My Running Story
Chapter 1: Running from Childhood to Marriage
I’ve run off and on for most of my life. Above is a picture of me running the Lake Casitas Half Marathon on April 18, 2010. It was my first half marathon and the first time I ran over 11 miles. In the picture I’m running mile eight uphill using the Chi Running form, detailed in Danny Dryer’s book Chi Running. My story below in seven chapters will detail how I got to this point, and then how I became interested in barefoot/minimalist running after reading the book Born to Run by Chris McDougall in May 2010. I’m now training for my second half marathon, running in the Chi Running form, barefoot or in Vibram Five Finger KSO shoes.
I started playing AYSO soccer when I was 5, and continued every fall until I was 15. My coaches would eventually realize that I was never a very aggressive nor accurate ball handler and would put me in the halfback position, where I could just run back and forth, not really doing the team much damage. My mom said that she enrolled me in the local community track team in the springs from the ages of 9 - 11 or so years old because if there was ever an option of getting somewhere by running or walking, I ran. My favorite event was the 200 meters, and I remember winning lots of 1st place titles in the track meets against other girls from southern California teams. The only time (at least this is the story I tell myself now) that I would get second is if I was running against a girl from my own team named Michelle Watson. She was so fast!
As a high-school student, I transitioned out of running as an organized sport and focused my time on singing, playing in the band, and acting. Running turned in to a before-school activity either with my father or with a friend that I took to school in the mornings. We would run for exercise, and especially with my dad, it was a great time to spend together bonding over something we both enjoyed. I think my running for exercise phase was encouraged by the fact that I saw my dad take up running for exercise in his mid-forties after not having run since cross country in high school. He said he just decided to go for a run one day because he felt out of shape. He’s a tall, thin man, and I think he figured he’d just bounce back into his old running ability. He made it to the end of our street that day and was so exhausted he had to stop. This humbled him and he realized what bad shape he really was in. He eventually worked his way up to running the local 10K race, and has been running regularly since then. He just turned 60, and the age worked to his advantage as he won first in his age group at that same 10K race this year! The joy my dad obviously gets from running infected me, even though it was never something I took very seriously.
Health and fitness took on a new dimension when I started dating and later got married to a very active and healthy man. He immigrated to the United States from Hungary when he was 20, and before he came to the US he had developed a passion for triathlons. In Hungary in the early 1980’s, people who participated in triathlons, which involve long-distance running, swimming, and biking, were seen as quite extreme. The sport had not become part of mainstream athletics as it is both in the US and in Hungary now. When he moved to the United States, my husband continued to be active in the triathlon circuit here in Southern California. He also ran in foot races and completed the Los Angeles Marathon in 2004. My husband is a very determined person; I’ve never met someone who can set his mind to accomplishing a task, and not let emotions influence the outcome. I realized early on in our relationship that the words “I just don’t feel like it” will never come out of his mouth. Just like the joy of exercise I learned from my dad, this attitude I learned from my husband influences the way I approach every task, not just running.
Now, a little about food, because I’ve found that a big part of being a more efficient runner is being a healthier person on the inside. I grew up in the 1980’s, when packaged and processed food exploded here in the United States, and I ate my fair share of it all the way up through college. Margarine in the 50’s was just the beginning of the food “industry” trying to convince us that something a factory made was somehow “better” for us as consumers. Because that’s what we had turned in to, consumers. The goal was no longer just to feed and be fed. I could create a whole blog about my continuing transition into a more healthy food lifestyle and my opinions on the subject, but that’s for another time (email me if you’d like to hear more). In contrast, growing up in communist Hungary, where packaged food and preservatives were never used, my husband was accustomed to freshly made “whole” food. He ate chicken that a neighbor raised, bread that his mother made, and vegetables that came from his grandparents’ garden, carrots coming up with dirt and all. Unlike many children in the United States these days, he knew where food came from, and was comfortable with these origins. When he started cooking for himself after he immigrated, he chose these same “whole” foods to eat. Pre-cut veggies packaged in plastic and frozen pizza were so foreign to him he didn’t even consider eating them. At first, I don’t think he consciously thought this type of food was bad, he just didn’t understand it (I think he thinks it’s bad now). He lived as a bachelor for a long time until I met him, and developed a very inventive way of combining simple fresh ingredients into filling and tasty meals. When I met him and he started cooking for me, I realized my lifestyle of “Hamburger Helper” quick and easy food (and life) habits was soon going to disappear.
