Run, Run, Swim

Friday Night I ran a quick mile and half because it was all I had time for. It felt strange running late in the day and I realized I have not run that late (5:30) for awhile.

Sunday the 5 mile day I got up at 6:00 and set out to a beautiful morning. I ran the opposite my normal route which is an easy down slope from mile 1 to 3 and then a “crazy ass” hill from mile 4 to 4.5. (Crazy ass means any fool out there running up this hill must be a crazy ass). This run was disappointing because I could never “feel” my hips relaxing enough to really let my swivel power me. A friend of mine whose been running longer described it well when he said you have to get out there long enough for your body to say “Oh Okay I guess there is no getting out of this so I will relax and do this running thing.”

For me that point is currently somewhere between 3 miles to never. I have felt that “body acceptance” about 3 or 4 times so far. My friend says it gets closer to the beginning the more you run. Of course this is the same friend who is telling me I should run a 15 mile trail run at altitude. Why am I so gullible? I have agreed to run that trail run. Because it is my personality to say “Hey if I think I might have bit off more than I can chew, then the natural solution is to take two more bites and prove it!”


Back to the Sunday run. I really wanted to feel that swivel when my hips relax and let go. When you get that feeling it is MAGICAL. It feels similar to doing your fastest walk in front of a life guard at the pool while your running. It is a great feeling because you really feel you’re the entire “Chi Running” concept in action. Your feet are just getting picked up and your lean is helping you fall forward allowing gravity and your nature core swivel power you onward. It is as close to effortless as I have been so far. I really want to get that feeling back. I could hang on to that feeling I think I could run a long long way. The problem is I can make myself do it, It only comes when I am able to relax my ankles, knees, hips, low back, shoulders, neck. Trying to make your body move in a specific way for me is not successful for anything other than back ache or shoulder ache or Achilles ache.



Today’s Swim was a lot of playing around. I went at it without much enthusiasm but once I got in the pool it turned out very nice. I am now reading the book “Triathalon Swimming Made Easy from the Total Immersion” website. I began today with some of the balance exercises. These are really simple but it revealed that I still need to work on Balance. One exciting thing I realized is that my swimming is pretty efficient. I can do the 25 meters length in around 18 strokes. That is a pace with no heavy breathing and while the other swimmers on either side of me are doing the same length in 22 strokes. They are both faster than me and I expect they know what they are doing because they look like decent swimmers. I have no real idea what I look like as I churn through my self-taught practice lengths.

Anyway the balance drills helped me understand why breathing has been really difficult lately. I have not had balance and that creates a very inefficient body struggling to stay alive. If I had balance I would not have my survival instincts kicking in. I painfully went through the drills. I say painfully because my vainty gets in the way and I don’t want to look foolish in the pool. Is that silly or what? I can hardly swim and I feel like I should be embarrassed because I am slowing going down the lane and not racing up and down the pool. But if I am going to do this by the book (which is a better way then by myself) then I need to get back to balance drills. This is the foundation, I need to build a good foundation. Then speed will come later (so the book says). So after I did the balance drills for 3 or 4 lengths I began swimming a little and wow I noticed a difference right away. I a real difference in the way I breath and how much more I could relax my head into the water. On a couple lengths I realized how much resistence having my big fat melon out of position creates. It was a nice work out and I look forward to my real teacher provided lesson Thursday night.