JFK 50 Mile Ultra – Why 50 Miles?

The 2008 JFK 50 Mile Ultramarathon was a great experience.  Many have asked the Q: Why would you want to participate in a 50 mile event?

A: I wanted to see if I could run 50 miles ‘without using my legs‘.  What?, is that possible?  First, is it possible to run ‘without using your legs’?  Obviously, you need your legs for momentary support but is it possible to run ‘without using your legs’, for propulsion?  From experience I know this is possible, and I wanted to test it over 50 miles.

[For my JFK 50 Mile Ultra summary, see the previous post here.]

Rewind:

Rewind to three years ago, almost to this very day in November 2005.  I had just met a fellow runner and was explaining that I was injured and was taking some time off from running.  I had been injured for most of the prior two years off and mostly on, primarily with nagging lower leg and feet injuries.  She then said the following that changed my life – “oh, you are a runner and you are injured, you should get this book called ChiRunning®“.  I had seen the book before online as I searched for a solution to my running injuries, but was not compelled until that very moment to get it.  I bought the book immediately and could not put it down.  It became very clear that both my running technique and my running philosophy were the cause of my running injuries.  The book presented simple, common sense principles of nature that apply to all of us and to all aspects of life.  These simple principles come from 1000s of years of study of the way things work in nature.  Based on their ongoing study, the Chinese applied these principles to T’ai Chi, an ancient martial art, which promotes well-being through alignment, relaxation, balance and a mindful practice.  And now, these same principles had been applied to running to help anyone run more efficiently and without discomfort, stress, strain, aches, and injury … ever again.

I started running again applying the simple ChiRunning principles.  At first based on the ChiRunning Book, then I decided to get the ChiRunning DVD a few weeks later.  I am a very visual learner and the DVD helped me get to my next level of understanding.  A few months later I decided to take a workshop.  That experience took my ChiRunning to yet another level.  From the beginning, my injuries faded away and I started to really enjoy running for the first time.  My running was transformed into a ongoing ‘practice’ and I looked forward to what I might learn or improve upon next.  After a short time I was able to run farther and faster than before with little to no recovery.

Simple Principles:

So what are some of these simple principles?  Here are just a few:
- Align your body to allow big, strong parts of your body to do small jobs based on anatomical design; and not the other way around.
- Relax the body to limit any resistance to your motion.
- Cooperate with two very big forces of nature.

The best I can summarize it is to consider the easiest way to move a 165 lb object across the ground.  If you had a choice, what shape object would you use?

- ChiRunning would be similar to the object being a round sphere and rolling it along the ground.  This is effortless with the force of gravity rolling forward at the top while the force of the approaching ground is rolling backward at the bottom.  It is a straight column with a subtle lean from the ankles.  This is shown in the diagram below.

- Non-ChiRunning might be similar to the object being a square cube and having to push and/or pull it as it slides along the ground.  Much effort is needed to power forward and the feet/legs oppose the huge force of the approaching ground.  It is running from an upright position with the feet landing in front of the body.  This is shown in the diagram below.

Think about that for a moment, how much easier is it to roll 165 lbs vs. push/pull 165 lbs across the ground … and uphill, downhill?  In addition, once you get something rolling, how easy is it to simply keep its momentum going?  For more information on how to roll more and push/pull less, see my website or the many available resources and online articles.

The Report Card:

So back to the original question … my 50 mile test.  How did I do?  A good way to assess technique is to body sense the effects on the body.  Let’s look at the report card from the ground up.

New Balance 790

- Shoes:  I wore the New Balance 790 trail shoe.  Very minimal, very little cushioning and very flexible.  They are like running in slippers and really allow you to connect with the ground.  The pair was relatively new and hardly a scratch or skuff on them.  At the end of the 50 miles, there was still hardly a mark on them (except for the dent at my left big toe … ouch).  This was a particularly useful indicator for the last 8.4 miles on a rolling paved road.  I use the wear on my shoe soles as an indicator of how well I am interacting with the ground.  Lots of wear means stressful horizontal forces and tension exists in my feet and lower legs.  Little to no wear generally means only the vertical force of momentary support of my body weight exists.
- Feet:  No blisters or soreness, except for the left big black and blue toe.  This was due to a momentary lapse of concentration on the AT section of the course when I kicked a big rock. I was distracted by a runner in front of me who looked a bit wobbly.
- Lower legs:  No shin or calf soreness.  This was a big plus since I was having some calf tension in the days prior to the race, and they actually felt better after the race.
- Legs:  Very little hamstring soreness.  My quads were sore from too much downhill braking and impact on the AT, particularly on the steep switchbacks.  Lost my focus here and I paid; later in the race and in the days that followed.
- Hips:  No issues.
- Back:  Minor knot in my left shoulder.  Two days after the race, my chiropractor(**) gave me my usual adjustment with no major issues.
- Neck:  Slightly sore.  I believe this was due to looking down with my head a little too much instead of just with my eyes.  The AT was just so technical in spots that I was not comfortable with just using my peripheral downward vision.
- Head:  Energy level after and in the days that followed was very good, minimal extra sleep needed.
- First run:  Four days later, Wednesday (11/26), for about 7 comfortable miles at about 8:30 pace.

A few challenges here highlighting some lessons and areas to work on.  Overall, I was able to get all the healthy benefits from this experience without any significant negative effects.

Is Running Hard on the Body?

Often we hear that running is hard on the body.  ChiRunning suggests that it is not running that is hard on the body, and that it is perhaps the way we run that can be hard on the body.  I am consistently amazed by the power of some very simple principles of nature when they are applied to us – still creatures of nature no matter how far removed we make ourselves.  Everyday another piece of the puzzle emerges, another running and life skill is learned and then practiced until it again becomes ’second nature’.  Interesting term that is … [second nature, noun - "An acquired behavior or trait that is so long practiced as to seem innate".] … when in reality ChiRunning is about getting ‘back to nature’ and the way we all ran as toddlers by instinct.

ChiWalking®?

What is role did ChiWalking play in this event?  More on that next time.

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David Stretanski is a holistic health, fitness and wellness coach and Certified ChiRunning®/ChiWalking® Instructor.  For more information on David, please see his About, Contact page or his website at http://www.eChiFitness.com.

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** For anyone local to Red Bank, NJ … I highly recommend Infinity Chiropractic at 170 Highway 35 South, Red Bank, NJ.  You take your car in for periodic checkups (tire pressure, rotate tires, four wheel alignment, etc.), why not consider that same care for the most important part of your body?  The Chinese believe the overall health of a person is directly related to the health of their spine.  This is evident in the key T’ai Chi focus of postural alignment.

ChiRunning® and ChiWalking® are registered trademarks of ChiLiving, Inc.