C25K: Week 4 (ahem, 3) and Chirunning

So, I had to repeat week 2 of C25K because my joints and bones were hurting. I decided to push through the pain on monday and start week three, only to find that I was missing that podcast on my ipod. So I tried to do a week 2 workout again and the pain was so bad I had to stop.

We were having a pretty horrible windstorm and I could barely walk, my knees and ankles ached and I just couldn't do it. It finally occurred to me that others have had these same issues, so I googled "C25K Joint Pain."

Lo and behold, there is nothing new under the sun. I found someone exactly my age having exactly the same problem. There were quite a few suggestions but the most common was heel striking, and many people suggested the girl check out "chirunning"

Well, that sounded so silly to me that I went again to google and typed in "how to avoid heel striking" and the first thing to come up was a chirunning video on youtube.

Fine. I decided to watch it. And it made sense. Go figure! I had to watch the video on silent, so the movements seemed repetitive and silly, but I got the gist by reading comments. Basically, I needed to shorten my stride so that I land on the squishy part of my heal instead of the very back of it like people tend to do.

Time to try it out.

I still didn't have the week 3 workout on my ipod, so I wrote down the intervals, and used the stopwatch function on my ipod. I got the dogs out of the car and we set out. Me using the new technique I had discovered, and them bouncing around like large bunnies...or small clowns.

To my surprise, the week three workout was the easiest of them all. I could feel the proverbial burn, but my joints actually felt better during and after my run, and I could have kept running for much longer.

Today I have been "chiwalking" the same way I ran and my pain (especially the constant pain in my bad ankle) is all but gone. Apparently I am a chronic heel striker and that has been causing all sorts of issues.

This whole running experience has done so much more for me than just help me get into shape. I have gained 3 pounds, but lost 2 inches off of my waist in 3 weeks. I am also starting to understand my body a lot better and I am figuring out other ways to be fitness conscious. It has really boosted my self confidence a lot!