We often think of rituals as esoteric acts of clandestine groups done in the woods around Halloween. However, a ritual is merely a ceremonious act that is passed on through generations. These acts create connectivity between people within a certain culture. Whether done in private or amongst a large group one feels a sense of union with a greater community. Rituals are often symbolic and can be very simple or complex. In the case of the Marathon, it is a grueling race that tests one physically, mentally and spiritually.
The first ever Marathon was not a symbolic gesture at all. The dawn of western civilization was tumultous. As a new civilization began to spread throughout Europe, Eurasia and northern Africa it came in direct contact with other people and their beliefs. Many wars were fought and people and cultures were spread across the globe by force. The first Marathon was ran by Pheidippides from Marathon to Athens to spread the news that the Greeks had triumphed over the Persians. When he reached his destination he dropped dead leaving the parting message "we are victorious." Some also name Pheidippides as the messenger who ran from Athens to Sparta to plead King Leonidas and his fabled army for help (for all you 300 fans out there).
Today, Marathons are very big affairs. Thousands of men and women of all different ages and backgrounds will take part in a single race. Everyone knows at least one person who has run a Marathon. This is no small feat, we are talking about a 26.2 mile race! That being said, 500,000 people will complete a marathon this year alone.Even though there are 50, 100 and even 150 mile races the Marathon still inspires a certain awe and respect among us.
I believe the Marathon serves as a modern day ritual for us. Whether we participate in one or simply act as spectators and supporters, there is a sense of being firmly connected to what keeps our civilization and the human race moving forward. Thousands participate, hundreds volunteer and countless turn their attention to these events in order to be reminded that we can and will endure as a people. It is amazing that the people of West Africa dominate this sport. West Africa is considered by many the "cradle of civilization"; the place where homo sapiens may have first walked the Earth. The Marathon has evolved into a ritual that symbolizes the endurance of all human beings and not just Western Civilization. Today thousands of people cross the finish line at these races...not just eccentric athletes.
The New York City Marathon will take place this weekend and a wave of people from all corners of the globe will wind through the burroughs of arguably the most culturally diverse city in the world. New York now stands as Athens once did, a city at the center of an Empire. This Empire has known art, intellectual achievement and modern innovation as well as greed, corruption and terrorism. What is so great about rituals like these is that theyt spread an energy out into the world that says "we are victorious" as Pheidippides did when he arrived in Athens. Our great cities will fall and our Empires will be replaced but these rituals will remain. They will survive to remind us that collectively we can accomplish anything.
Stay Positive,
Matthew
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
"Pretty Good"
Hello readers!
This is a poem handed out at a staff meeting at school.
I thought I would share!
Pretty Good
by: Charles Osgood
There once was a pretty good student
Who sat in a pretty good class
And was taught by a pretty good teacher
Who always let pretty good pass.
He wasn’t terrific at reading,
He wasn’t a whiz-bang at math,
But for him, education was leading
Straight down a pretty good path.
He didn’t find school too exciting,
But he wanted to do pretty well,
And he did have some trouble with writing
Since nobody taught him to spell.
When doing arithmetic problems,
Pretty good was regarded as fine.
5+5 needn’t always add up to be 10;
A pretty good answer was 9.
The pretty good class that he sat in
Was part of a pretty good school,
And the student was not an exception:
On the contrary, he was the rule.
The pretty good school that he went to
Was there in a pretty good town,
And nobody there seemed to notice
He could not tell a verb from a noun.
The pretty good student in fact was
Part of a pretty good mob.
And the first time he knew what he lacked was
When he looked for a pretty good job.
It was then, when he sought a position,
He discovered that life could be tough,
And he soon had a sneaking suspicion
Pretty good might not be good enough.
The pretty good town in our story
Was part of a pretty good state
Which had pretty good aspirations
And prayed for a pretty good fate.
There once was a pretty good nation
Pretty proud of the greatness it had,
Which learned much too late,
If you want to be great,
Pretty good is, in fact, pretty bad.
Be the exception to the rule! If you want to be great (whether it be at running, teaching, writing, dancing, cooking, etc., etc.) Strive for more than "pretty good."
Strive for excellence!
-Caitlyn
This is a poem handed out at a staff meeting at school.
I thought I would share!
Pretty Good
by: Charles Osgood
There once was a pretty good student
Who sat in a pretty good class
And was taught by a pretty good teacher
Who always let pretty good pass.
He wasn’t terrific at reading,
He wasn’t a whiz-bang at math,
But for him, education was leading
Straight down a pretty good path.
