Runningmonkeys

Watching a baby learning to walk is an amazing process.  First crawling, then clambering up, then standing with support, then walking with support, and finally they take their first tentative and wobbly steps without help.  If a baby wants to walk there is practically no way to skip a step and still get walking properly.  Some babies race through the steps and are very quickly running around.  Others take their time and progress more slowly, but they all follow the same basic stages in order to get to independent walking.

Babies are not alone in this.  If any of us wants to achieve anything, there are a set and minimum number of steps that we simply have to take to get to the desired effect.  There is no better example than when we desire to change our running form.

For anyone wanting to take up the Pose Method of Running, we can assume that they can already run.  Even if their running hasn’t been practiced since they were a kid, at some time in their life just about everyone has run.  For all of us, to some degree or other our subconscious mind already thinks it knows how to run.  Our bodies, also, are accustomed to the various sensations and movements that we experience when we run.  When we send a message to our bodies that we want them to run, the nerves and muscles begin to fire in a familiar way that brings about the movement that we know as running.  Without thinking, our body is able to produce an amazing amount of activity, that put together, we consider to be effective running.  What if we are wrong?

We now discover that there is a better way to run.  We have found a way to conserve our energy, reduce injuries, run more efficiently and all the while achieve greater speed.  How would we go about implementing this new method? 

The first step is to accept that our old ideas, sensations, movements, and skills have been superseded.  If we truly want to change we have to consciously decide that we can do better by ignoring what we once new.  This is harder than it seems.

Then we have to gradually re-learn our mental concept of what running is made up of.  This can take some time but need not be a painful process.  Take it slowly and carefully absorb what you read.  In our case, the book called The Pose Method of Running contains all of the theory that we need to mentally change our concept of running.

Next we have to carefully and precisely learn some basic skills which form the basis of our new form.  The best way to learn these is to practice the drills that are provided.  These drills are not excercise in the fitness sense of the word.  They are simply skill based routines, designed to imprint the necessary patterns in our body.  We must fully experience the sensations of accurately, repetitively and precisely performing these drills so that we can take the experience into actual running later.

When we have carefully progressed through the drills one by one, we will have a feel for the various components of the new running style, from the pose, to the free fall to the new support and the next pose.  It is simply a matter of carefully assembling the parts and trying them out.  At this stage it would be nice if we were finished and ready to go, but actually we are at a very dangerous stage.  If we get back into full training too soon we will be unable to sustain what we now know to be our correct form.  As soon as we revert to old habits, we are just reinforcing the patterns and sensations of our conventional running.  This will continue to make it harder to distinguish between our new and our old form, and slows down or even stops our eventual adoption of the Pose Method of Running.

We must gradually and progressively increase our mileage and intensity in a way that allows us to be 100% in control of our form at all times.  We can safely run to the point that 1 more step will see our form deteriorate, but we should run no more until we have recovered.  Bearing in mind that it may be physical or mental exhaustion that may limit our ability to hold form.  It could also be distractions or stress.  So we simply must watch our running for warning signs of losing form.  If we see the signs then we must stop at once.

The next important stage in our adoption of the method is to begin to develop our potential.  This is just another way of saying that we begin to remove any other obstacle to our progress.  We can immediately identify physical limitations as a potential limit.  The book contains a whole section on developing our bodies in specific ways that make the most of our new Pose form.  It gives specific drills and exercises aimed to blow away the performance obstacles that physical limitations place on our performance.

Finally we must remove the psychological barriers that we have that hold back our performance.  So I don’t get carried away here, I will simply say that even the most prepared body in the world, even the fastest runner we have ever seen, will not run a single step at any speed if their mind says that they can’t.

All of this work, just to change the way you run!  Surely the way you run already is good enough!  Why waste so much time and potentially lose fitness while you are doing it too?  However, if you are convinced that there are bigger gains to be made from switching to this revolutionary form, like I am,  then the effort will be worth it.  I am willing to give up “normal training” for the time being while I get my Pose together.  I will lose some time in the short run, but I am aiming for big gains in the long run.

A side note for anyone who is considering “trying out” the Pose Method of Running while they still keep train normally with their old style.  I don’t think it will work.  I am finding it difficult enough to perfect the first few drills without confusing my body by continuing to reinforce my old style at the same time.  Our bodies will automatically revert to what they are most familiar with if we let them.  The crucial factor in revolutionizing any sort of habit is breaking the link with the old way of doing it and building up a new link.  So once again, I walked to the oval near my house this morning.  I warmed my muscles by walking not running and then carefully and as precisely as I was able, I practiced the first few Pose Method drills, until I thought that I really had them under control.  Then I walked home again.  No sweat, no elevated heart rate and no endorphins.  I can say that a day like this isn’t as much fun a simply running, but it is satisfying and exciting as I see myself investing in my running future by taking on the Pose Method of Running.