Chapter 2: My “Serious” Running Phase Begins
With my husband, I ran the Redondo Beach Super Bowl 10K Run in January 2008 and 2009, and some other shorter races throughout the years. When my husband’s work schedule became quite busy, (he’s a website programmer, among other things) and mine became more manageable, (I’m a high school teacher—after the second year, things get much easier!) I found I had more time on my hands. Running was a great opportunity to increase my fitness levels while using my time in a productive way. However, the inside of my calves by my ankle usually hurt while and after I ran, as did my right hip flexor muscle, which I had over-worked in college while playing on UCSD’s lacrosse team. I eventually went to Roadrunner Sports in Newbury Park, CA and did their treadmill foot analysis. They determined that I was an “overpronator” and I should be fitted with very supportive shoes that didn’t bend or flex much, and a Superfeet green shoe insert that would prevent my ankles from rolling inward. I came home with some Brooks running shoes and the inserts. When I ran in them, the inside of my ankles did start to hurt less, so I figured I was on the right track.
Chapter 3: Xterra Point Mugu Trail Run
Last summer, in July 2009 I decided I wanted to try running a half marathon. Just like my husband, I resolved to set my mind to a difficult task, and power through the workouts without excessive emotional reactions (whining, complaining, not “feeling” like it) Since I’m a teacher and have the summers off, I figured I had a few months to begin the training. I had never run more than 6 miles before, so I decided a half-marathon was the next step. I registered for the Lake Casitas Half Marathon for November 1, 2009. That gave me a little over 4 months to get ready, and most half-marathon training plans are about 10 weeks long. One article I read suggested that I do a race about a month before the intended race to get in the race mood and practice starting slow, refueling, etc. So I also signed up for the Xterra Point Mugu Trail Run in Malibu, CA for September 27, 2009. It was an 11K trail race, and I figured I could practice for the hills that the Lake Casitas Half Marathon was supposed to have. The elevation profile of the trail run was daunting, but I thought I’d just go slow and walk if I had to (this is what my brain said, but my pride was balking at the idea of walking; it felt like failure). I found a 10 week training plan for the Half Marathon and just started running. I was still wearing the Brooks running shoes with the Superfeet insert, and then I also went back to Roadrunner sports and bought a pair of Brooks Cascadia 4 trail running shoes. They were supposed to be good for rough trail terrain, which the Xterra race definitely was going to be. Everything seemed to be going fine, and I did run the race on Sept. 27th.
I realize now that it was probably more than I should have attempted at the time; I should have taken 10 weeks to train for this race, not just use it as a practice. But I’m proud of myself that I finished and ran the whole way.
What made it challenging was that the course took about 5 miles to climb 1200 feet meant a LOT of pounding on the knees and feet on the way down. I tried to go slow and not go to fast, but I was probably stopping a lot of my downward momentum with my knees. My final time was 1:25:43, average pace 12:33 min/mile.
After I got home with my huge T-shirt, (they ran out of smalls so I got an xtra large…)
I started to notice my left knee was really hurting on the left side by the kneecap. I iced it on and off for a few days, but climbing down the stairs in my apartment continued to be pretty painful. I thought I might have a stress fracture, so I went to an orthopedist and he set me up to have an MRI done of the knee. In his evaluation after, he said it wasn’t a stress fracture, but there was some scratch on the cartilage in the knee. He suggested I stop running or “he’d be doing a knee replacement on me when I turned 40”. I didn’t like the sound of that and was pretty depressed. Especially because the Xterra race was just supposed to be practice for the Half Marathon, which was approaching in less than a month. I decided I’d just have to forfeit the race and maybe be able to apply the registration to another race in the future.