He didn’t find school too exciting,
But he wanted to do pretty well,
And he did have some trouble with writing
Since nobody taught him to spell.
When doing arithmetic problems,
Pretty good was regarded as fine.
5+5 needn’t always add up to be 10;
A pretty good answer was 9.
The pretty good class that he sat in
Was part of a pretty good school,
And the student was not an exception:
On the contrary, he was the rule.
The pretty good school that he went to
Was there in a pretty good town,
And nobody there seemed to notice
He could not tell a verb from a noun.
The pretty good student in fact was
Part of a pretty good mob.
And the first time he knew what he lacked was
When he looked for a pretty good job.
It was then, when he sought a position,
He discovered that life could be tough,
And he soon had a sneaking suspicion
Pretty good might not be good enough.
The pretty good town in our story
Was part of a pretty good state
Which had pretty good aspirations
And prayed for a pretty good fate.
There once was a pretty good nation
Pretty proud of the greatness it had,
Which learned much too late,
If you want to be great,
Pretty good is, in fact, pretty bad.
Be the exception to the rule! If you want to be great (whether it be at running, teaching, writing, dancing, cooking, etc., etc.) Strive for more than "pretty good."
Strive for excellence!
-Caitlyn
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Staying Positive and Being Soft
This post serves to clear up a common misconception about remaining positive while keeping ourselves protected in a sometimes adverse world. No matter how positive of a person you are you will run into negative people and negative situations. Often these people are so negatively charged that they go in search of ways to balance themselves by bringing down others. This is usually the source of most daily dramas that keep us from truly experiencing life in the here and now.
People often say...how can I just be positive with so many awful things going on in the world? The simple truth is there are incredibly beautiful and uplifting things happening every second of the day as well. Our attention is shifted to these negative things through the added weight our media places on them or because of the heightened need of our internal survival mechanisms to notice dangerous situations. There is a constant miracle called life happening every millisecond of the day. There are children being born, people helping others, nature is constantly providing us a 24 hour spectacle. Can you imagine if the media reported all the positive things that happened each and every day?
To be aware of a negative situation is important and critical to our survival, as I alluded to earlier. Just because we are choosing to be positive does not mean we ignore a potentially damaging situation. Often people who adopt an attitude of positive thinking and feeling become "soft". They are too afraid to have sharp edges and often go along with things that are detrimental to them. When one does this they are giving away their personal power to others and opening the door to being taken advantage of. Often the kindest people we know end up in inequitable positions at work or in unhealthy relationships.
Being positive requires a strong sense of personal power. We must know when to draw a line in the sand without fighting. Rarely are we put in situations where fighting is necessary. We are no longer in medieval times, where conflict was often settled with physical battles. This does not stop us as humans from trying to inflict pain on one another. We take to using words as a way to harm people emotionally instead. The famous children's anthem of "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" is a clever thing to say but it is far from the truth. How do we remain positive and avoid getting hurt?
The truth is you can't avoid getting hurt. We will always be hurt and we are often hurt by the people we care the most about. This is often why we develop a soft exterior because we want to maintain a good relationship with people even after they have hurt us. There are two important scenarios to consider:
The threat of physical pain: If you are being threatened physically, the most important thing to do is get as far away from that person as possible. If this is impossible, you need to defend yourself physically by any means necessary. Resorting to physical violence is always a last resort and a completely inappropriate and unbalanced way to deal with someone who is trying to hurt you emotionally.
The threat of emotional pain: This is much more common. People who strike out against your emotions feel very weak and insignificant and do this to develop a false sense of personal power. It is important to call these people out because they will often retreat very quickly or make a fool of themselves by continuing their useless diatribes further. A statement such as "Right now what you are saying makes me angry and if you continue I am going to either walk away or just stop listening" often works just fine. This is a statement of personal power and it is effective in the face of those who do not feel powerful themselves.
This is not easy. It may be the biggest challenge to being human. We are blessed with the intellectual and physical capacities that have allowed us to evolve into the most sophisticated animals on the planet Earth. We were also given the opportunity to experiences the richness of life through our emotions. To be fully human is to experience all three of these realms fully. Remember you are never alone in this endeavor, if you act out kindness and stay positive incredibly supportive people will have no trouble finding you.
