some tunes. I don’t care, sometimes you need company even if it is Kirk Franklin on a long run.
Before long I was running for two hours, two and a half hours, three hours on trails and hills. I figuered I should build up to a four hour trail run in preparation. I think it is important to look at the terrain for a marathon, and try to replicate it as much as possible in your training. The ideal is to actually run the course before. Of the 26 miles, something like 18 of them are uphill at Catalina. With the steepest hill at mile 18. So my big training run was 22 miles around Palos Verdes, and I made sure my largest hill was at about 3/4 of the way into the run. That run went great. And I powered the hill.
I practice and teach ChiRunning. And I tried to practice my running form with every run. Especially conserving energy going uphill. My speed downhill is still Bode Miller like, mainly because ChiRunning has taught me to move my legs faster than other runners.
After my long run, I didn’t run for a week. Then I did a couple of short runs. I so believe in rest. Most runners injure themselves because they simply do not rest after hard run. The Wednesday before the marathon I ran the switchbacks with my partner Bob. He always smokes me uphill, as he runs with long strides compared to the baby steps I use with ChiRunning. But this time, I leaned big into the hill, and used my arms to take me up the 3 mile hill of Palos Verdes Drive East. I practiced full yoga breathing. I didn’t look back.
And I got to the top of the hill before he did. First time ever. I was ready.
I had also began intensive yoga study this winter. My yoga teacher, Rosie Good, offered her teacher training which began in February. She is an amazing teacher and person. An effulgent light for many of us in San Pedro. Every Friday evening I chanted and studied the sutras of Patanjali for two hours. Then five hours of yoga Saturday and Sunday. I’m not sure how Yoga is changing my life but, I am changing. Of course I’m more flexible, but it goes deeper than that. Things are opening up inside of me. Creative energies. Infinite possiblities. Positive thoughts. Visions of angels. I guess this website is a channel for me to share some of these thoughts and visions.
And that morning all these memories, my life, was coming back to me with the sun coming up. All these crazy diamonds, Bob, Rosie, Chad, Witze, the Beach Runners, Steve Mackel, Danny Dreyer, Jason Smith, my father, all these people that play a role in keeping you fit and healthy, feeling strong when you feel weak, inspired when you feel demoralized, valuable when you feel worthless, I sent a prayer of thanks to everyone that helped me prepare for this marathon. Because the more my heart chakra opens in life, the more I realize that I get my strength from them and God. Without those crazy diamonds in my life, running marathons is not possible.
Shine On!
Namaste
Gary
Part 2 (Rainbows from Heaven) coming soon.
April 8th: ChiRunning/Trail Running/Yoga Retreat
Steve and I are announcing our first major workshop
of the year,a ChiRunning/Trail Running/Yoga Retreat
on the beautiful Palos Verdes Peninsula.
This will be an all day event, and clearly our best workshop
we have ever done. We are sending the details and
special pricing to our subscribers first, so sign up to
the right and look in your email over the next few
days for details.
Namaste
Gary
Runcast4-ChiRunner-JasonSmith
Watch him run down a double diamond trail (Suicides). Watch how fast his feet move. And he does all this in regular running shoes. Also listen to him explain tips on your shoelaces, shoulders, arms, learning to relax, and how ChiRunning has made him a faster runner in his 30’s than he was in his 20’s.
You’ll enjoy this video. You’ll get an idea of the kind of wonderful fitness influences I have in my life.
I love you forever and forever Jason. You and your wonderful family, Stacey, Kelsey, and Evan. You are truly blessed.
Gary
Runcast2-Que Paso Perro?
Running with good posture
I can be a real bum.
Let me explain. I love to slouch. I was one of those students
in the back of the classroom, butt practically hanging off the front
of the seat, creating this 45 degree angle for my body. I like to sit
at my computer, feet up on the desk, neck crooked, feeling like a
take-it-easy-I’ve-already-made-it-to-the-top-of-the-ladder CEO.
I love couches. Don’t have to sit up on a couch. Can slouch sideways,
long-ways, diagonally, horizontally, and probably other positions I
haven’t figured out yet.
Well my slouching days caught up to me two years ago.
I had excruciating neck pain that was sending electrical shocks down
my arms. It was hard to sleep, dance, concentrate, relax, everything.