Chapter 4: The “Ah-ha!” Moment
I started doing some research on the internet about knee pain and decided I had runner’s knee. Remedies for this included strengthening the quad muscles, icing, and getting better orthopedic shoes. I did this for a few weeks, and didn’t do any running. As the Half Marathon race day was approaching, I was feeling bummed about having to miss it, until I got an email from the race organizer in late October that said:
“November 1, 2009 race date has been postponed! We have experienced some last minute permitting issues / changes that we could not resolve before race day and have decided to postpone this race till April 18, 2010 all 2009 entrants will be rolled over to April 2010 date.”
I had just been given a second chance to run this race! I was so relieved and happy, that I could relax and focus on recovering. Especially because the pain in my knee continued mostly when I would walk down stairs, but wasn’t a constant pain anymore. In looking at more injury-prevention ways of running, I eventually stumbled upon a website that talked about Chi Running by Danny Dreyer, and I realized I had found something big. This guy was talking about being able to run, injury free, for miles and miles, and feeling better than ever. I am very much into improving ones self in a natural way, even if it takes more work and is more difficult. If you’re interested, email me about my thoughts on natural food and a low-sugar diet. Anyway, I bought his book and read it throughout the holiday season, and I was hooked. He talked about running as almost a spiritual experience, using the principals of Tai Chi, without getting too hokey, in my mind. I’m still a realistic person and he won me over with his personal knowledge of correct running form, his data to back his ideas up, and the stories he told which were entertaining. He also gave a very good step-by-step analysis of how to learn the Chi Running form, with everything from before, during, and after running to races and making running a part of your everyday life. I pretty much abandoned everything I had heard about running when I read the book and wholeheartedly embraced his suggestions.
Using the tips in the Chi Running book, I bought new running shoes even before I started the training program that were very light and flexible, but still thought I needed support for the overpronation, and so came home with both the Asics Gel DS trainer and the Asics GT-2150 models. Asics seem to fit me best because of my narrow heel. They’re some of the only shoes that don’t slip off the heel when I run. However, I did notice that when I changed to the Chi Running form with a mid-foot strike and stopped pushing off from my toes, the heel doesn’t slip, even on shoes that used to, like New Balance models. I practiced some of the Chi Running techniques and found that they really were a new way of moving one’s body. It was fun and more relaxing than I had experienced in the past.
Chapter 5: ChiRunning Pain Free Half Marathon Training Program
At the end of December I found a Half Marathon training program on the Chi Running website that looked great in that it progressed through the mileage increases slowly and included ways to incorporate the Chi Running form into the training. I would encourage anyone who wants to use this training program to read the book first and then start the training. Since it was a 16 week program, and the Half Marathon had been rescheduled to April 18, and it was the end of December, I realized I needed to order the training program right away to be able to do the whole thing! So I ordered it and started my new year off right. What follows is what I did in addition to the training instructions in the manual.
After every LSD (long slow distance) run on the weekends, I would make notes of how the run went, what hurt, what my average pace was, etc.
At my ever-prepared husband’s suggestion, I also made a list of what should go in my bag before every run (I usually drove out to the boardwalk by the beach in Ventura to do the long runs) so I wouldn’t have to think about forgetting something.
After reading in the book that the proper running “cadence” should be about 90 steps per minute on each foot, I bought a metronome from the Chi Running website and started to use it on every run. I worked up to a waltz tempo of about 61 steps per minute, alternating right and left foot strike. So my feet go something like this:
Step(beep) step step – Step(beep) step step – Step(beep) step step
Right L R – Left R L – Right L R
It made it so I wasn’t stressing the right foot or the left foot constantly with the beep, and made me instead think of a fluid circular pattern. The metronome was great for helping me maintain a steady beat while leaning forward more or less to speed up. I learned never to change cadence to increase speed, just lean more from the ankles. (all this is discussed in great detail in the book Chi Running)
I also enlisted my husband to take video of my running practice. It definitely helped to document my form so I could look at it later and see how to make improvements. I learned from these videos to keep my shoulders back and down ( I was hunching over too much), kick up my heels behind me as I went, strike on the mid-foot, not the heel, and lean from the ankles.
As far as hydration, electrolyte replacement, and calorie maintenance on the long runs over 6 miles (over 1 hour for me, as my average pace was usually a little over 10 min. / mile), I developed a pattern that worked well for me.