Stay Positive,
Matthew
People often say...how can I just be positive with so many awful things going on in the world? The simple truth is there are incredibly beautiful and uplifting things happening every second of the day as well. Our attention is shifted to these negative things through the added weight our media places on them or because of the heightened need of our internal survival mechanisms to notice dangerous situations. There is a constant miracle called life happening every millisecond of the day. There are children being born, people helping others, nature is constantly providing us a 24 hour spectacle. Can you imagine if the media reported all the positive things that happened each and every day?
To be aware of a negative situation is important and critical to our survival, as I alluded to earlier. Just because we are choosing to be positive does not mean we ignore a potentially damaging situation. Often people who adopt an attitude of positive thinking and feeling become "soft". They are too afraid to have sharp edges and often go along with things that are detrimental to them. When one does this they are giving away their personal power to others and opening the door to being taken advantage of. Often the kindest people we know end up in inequitable positions at work or in unhealthy relationships.
Being positive requires a strong sense of personal power. We must know when to draw a line in the sand without fighting. Rarely are we put in situations where fighting is necessary. We are no longer in medieval times, where conflict was often settled with physical battles. This does not stop us as humans from trying to inflict pain on one another. We take to using words as a way to harm people emotionally instead. The famous children's anthem of "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" is a clever thing to say but it is far from the truth. How do we remain positive and avoid getting hurt?
The truth is you can't avoid getting hurt. We will always be hurt and we are often hurt by the people we care the most about. This is often why we develop a soft exterior because we want to maintain a good relationship with people even after they have hurt us. There are two important scenarios to consider:
The threat of physical pain: If you are being threatened physically, the most important thing to do is get as far away from that person as possible. If this is impossible, you need to defend yourself physically by any means necessary. Resorting to physical violence is always a last resort and a completely inappropriate and unbalanced way to deal with someone who is trying to hurt you emotionally.
The threat of emotional pain: This is much more common. People who strike out against your emotions feel very weak and insignificant and do this to develop a false sense of personal power. It is important to call these people out because they will often retreat very quickly or make a fool of themselves by continuing their useless diatribes further. A statement such as "Right now what you are saying makes me angry and if you continue I am going to either walk away or just stop listening" often works just fine. This is a statement of personal power and it is effective in the face of those who do not feel powerful themselves.
This is not easy. It may be the biggest challenge to being human. We are blessed with the intellectual and physical capacities that have allowed us to evolve into the most sophisticated animals on the planet Earth. We were also given the opportunity to experiences the richness of life through our emotions. To be fully human is to experience all three of these realms fully. Remember you are never alone in this endeavor, if you act out kindness and stay positive incredibly supportive people will have no trouble finding you.
Stay Positive,
Matthew
Alternative to Barefoot Running
The stability disc is a great supplement to your running practice. It will help you increase balance, coordination and focus. The stability disc offers many of the same benefits as barefoot running, withouth many of the hazards.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Chris McDougall on CNN
Check out this clip of Chris McDougall on CNN. Chris is the author of "Born to Run" and a barefoot running convert. His book is a very entertaining read!
--Jeff
--Jeff
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Running Wellness Up Your Spine
Hello Wellness Running fans!
Todays post is about the chakras, specifically: incorpating them into your ChiRunning practice. Chakras is a cool word similar to prana (see below) that you may have seen or heard. Maybe the person wearing the prana t-shirt talked to you about his or her chakras. The topic is extremely vast, so this blog post will serve as an elementary introduction to this complex system of wellness.
Chakras are often thought of as wheels of light or energy that vibrate, pulse, and spin at different speeds and frequencies. There are many chakras in the body, however, there are 7 primary chakras that exsist on the spine. We will discuss a process for exploring the 7 primary chakras in this post. Below you will find and outline of a week of practice, focusing on 1 chakra per day. The week starts with Monday, however, you can adjust this to meet your needs.
1 - Monday - Root Chakra - Base of the spine - Groundedness
The first chakra is the root chakra, which exsists at the bottom of the spine. This chakra has to do with feeling grounded, secure, stable. Monday is a good day for this chakra because it is (typically) the start of the work week. We can use our ChiRunning practice to ground ourselves for the week ahead.
Focus while running/walking - Posture stance.
By focusing on your posture and feeling your feet directly under your column you will end the run with a feeling of being connected to the ground. This will get you "out of your head" and into your body. If you practice barefoot running, this is a good day for it.
Yoga poses - mountain, tree
2 - Tuesday - Sacral Chakra - In the pelvis - fluidity, sexuality, expression
The second chakra is in the pelvis and deals with fluidity, sexuality, expression, emotions and more. The Monday run left you with a feeling of groundedness, now its time to move and express yourself. this will help create a nice flow to your work and help you loosen up.