Went to numerous massage therapy sessions, which felt great. Then two
or three days later the pain would return.
Eventually ended up at a chiropractor. He took x-rays, found a
million things wrong with my spine, and wanted thousands of dollars
to get it back to where it should be.
Not having thousands of dollars at the time, I began to do my own
research.
Spoke to some doctor and physical therapy friends of mine. Researched
the net.
Then stumbled on this amazing book, The McKenzie Method, at Borders.
Found out some interesting facts. Primarily, neck and back pain is a
major epidemic in this country. Millions and millions of people are
suffering from it. Like 1 in 2 people. All my friends, even though we
are only in our thirties, have neck and back pains of one sort or
another. There’s chiropractors on every corner. Back surgeries are
common. The numbers are staggering.
McKenzie had one simple explanation for this epidemic:
Bad Posture!
He an even simpler solution:
Practice good posture.
That’s not what I wanted to hear. And I don’t think my chiropractor
wanted to hear that.
No more slouching? No more sitting with my feet up? No more sitting
crooked on the couch?
Well, all-right, he had more in the book than that. I simple set of
exercises, that when I began practicing them, alleviated my pain
immediately.
So I began practicing some of his suggestions:
1. I sat upright.
2. I got lumbar support (small pillow) for the small of my back while
driving.
3. Bought a decent pillow that had neck support.
4. Tried to sleep on sides and back rather than my stomach.
5. Didn’t put my feet up on the desk (well, not as much)
6. Did his 15-20 minutes of exercises.
And you want to know what happened as I practiced good posture?
Neck pain went away. It returns every now and then, yet each time it
does, it’s because I’ve gone back to natural slouching, lazy ways.
So what does this story have to do with Chi Running?
Everything!
What’s the first thing Steve and I taught you in our workshops?
Posture.
I’m not going to tell you how to do again in this letter. Read the
book (62-71). Practice the exercises. Stand with good posture and
really feel it for 10 minutes a day. In this Chi Running posture, you
will feel your lower abdomen holding you in place. That’s the
sensation you want to have when running. Your abs should
be working.
In fact, you should be practicing this good posture all day long.
Every chance you can.
Steve and I call this good posture your column. Each time your foot
hits the ground, their should be straight line connecting your ankle,
hips, and shoulders. Look in a mirror. Do you have that straight
line?
What I really want to share with you this week (after being so long
winded. My grandfather, rest his soul, always said he received
novels, not letters from me) is the importance of, take a guess:
Posture.
We need to remind ourselves of good posture again because we are
running long distances now. Really long distances. Longer than many
of you have ever run before in your life. Congratulations, I’m so
proud of everyone.
And you’re getting tired on your runs. I am.
Then your abs start to not hold you in place. Your shoulders get
heavy. You begin slouching. Collapsing you upper body. Reducing lung
capacity. Starting to heel strike. And every-step just gets heavier
and heavier.
Like running through thick Vermont Molasses.
“But I felt so good just two miles ago.”
In a marathon situation, the molasses typically set in about miles
15-20. Everything slows down for you. And you still have 10 more
miles to run!!!
Well as Chi Runners we know what to do in this situation.
Check your posture! Make sure you have a straight column, lean, and
are picking up your feet. Simple. And breathe!
This week, during my form intervals, I have been focusing on my
posture.
I want to feel that straight line when I land in my one legged
posture stance. I imagine a cosmic string pulling the top of my
head up to heaven (I swear, I get one inch taller with this
visualization).
I look 30-50 feet ahead of me, finding an object to look at which
shoots a rubber band out to my chest, pulling me in effortlessly.
If I look at the ground when I run, then my head droops, causing
me to slouch. No good.
I do this for a minute. Really trying to get the sensation.
Then my Timex Ironman Interval Timer on my watch beeps.
After which, I try to just relax, chanting something funny like
“SAT NAM” or “Lemon Curry”, and have fun. I try to notice
any tension, and try to relax it.
Watch beeps again, and I focus on my posture again.
So even though I’m running pretty well right now, miraculously
keeping up the fast runners in our group, I’m still focused on
the very first principle in Chi Running:
Posture.
So that’s my novel for week.
Run with Joy,
Live from your core,
Gary
Founder – Coach Steve
Running Shoe Store of the Month – Jan/Feb 2017
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