Hydration:
I bought a water belt, filled up both 10 oz. bottles, and wore it on all my LSD runs, even if they were fairly short (6-8 miles…usually a person who is well-hydrated prior to the race doesn’t need to re-hydrate until at least an hour of running has passed unless it is very hot outside) to get used to the added weight and feel of the belt. At first I was wearing it below my hip bones, but this bounced around way too much, so I started wearing it right over my belly button. It didn’t bother my stomach, didn’t bounce at all, and was very comfortable. I take a sip of water every 10 minutes after 1 hour, or if I’m ever actually thirsty.
Electrolyte Replacement:
I got this idea from the Chi Running book, but also from a guy I saw wearing a t-shirt at the Xterra Point Mugu Trail run that said: www.saltstick.com My husband went to talk to him to find out what this was, and it turned out the shirt was promoting his own website. His name is Jonathan Toker and he makes a great product that he calls salt stick capsules which, as his website explains, are “The ONLY electrolyte capsule that was formulated to closely resemble the electrolyte profile lost during activity: sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium”. I take one capsule 30 min. before a long run, then every 30 min after I start running. Never upset my stomach and felt nice and perky throughout the whole run.
Calorie maintenance:
I went into this whole half marathon thing thinking that I’d never be one of those crazy runners who eats those weird goos during a run, but once I read more about how I needed to keep refueling after over an hour of running, I went back to Roadrunner Sports and asked for recommendations. They carried the Gu brand and I bought two kinds, the Gu energy gel, and the Gu chomps. I tried both and was pleasantly surprised that they didn’t give me side stitches or upset my stomach. I’ve never before been able to run and drink water or eat anything before running without the above happening. I decided that I like to eat 4 Gu chomps 15 min. before the run starts, then do my body looseners (from the Chi Running book) and then eat one Gu energy gel every 45 min. after that for the duration of the run. This was a good system for me because I didn’t like chewing the Gu chomps while running, and the honey-like texture of the Gu energy gel was a little hard to stomach before I was all worked up and ready for it. You can see on my list of things to bring to a run both the “chew gels” (Gu chomps) and the “goo” (Gu energy gel) listed.
Managing these three things, calories, electrolytes, and hydration, on a run was a little tricky to work out, but I did get a system going and was able to make it more second nature. It kept my mind engaged thinking about when I needed to do each of the following things, and when I’d get to over 2 hours of running at a time, it was nice to have something to think about in addition to maintaining my Chi Running “form focuses”.
GPS trainer:
Looking at the long list of products that I’ve mentioned above (water belt, various shoes and inserts, gels, electrolyte capsules, training manuals, etc.), it makes me feel a little overwhelmed, as I’m sure you may be if you’re reading this, are not a long distance runner, and think, wow, I thought running was just about putting on some shoes and heading out the door. That’s what I thought too at first, and I didn’t get everything worked out all at once…it did take many months to decide what I needed / wanted while running. I also do not like commercialism, but I still think running is one of the less equipment-heavy sports. Especially because running any course under 6 miles really doesn’t require equipment other than a pair of good shoes (or not…I’ll get to that).
All that said, the tool that did help me the most in knowing how many miles I had run, what my average pace was, what elevation I am at, time, and a bunch of other useful pieces of data was a gift that my brother gave to my husband and me for our wedding. It’s the Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS-enabled trainer with heart rate monitor. (I never used the heart rate monitor, as it didn’t seem to work right but I never returned it. The other functions made it very worthwhile still.) It was very liberating to set out with this device, not having a set course in mind, just knowing how many miles I wanted to run, and knowing that I could just turn around halfway through that mileage and head home. I am a data-driven person for the most part, so it fit my personality to have this device charting my current and average pace, and it was interesting to see the elevation rise and fall as I ran the Xterra trail run. We’ve also used this GPS trainer for bike rides and hiking. It looks pretty big on the wrist, but my wrists are tiny and I still got used to it. As a minimally-gadget-laden person, I like this one :)
Chapter 6: The Big Day!