Focus while running/walking - Pelvic rotation
By *allowing* your pelvis to rotate you will run more fluidly. This will help clean out some of the tension that exsists in your hips and pelvis. Many ChiRunners report that when they get the pelvic rotation they experience a smooth flow to the run which they never could have imagined. Use this run to become aware, without judgement, of how you are expressing yourself. Are you tight, restricted, and closed? Are you loose, relaxed, and fluid? How are these physical traits manifesting in your life? How do they correspond to your emotions?
Yoga poses - pigeon, dancer
3 - Wednesday - Third Chakra - Adrenal glands, T12/L1, power, strength
The third Chakra deals with power and strength. This is a good day to add in hills, or a track workout to your practice. This will help keep you feeling strong for the remainder of the weak and not feel "beat down" by the work work.
Focus while running - arm swing or more pelvic rotation
Because the third chakra exsists around T12/L1 a good focus for this day is to feel your pelvic rotation happening at T12/L1 and imagine your legs starting from that point in your spine. Twisting from this area will open your body up to enormous amounts of energy filling your running practice with incredible amounts of joy and satisfaction. Another good focus is arm swing, especially if you do hills. Focusing on the up hill ChiRunning arm swing technique will fill you with feelings of strength and power. A great practice for the middle of the week.
Yoga poses - warrior series
4 - Thursday - Heart Chakra - Heart - Love, Compassion, Purpose
The fourth chakra is the heart chakra which exists in the chest. It deals with Love and Compassion. This is a great chance to remind someone you love them (including yourself!)
Focus while running - Lean - imagining a bungee cord pulling you forward from the center of your chest
This focus will help you feel the lean and engage gravity as well as give you a feeling of letting your heart move you through life
Yoga poses - camel
5 - Friday - Throat Chakra - Expression, Thyroid
The fifth chakra deals with expression and is located in the throat. It is good day to practice expressing yourself more clearly. This practice is about being in balance so some need to express themselves more while others need to express themselves less. Find what you need and practice it.
Focus while running - Pressing up through the crown of the head.
This focus will keep your neck in a neutral position. Remember to not look down too much (at your feet) as this will constrict the energy flow of this chakra. This is a good run to join a friend and let the conversation fly.
Yoga poses - fish
6 - Saturday - Third Eye - Intuition, focus, clarity
Probably the most talked about chakra is the "third eye" chakra, located in the brain. This chakra deals with intuition, focus, and clarity. This is a good chance to practice your focus, especially if you have a race. It is also a good day to stop during your run and do the Chi Gathering exercise.
Focus while running - Focus
Pick one of the form focuses and practice your focus. Set your watch to beep every 30 seconds to remind you to return to your focus.
Yoga poses - meditation, childs with forehead touching mat or block
7 - Sunday - Crown Chakra - Spirituality
The seventh chakra deals with spirtuality. It is located on top of, or possibly slightly above the head. It is often thought of as the spot where spirtual energy enters the body. This is a good day to detach from the rigors of the work week, relax and become immersed in the beauty of your surroundings. Even if you are in the city you can allow yourself to enter the flow state and become overwhelmed with the incredible synchronicty and perfection of the universe unfolding moment to moment.
Focus while running - Relaxation
Many people do their long run on Sunday. Relaxation is an especially good focus if that is the case. Relax and allow the Chi of your surroundings to enter you and flow through your body uninhibited.
Yoga poses - guided meditation, mantra, prayer
Try this process for a full week and let me know how it goes. You might find that once you start, you won't want to stop and the focuses will become automatic.
Todays post is about the chakras, specifically: incorpating them into your ChiRunning practice. Chakras is a cool word similar to prana (see below) that you may have seen or heard. Maybe the person wearing the prana t-shirt talked to you about his or her chakras. The topic is extremely vast, so this blog post will serve as an elementary introduction to this complex system of wellness.
Chakras are often thought of as wheels of light or energy that vibrate, pulse, and spin at different speeds and frequencies. There are many chakras in the body, however, there are 7 primary chakras that exsist on the spine. We will discuss a process for exploring the 7 primary chakras in this post. Below you will find and outline of a week of practice, focusing on 1 chakra per day. The week starts with Monday, however, you can adjust this to meet your needs.
