Running form

On Sat. I have my 6 mile run. This is going to be tough because my knee has been acting up. I just cannot get it healthy. Yet, I'm hoping by working on my running form I can take pressure of my knee.

Last year when I started running, I focused on my mileage buildup. It had been a few years since I ran. When I first started running, it was difficult to do 1 mile. So I worked hard on increasing my distance, but failed to pay attention to my running form. I tend to run very straight up with hard steps. When the miles built up, the knee pain came and has never really went away.

Now, I'm trying to lean forward and land softer when I run. This was suggested by my physical therapist and also got me considering my running form. There seems to be a lot of different thoughts on what is the proper running form. And, there are different methods (Chi running, Power running, Pose running, etc). I'm not sure if there is a right method. But, I do think it is important to think about your running form and if something is not working then to change your form so that you can prevent injuries and maybe even increase your speed. Thus, I'm trying the Chi running method.

So far with respect to Chi running, I'm in the middle of reading the book and have lessons scheduled (my first lesson is this Monday). It also uses concepts that I've been working on (leaning forward and landing softer). The idea is to use your core and rely less our your legs. I have heard really good things about it preventing injuries. I will provide updates on what I think of Chi Running and whether I believe it is actually allowing me to run with getting injured and whether it does help increase my speed.