Running or Walking on Slippery Surfaces

Is it possible to run or walk across very slippery surfaces, by using technique to stay balanced?

Here in the Northeast we have recently had our first few considerable snow/sleet/ice events of the season.  This presents challenges in our fitness program environments.  First, we need to stay safe and with uncleared sidewalks, narrowing roadways, etc. we are often put at greater risk.

Second, slippery surface conditions put us on edge – both physically and mentally.
- We have a tendency to attempt to create balance by using a wider stance forward with the feet landing in front of the body.
- We have a tendency to tense up.

Both of these tendencies will promote horizontal forces in the lower legs/feet.
- Reaching forward is usually also accompanied by pushing off with the toes.  This creates a force ACROSS a slippery surface.  And landing forward is essentially a brake which creates another force ACROSS a slippery surface.
- Tension in the body creates a rigid structure which adds to the above forces.
- It is these same horizontal forces that cause the majority of repetitive stress/strain/impact injuries.

Both ChiRunning® and ChiWalking® are about two main concepts:  Alignment and Relaxation.
- Alignment of the body to efficiently 1) utilize the body’s anatomical design and 2) cooperate with the forces of nature.
- Relaxation to limit resistance in the flow of movement or rigidity when interacting with the forces of nature.
- Both techniques reduce/eliminate horizontal forces in the lower legs/feet.

Therefore a slippery surface provides an excellent practice for developing the ChiRunning or ChiWalking technique.  The practice is to maintain momentum via a horizontal pull of the entire body … without creating horizontal forces in the lower legs/feet.  Consider a vehicle on a slippery surface … how do we drive?  Probably with less gas and less brake … it is much more about managing momentum.  On the gas too much (i.e. uphill), and you spin your wheels … too much speed/brake (ie. downhill) and you start to slide.  For more information on ChiRunning/ChiWalking, please visit: http://www.eChiFitness.com.

There are many technique focuses to reduce/eliminate horizontal forces in the lower legs/feet, like maintaining postural alignment, landing and lifting and creating a wheel.  One visualization that works well is to focus completely on making mid-foot(*), balanced contact with the solid ground that is under the snow, slush, mud, etc.  This focus will help keep you in a balanced, relaxed position with only a small vertical force, which will not contribute to slipping in the horizontal direction.  It takes practice to refine your balance and build your trust that there is always solid ground underneath.  I sometimes visualize trapping the slippery stuff vertically under my full foot as it lands – so that the slippery stuff would ooze out evenly along all sides if it could.  Like mashed potatoes under a fork.  It is simply a vertical land and vertical lift of the entire foot.

[*Note: In ChiWalking the contact is just slightly on the front of the heel.]

Of course, be safe and be careful no matter what environment you are in.  Consider the principle of Gradual Progress to develop your technique on varying conditions.  A slippery surface provides immediate feedback on how you are interacting with the (solid) ground.  Learning to focus past what happens to be on top of that (solid) ground will serve you well in your practice.

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

JFK 50 Mile Ultra and Walking Technique …

But David, I know how to walk … duh!  So did I.  But what I did not know was how to walk efficiently and without stress, strain and impact on the body.  Most of which can be a subtle effect you might not notice, but it is there.  And subtle is additive and the effects can sneak up on us.

In a previous post, my JFK 50 Mile Ultra experience included a number of walking intervals.  I walked for a number of reasons:
- To be as efficient as possible on an uphill, in particular early on in the event.  In many cases the terrain was steep and technical enough that you could probably walk or run about the same speed.
- To reduce impact as much as possible on a downhill, in particular the very technical (read ‘rocky, unstable’) Appalachian Trail (AT) and its switchbacks on the descent.
- Once I got off the AT, and realized how much tension had accumulated in my body.  I used walking to reset on my technique, to reduce effort and to let my body and my mind relax.  From there I repeated a run/walk to come back to these benefits at regular intervals.

Walking Your Way to Better Running Technique

More importantly, walking helped me get to the starting line of a 50 mile event.  Yes, yes we did walk about a half mile from the high school gym to the start line.  But what I mean is walking helped me prepare for this event.  Preparation started three years before when I first opened the ChiRunning® book.  In ChiRunning, simple principles of nature can help you improve your posture and the way you put that posture into motion.  Your running becomes extremely efficient and injury-free.  The approach provides simple focus points you can be working on all day long, not just while you are running.  ChiWalking® provides another way to practice and body sense the effects of these simple principles.  Some of the key focus points are: 1) maintaining a straight column with shoulders over hips over ankles, 2) keeping a level pelvis, 3) reaching forward less and allowing your feet to land under your column, and 4) keeping the hips/pelvis/lower back fluid and allowing the pelvis to rotate back as each leg/stride extends to the rear.  Walking even enhances your ability to body sense, since it is a slower and less complex motion than running.  The more you practice, the more the principles become ’second nature’.  As you start to experience position, form, effort and tension … you can’t help but be more and more mindful during each day.

Walking Your Way to a Key Life Skill

At the same time ChiWalking helps with technique, it also helps develop a key life skill.  When you become more mindful during each day, you develop your ability to focus and to be more present.  The concept is “where ever you are … be there” [attributed to Jim Rohn].  And put your whole self and effort into what you are currently doing.  You could be sitting, standing, walking/hiking or running – they all provide opportunities to explore your practice.  And by all means take it all in … the elements of nature, the terrain, the traffic of course (both the four wheeled and the four legged …), but pay most attention to your own dashboard on what your body sensing is telling you about your technique, your practice and your overall fitness program.

As your ability to focus and be more present is developed via your physical fitness program, you will be amazed at how these same skills will support other areas of your life.

Being present is not easy work by any means, particularly for us in the ‘west’.  More on this next time.

[Update:  Danny Dreyer just posted a new article on the subject of loosening the hips, pelvis and lower back (Improve Your Walking and Running with Pelvic Rotation).]

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