1 - Monday - Root Chakra - Base of the spine - Groundedness
The first chakra is the root chakra, which exsists at the bottom of the spine. This chakra has to do with feeling grounded, secure, stable. Monday is a good day for this chakra because it is (typically) the start of the work week. We can use our ChiRunning practice to ground ourselves for the week ahead.
Focus while running/walking - Posture stance.
By focusing on your posture and feeling your feet directly under your column you will end the run with a feeling of being connected to the ground. This will get you "out of your head" and into your body. If you practice barefoot running, this is a good day for it.
Yoga poses - mountain, tree
2 - Tuesday - Sacral Chakra - In the pelvis - fluidity, sexuality, expression
The second chakra is in the pelvis and deals with fluidity, sexuality, expression, emotions and more. The Monday run left you with a feeling of groundedness, now its time to move and express yourself. this will help create a nice flow to your work and help you loosen up.
Focus while running/walking - Pelvic rotation
By *allowing* your pelvis to rotate you will run more fluidly. This will help clean out some of the tension that exsists in your hips and pelvis. Many ChiRunners report that when they get the pelvic rotation they experience a smooth flow to the run which they never could have imagined. Use this run to become aware, without judgement, of how you are expressing yourself. Are you tight, restricted, and closed? Are you loose, relaxed, and fluid? How are these physical traits manifesting in your life? How do they correspond to your emotions?
Yoga poses - pigeon, dancer
3 - Wednesday - Third Chakra - Adrenal glands, T12/L1, power, strength
The third Chakra deals with power and strength. This is a good day to add in hills, or a track workout to your practice. This will help keep you feeling strong for the remainder of the weak and not feel "beat down" by the work work.
Focus while running - arm swing or more pelvic rotation
Because the third chakra exsists around T12/L1 a good focus for this day is to feel your pelvic rotation happening at T12/L1 and imagine your legs starting from that point in your spine. Twisting from this area will open your body up to enormous amounts of energy filling your running practice with incredible amounts of joy and satisfaction. Another good focus is arm swing, especially if you do hills. Focusing on the up hill ChiRunning arm swing technique will fill you with feelings of strength and power. A great practice for the middle of the week.
Yoga poses - warrior series
4 - Thursday - Heart Chakra - Heart - Love, Compassion, Purpose
The fourth chakra is the heart chakra which exists in the chest. It deals with Love and Compassion. This is a great chance to remind someone you love them (including yourself!)
Focus while running - Lean - imagining a bungee cord pulling you forward from the center of your chest
This focus will help you feel the lean and engage gravity as well as give you a feeling of letting your heart move you through life
Yoga poses - camel
5 - Friday - Throat Chakra - Expression, Thyroid
The fifth chakra deals with expression and is located in the throat. It is good day to practice expressing yourself more clearly. This practice is about being in balance so some need to express themselves more while others need to express themselves less. Find what you need and practice it.
Focus while running - Pressing up through the crown of the head.
This focus will keep your neck in a neutral position. Remember to not look down too much (at your feet) as this will constrict the energy flow of this chakra. This is a good run to join a friend and let the conversation fly.
Yoga poses - fish
6 - Saturday - Third Eye - Intuition, focus, clarity
Probably the most talked about chakra is the "third eye" chakra, located in the brain. This chakra deals with intuition, focus, and clarity. This is a good chance to practice your focus, especially if you have a race. It is also a good day to stop during your run and do the Chi Gathering exercise.
Focus while running - Focus
Pick one of the form focuses and practice your focus. Set your watch to beep every 30 seconds to remind you to return to your focus.
Yoga poses - meditation, childs with forehead touching mat or block
7 - Sunday - Crown Chakra - Spirituality
The seventh chakra deals with spirtuality. It is located on top of, or possibly slightly above the head. It is often thought of as the spot where spirtual energy enters the body. This is a good day to detach from the rigors of the work week, relax and become immersed in the beauty of your surroundings. Even if you are in the city you can allow yourself to enter the flow state and become overwhelmed with the incredible synchronicty and perfection of the universe unfolding moment to moment.
Focus while running - Relaxation
Many people do their long run on Sunday. Relaxation is an especially good focus if that is the case. Relax and allow the Chi of your surroundings to enter you and flow through your body uninhibited.
Yoga poses - guided meditation, mantra, prayer
Try this process for a full week and let me know how it goes. You might find that once you start, you won't want to stop and the focuses will become automatic.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Running Wellness - What is your Wellness Running PR?
Running Wellness
What is your Running Wellness Personal Record?
Hello Friends!
