Hi Chris,
Thanks for the great class yesterday!! You really have a gift for teaching others and your passion for what you believe in is very apparent. So here’s a cool instant gratification story for you to share with your Chi instructor buddies!! Joy and I just got back from a training run this morning as a last longish run before next Sunday’s half marathon. We did a 10k on the Los Gatos trail here in San Jose, mostly flat, but with a few easy ups and downs. We decided to concentrate on just a couple of things as we began a relaxing pace. Joy thought about “being tall” and tilted the back of her head up and concentrated on posture, and a centered relaxed foot-strike. I worked on cadence and lifting my ankles with loose-hinge motion, all the while relaxing my quads and feet. Towards mile 5 or so I looked at my watch and was surprised to see Joy was way ahead of her usual training times. I didn’t say anything to her because I wanted to see if she could maintain her form in that last mile as she generally gets a little tired. She came in around 10 minutes in front of her best 10k time ever!! Imagine her surprise as she really felt she was not running faster, just more focused and relaxed!!
As you may recall from yesterday, this is a gal that has never run before April…with just some tweaks from yesterday’s class…she went from a 1:15 10k to a 1:05 10k!!!! I know it’s not about the times but my point is that you can take a beginning runner with no experience, give them a one day workshop, and because of the technique (and great instruction)…they can be very, very successful!!!! And have fun while doing it!
Again, my thanks to you for your patience and wonderful teaching style. I hope the Chi folks have more instructors as capable as you!
Take care, and we’ll see you out on the trails!!!
Ben & Joy H
