Instructor of the Month
Don't miss Cheryl's tip on y'chi on the trails below!
It all started when a friend showed me a book she was reading called Chi Running. I read the first 100 pages and went for a run on a trail at the Donner Summit in Tahoe. The path of my life changed that day. I focused on lifting my ankles and felt an effortlessness that I couldn’t believe. The next day my husband Dave and I hiked to the top of Mt. Rose at a speed that didn’t reflect my fitness. I walked it effortlessly wondering if this is what “Chi Walking” was. I remember reaching the top and raising my hands Rocky Balboa style, in triumph! We ran down the mountain and even though I had just begun to learn Chi Running, my joy at rediscovering how easy running could be brought tears to my eyes. That was July 8, 2010.
Since those early days of practice, I have lost about 20 pounds, become a Certified Instructor and grown my teaching business in Reno and Las Vegas. Still an active
Registered Nurse, I don’t practice traditional nursing, but maintain my license and devote my full time to my Chi Running / Chi Walking business. On my 53rd birthday this month, I ran my second 50 mile race at the American River 50, improving on my time for this distance on a more difficult course.
I became a Certified Instructor in Chi Running and Chi Walking in April 2011. A Registered Nurse for much of my adult life, I have always wanted to work in fitness.
Learning to Chi Run was a moving, transformational experience and I wanted to teach it to others. Exercise is medicine for many diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, mental illness, and orthopedic issues, to name a few. Teaching Chi Walking gives me the opportunity to open up the possibility of running to people who would otherwise not consider it. But even more impactful is that Chi Walking can be the means to get people active who are at risk for disease as a result of lack of fitness. With the focus on improving American health, I can’t think of a better way to get people off the couch and moving other than Chi Walking.
I have participated in many different sports throughout my life including gymnastics, vaulting (gymnastics on horseback), running track, and bicycle racing. I excelled in cycling while in college and held the women’s record for the Davis Double Century back in the early ‘80s. Living near Tahoe, I grew up skiing and raced downhill and cross country while attending UC Davis. I skied fast and eventually tore up my left knee. After knee surgery, I rehab’ed with the Masters Swim team headed by Dave Scott who was just beginning his amazing career as one of the most gifted triathletes to ever run the Ironman distance. He set up my training plan for my first “half Ironman”.
Inspired by the triathlon craze in Davis, I competed in two Hawaii Championship Ironman Triathlons in 1982 where I finished in the top 10 women. My 15 minutes of
fame came in the February 1982 Ironman when I placed third following Kathleen McCartney as she ran past Julie Moss crawling across the finish line! That race brought triathlon to the public’s attention just as barefoot running became known through “Born to Run” by Chris McDougall. That Ironman was my first marathon and I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. My second marathon came in my second Ironman that same year in October (there were two in 1982) where I again placed in the top 10. I still didn’t know how to run and really didn’t like it much.
In my 30’s, I found trail running and that renewed my interest. I even did some 50Ks, a road marathon in 3:24 and paced a friend in the Leadville Trail 100M in 1992.
My 40s found me 20 pounds overweight; now status post 3 knee surgeries including an ACL reconstruction, from snow skiing. Still using running as a way to be fit and not really for enjoyment, I found that knee pain made it difficult to run very far. As I approached 50 I resigned myself to short trail runs that always resulted in knee pain and shin splints.
Learning Chi Running has turned back the clock! I continue to improve in my running form and fitness. And instead of getting bored with running, I continue to be inspired by new Chi Runners and my own progress! It’s possible to still improve even at my age!
My running and teaching practice has brought so much joy into my life! I have met extraordinary people who love to run – some are Chi Runners, some are not, but will be if they see me enough! I love to see faces light up when they begin to get what it feels like to run naturally without pain and effortlessly with joy. I am so blessed to be able to teach Chi Running.
Contact Cheryl Here.
Tip: Using y'chi on the Trails
When running on pavement, it’s easier to learn to use Y’chi, using the mind to direct the energy and movement of your body through your eyes. When running trails and trying to avoid obstacles, the natural inclination is to focus your eyes on those obstacles. For example, normally, if you want to avoid tripping over a rock you focus your eyes on the rock and your mind tells your body to lift your foot over the rock. Like y’chi, you are drawn towards the rock. In trail running, you don’t want to be drawn to the rock, you want to avoid the rock. Have you noticed that sometimes even when you see the rock you trip over it? Or if there are a bunch of obstacles together you don’t see them all so trip anyway?
Focusing on the spaces between the obstacles is the key to avoiding them - it’s y’chi for trails. Your feet will follow the focus by landing in the spaces between the rocks just as they did when you focused on your y’chi point running on pavement. You will find that your mind’s focus through your eyes will be a few steps ahead and your feet will know where to go so you won’t trip.
In very technical terrain, you may need to look at your feet, but moving your eyes quickly from a distance close to your feet to further down the trail will help you maintain your alignment while at the same time prevent you from tripping.
Practicing an active gaze with a focus on where to place your feet safely and not on the obstacles you want to avoid will help you run trails with fluid and grace and eventually speed.
Contact Cheryl Here.