As runners, we have all thought about our Personal Records (PRs) at some point or another. A personal record is the fastest time you have ever run at a particular distance. It sounds simple, but us runners make it slightly more complicated (PR on a certified course, indoor PR, outdoor PR, road PR, cross country PR, age adjusted PR and many more…)
Here at the Sisu Project we love a good PR. Many of our members run a PR the first time they wear the jersey! While running PRs is great, it is not the most important thing to your running. More important to running your best time is:
Running Wellness
Also known as Running A Wellness, Wellness Running, Wellness Run
What is running wellness? Running wellness is a term I just made up by combining two of the best words ever; running and wellness. Running wellness can be used as a verb as in:
I was out on the trails running wellness today, everything clicked and I felt completely connected to my surroundings. I was overcome with feelings of joy and relaxation.
Running wellness can also be used as a noun as in: Yesterday at the race I ran a running wellness. It was the best I’ve ever felt at a race and I ran my running wellness PR.
The great thing about wellness running PRs is they usually lead to time PRs, whereas time PRs do not always lead to wellness running PRs.
You can apply the term running wellness any way you want. There are no rules here.
Ok…but what does running wellness mean?
Running wellness means (to me):
You had the greatest run ever and feel every cell in your body pulsing with Prana (see post below for explanation on Prana, also known as Chi)
You have a healthy mind, body and spirit.
You are not injured and do not feel pain.
You have high energy levels that last consistently throughout the day.
Your running is a practice that improves several aspects of your life including but not limited to: focus, mental clarity, relaxation, alignment, cooperating with a force, core strength (see ChiRunning for more detail.) Now THAT is wellness running!
Some things about wellness running are measurable (heart rate, blood pressure etc)
Some things about wellness running are not as measurable (emotions)
A wellness run might be a run that wasn’t your longest or fastest but that left you feeling less stressed, more focused, more relaxed, and filled with joy.
Those are just a few examples of what running wellness means to me. What does wellness running mean to you?
Think back throughout your running. When did you run your wellness running PR? When did you feel at your absolute best physically, mentally, and emotionally? If the answer is not “right now!” what can you do to run a new running wellness PR? What steps can you take to get back to, or experience for the first time the joy and vibrant health that running can bring to you?
What is your Running Wellness Personal Record?
Hello Friends!
As runners, we have all thought about our Personal Records (PRs) at some point or another. A personal record is the fastest time you have ever run at a particular distance. It sounds simple, but us runners make it slightly more complicated (PR on a certified course, indoor PR, outdoor PR, road PR, cross country PR, age adjusted PR and many more…)
Here at the Sisu Project we love a good PR. Many of our members run a PR the first time they wear the jersey! While running PRs is great, it is not the most important thing to your running. More important to running your best time is:
Running Wellness
Also known as Running A Wellness, Wellness Running, Wellness Run
What is running wellness? Running wellness is a term I just made up by combining two of the best words ever; running and wellness. Running wellness can be used as a verb as in:
I was out on the trails running wellness today, everything clicked and I felt completely connected to my surroundings. I was overcome with feelings of joy and relaxation.
Running wellness can also be used as a noun as in: Yesterday at the race I ran a running wellness. It was the best I’ve ever felt at a race and I ran my running wellness PR.
The great thing about wellness running PRs is they usually lead to time PRs, whereas time PRs do not always lead to wellness running PRs.
You can apply the term running wellness any way you want. There are no rules here.
Ok…but what does running wellness mean?
Running wellness means (to me):
You had the greatest run ever and feel every cell in your body pulsing with Prana (see post below for explanation on Prana, also known as Chi)
You have a healthy mind, body and spirit.
You are not injured and do not feel pain.
You have high energy levels that last consistently throughout the day.
Your running is a practice that improves several aspects of your life including but not limited to: focus, mental clarity, relaxation, alignment, cooperating with a force, core strength (see ChiRunning for more detail.) Now THAT is wellness running!
Some things about wellness running are measurable (heart rate, blood pressure etc)
Some things about wellness running are not as measurable (emotions)
A wellness run might be a run that wasn’t your longest or fastest but that left you feeling less stressed, more focused, more relaxed, and filled with joy.
Those are just a few examples of what running wellness means to me. What does wellness running mean to you?
Think back throughout your running. When did you run your wellness running PR? When did you feel at your absolute best physically, mentally, and emotionally? If the answer is not “right now!” what can you do to run a new running wellness PR? What steps can you take to get back to, or experience for the first time the joy and vibrant health that running can bring to you?
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