The 16 week Chi Running Pain-Free Half Marathon Training Program was a great learning and fitness experience. I lost weight (although that was not a goal), gained a lot of leg muscle, and almost magically saw myself able to run further than I ever had. It was the long runs that I felt really boosted my fitness level. It became a little stressful when I would get sick or the weather prevented me from doing the scheduled run, because my goal was to run the whole half marathon and not walk, but eventually April came around and I felt I was ready, for the most part. Since I had missed some of the scheduled runs, I didn’t run the full 13 miles suggested by the training program 3 weeks before the race. The most I ran before the race was 11 miles. I figured the last two miles on race day could be done on adrenaline :)
April 18, 2010 finally arrived (remember, I had been planning to do this race since the previous July!) and I ran the entire race, all 13.45 miles of it (that’s the distance my GPS trainer showed… the race organizer assured us the course was marked correctly at 13.1 miles). I was very proud of myself! My husband videotaped me at various points in the race by riding his bicycle alongside me as I ran, and my brother and father rode their tandem bicycle around the course, meeting up with me almost every other mile. Their support really kept me smiling and energized throughout the race. The volunteers at the water / aid stations were also very upbeat and positive. Overall, it was a well-organized and fun race, for being the first race in this location by these race organizers. Elite Sports in My official time was 2:20:55, and I was 20th out of 36 women in my age group 20-29. I’m 28 so I figured it was all those youngins that beat me.
I ate a big celebration meal after and did a lot of nice soaking in the bathtub to recuperate, but surprisingly, my muscles weren’t even that sore the next day. I credit that to all the good training and transitioning into / transitioning out of running techniques that I learned in the Chi Running book. Here’s what I wrote in my training booklet on April 23, six days after the race:
“I ran the whole race! Lake casitas 1/2 marathon April 18, 2010. Beautiful day, no wind – quite sunny. Must have pulled L – leg medial ligament Tues. before. Started hurting about mile 6 of race, but I pushed through. (I realize now that I had been doing some incorrect techniques for hill running the week before which really stressed my leg ligaments, but I took it easy after the race and recovered in a couple weeks) Very hilly course – especially last 5 miles. Time: 2:19:54. 13.45 miles (course mis-measured). 10:24 average pace total. Was averaging 10:07 up till mile 7, when hills started.”
Chapter 7: Born to Run
After the big accomplishment of running my first half marathon, I was ready to relax. All of a sudden I felt that running shouldn’t be about pushing for a time or distance, but for enjoyment. I think I had to run that half-marathon, which is the furthest I expect to run for awhile, to be able to say “I did it, now let’s have fun.” Throughout my training process, I had been talking to a fellow teacher at the school that I work at, who is also the cross country coach, and I had recommended the book, Chi Running to him. After my Half Marathon was over, he told me about a book called Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall and suggested it highly. I had heard about the Tarahumara Indians, as I teach Mexican / Chicano Literature at the high school and they’ve often come up as an interesting Mexican tribe known for their long-distance running ability, but that’s about all I knew. I wasn’t even intending to be persuaded to try minimalist-shoe / barefoot running. I was planning a long drive up to San Francisco to run the 99th Annual Bay to Breakers 12K, and so ordered the mp3 version of the book from Barnes & Noble and downloaded it to my iPod. Throughout the 15 or so hours that it took me to drive up and back, I was enthralled by Born to Run. McDougall’s storytelling ability was wonderful, and the narrator of the ebook was pleasant to listen to. I especially liked how he brought the reader / listener in with interesting anecdotes, and made me feel like I really knew the characters personally, and only then did he bring in the majority of the data on how barefoot and minimalist running benefits one’s body. It was like I had to believe him because he was already my friend. The flashbacks and flashforwards in narrative style kept me constantly ready for the next part of the story. The stories about various ultrarunners throughout history are enough of a “freak show” to make the book entertaining. I can’t recommend it more highly, even to people who have no interest in running.
Chapter 8: Moving Forward With a Purpose
My health philosopy has refined in the past year since my first half marathon in 2010. Now, with training for my third half marathon race on June 25, 2011 underway, I’m implementing different food as fuel for the runs, but sticking closely to the ChiRunning principles. My current status can be seen at the “About Me” page above, and I encourage you to click on the links for Nourishing Traditions and the Weston A. Price Foundation there. I also welcome your questions and guest posts. Happy Running!
