2012 ChiRunning Clinic at Multisport World NYC

The 2012 Multi Sport World Conference and Expo is right around the corner! There will be a Level I and Level II ChiRunning Clinics as well as a lot of other clinics and seminars and always a great turn out of people coming to learn ChiRunning. Typically there is a nice mix of multi sport athletes of all levels and interests and several “just runners” who will get to spend up to two hours learning ChiRunning form Vince Vaccaro, Master ChiRunning Instructor and Joel "Ironman" Matalon, Certified ChiRunning Instructor. I plan on being there all day assisting and helping people on the road to energy efficient injury free running. Come and join us!

Dodge Fitness Center at Columbia University, Saturday, March 10, 2012 Begining @ 7:30 AM

For more info on these 2012 ChiRunning Clinics click here.

Bi-Annual Instructor Weekend 2011

I have just returned from the Bi-annual ChiRunning Instructor Weekend in Asheville, NC. It was a really amazing experience and a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet so many great people in a very special place! Very special thanks to all of the ChiLiving staff who made the event a very well organized and smooth joy to attend. It was really great to see some old friends and so many people who I have only heard about or "met" online. Of course it was great to see Danny again and meet Katherine. Also in attendance were local NY/NJ region instructors Vince Vaccaro (Master Instructor), Joel Matalon, David Stretanski and the newest certified CRCW instructor, Marisa!

Unfortunately, because I was almost completely wiped out by Bronchitis the weeks before I was not able to participate as much as I would have liked. I was definitely feeling better by the time the conference rolled around but still really weak and light headed. In all, I am glad that we decided to go because I learned so many valuable skills for building my own practice and teaching!

I'm in-NYC Triathlon 2012!!!

It's official! I am registered for the 2012 Nautica NYC Triathlon. The New York City Triathlon is an Olympic distance race consisting of a 1500m swim in the Hudson River, a 40k bike up the Henry Hudson Expressway, and a 10k run in Central Park. This years event will take place on July 8th, 2012!!

This will be my first ever Olympic length triathlon and I am so jazzed. I will be posting progress reports on my training details here. If you have any pointers I would appreciate them. If you are coming out the the event to watch or if you are racing that day let me know!

Special thanks to all of those who have been so supportive including all teh memebers of Team Green Dog, Lars, Joel and Vince and especially my racing sponsors especially Lynskey Perfromance Design, Spokesman Cycles, and Vega Perfromance!

Danny Dreyer ChiRunning Workshop NYC Oct 8th-9th 2011

Thanks to all who cam out to see Danny teaching in New York City this weekend! It was a very successful workshop with a large attendance each day. The classes were held in the YMCA on the Lower East Side. The workshops included a beginning ChiRunning Workshop and an Advanced ChiRunning workshop. I assisted Danny on the Saturday workshop and I was very impressed by the attendees. This was actually the first time I have had a group with no running injuries! In general, we always ask about individual running histories before starting a workshop. This enables us to tailor the workshop to your specific needs. It is a practice I really like because inevitably you get to offer people some relief right away. In all these workshops were a lot of fun and a lot was covered. Thanks Danny for another great NYC workshop. Thanks also to the other ChiRunning instructors and candidates that came out. Always good to see you!

Happy ChiRunning B-Day w/ Thrive and Plant Based Nutrition

It was six years ago today that I attended the first ever NYC ChiRunning workshop with Danny Dreyer! I will never forget it. Vince Vaccaro was in attendance assisting Danny...I am not even sure if he was a certified instructor yet or a candidate. He is now a Master Instructor and was, with Danny, my CRCW certification teacher. Vince is an amazing athlete, with many years of running and multi sport experience. If you ever have a chance to attend one of his workshops I highly recommend it (a good place to catch Vince is one of the Multi Sport World Conference ChiRunning Workshops).

As a CRCW B-Day present to myself I have decided to make the move to a Plant Based Nutrition regime.  Although it is largely based on the Thrive Diet created by Ironman Brendan Brazier I am hesitant to think of it as a diet. It is trendy now in the multi sport community to follow the Paleolithic (Paleo) Diet and I have studied it carefully since I first heard about it. It is interesting to me how much it has in common with the Thrive diet-except for the eating animals part of course. Essentially they both hold as their highest priority a complete rejection of processed foods. For me the Paleo Diet was not really an option as it just reminds me too much of the Atkins diet, which I had a bad experience with-it is really just a personal hang up on my part.

Since beginning ChiRunning I have lost over 65 lbs. to date! It is very strange to think of myself as a Vegan. I had thought for the longest time that on my 40th Birthday (January 2012) I would try to adopt a meat free lifestyle and eat a more nutritious diet. Last week my Aunt died after a long and terrible struggle with unmanaged diabetes. She suffered a great deal in much the same way that her mother, my Grandmother had (she also had diabetes). Being from the South originally and now living in Harlem I am constantly surrounded by the overweight, food addicted and morbidly obese. It is something that has so profoundly shaped my experience I don't even know where to begin. There has to be a way to cure this epidemic and I am convinced now more than ever that restoring a mind-body connection is the first step in breaking the cycle!