So I looked up Total Immersion website too see if I can get some more info. I have determined that I have to go to the pool for six hours and not swim. At the end of this time I will be World Class or at least NCAA Divsion 3 All-American in the 1000Meter Free. :)
So, TI guy is constantly referring to Yoga and Yoga Breathing. So I have thought that my Presbyterian (Puritan) view of the world would make me a hard enough worker to achieve something in triathlons, but it appears the Far East has something to say on that. I apologize in advance if I inadvertently offend your religion, remember I didn't have my kids name a Teddy Bear or something (isn't funny no one ever writes a book about the Islamic way of working out). I did not know I would have to become an expert in World Religions to finish triathlons.
The TI book uses Yoga pretty good. He talks about Yoga breathing. Which is fine. He also talks about balance and essentially finding inner peace about being in the water, which can kill you, so anxieties could come up. So from Wikipedia (which is my current expert on all unknown areas in my life) , "There are numerous opinions on what the goal of Yoga may be, although generally they involve some kind of union, either of a personal or a non-personal nature". Pretty good I can handle that.
Well the TI website also has Tri Training seminars in conjunction with Chi Running. From the ChiRunning website "ChiRunning combines modern physics with the ancient wisdom of T’ai Chi to create a running form that is easily learned and makes running more effortless and enjoyable." Well that is great, what is T'ai Chi. Unless I got it wrong, it is, once again from WIKI,"In Chinese philosophy the yin and yang (simplified Chinese: 阴阳; traditional Chinese: 陰陽; pinyin: yīnyáng) are generalized descriptions of the antitheses or mutual correlations in human perceptions of phenomena in the natural world, combining to create a unity of opposites in the theory of the Taiji."
Ah, the paradoxical opposite philosophy with Harmony as the core, or union.
They also are trying to set up TI seminars with Zendurance for cycling. Zen, now isn't that the same as Yin & Yang. It's not taught in school and not in the bible. So, back to Wiki, "Zen (禪 or 禅) is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism notable for its emphasis on practice and experiential wisdom—particularly as realized in the form of meditation known as zazen—in the attainment of awakening. As such, it de-emphasizes both theoretical knowledge and the study of religious texts in favor of direct individual experience of one's own true nature." Oh, Buddha. not so much harmony now, but more about how I feel about it or relativism. I may read too much into this, so here is my theory.
Swim - Yoga style - means breathing in union with my stroke which is in union with my hips as my arms are weightless and my buoy (lungs) are being forced down to make the rest of my body rise, in harmony.
Bike - Zen Style - Get a big gut(may be the offensive part), practice or experiment how to ride my bike, don't pay any attention to theory (Shawn likes that, Mr. Honharts chemistry class), but ride on my own true knowledge (nature) of my own experiences, it still burns and hurts.
Run - Chi Style - If my left leg goes up my right leg must go down. Right arm forward, left arm back. Blink my left eye, eyelid open on my right, just kidding. Do this with the right motions to avoid injury. I can't figure out what the Yang of my running fast (Yin) would be. Is it running slow or is it walking. Maybe it is lying down.
In conclusion, I probably have helped no one, but I was toying with getting ChiRunning, & Zendurance, but if the books have me astro projecting I am out of there.
http://zendurance.net/
http://www.chirunning.com/shop/home.php
http://www.totalimmersion.net/
3 comments:
At this time of year many forms of entertainment start Repeating Shows or put together a Year in Review.
I think Craig is expecting this might happen with our blog and is trying to get more material into the "Top 10".
It's that darn writer's strike. I have to enertain myself, because I know my material isn't enertaining anyone else.
I went at looked at Zendurance and Chi Running thanks to your post, and I have come to the conclusion that the Zendurance guy is trying to make money so he doesn't have to get a real job. Look at his bio. He's never held a job for long. He got divorced. He moves around. Sounds like the profile of a serial killer, or a traveling salesman...or me. Hey, wait a minute! So he got good at something and now wants to make sure he doesn't have to work for the man, and therefore wrote this book about how to ride a bike. He is living the dream, yet I don't feel like I can trust him. He obviously has had success, finishing in the top 10 in several huge races, including the Three days of Triathlon, or what ever it's called. Yet for some reason, I'm skeptical. He's too desperate. "I can do a seminar for your group. I can do this for you or that for you." Yeah, for money! If you were actually enlightened like any good Zen master is, you would want to change the world and help as many people as you could with no thought for your own benefit, yet at the same time, your financial situation would always work out for the best.
I think I have already achieved a zenlike approach to biking, so I don't need that book. I would rather spend the money on new pedals and shoes so I could pedal in a circle.
As for Chi running, they don't tell you enough to help on that site. Maybe I should search for more. This is what I do on the treadmill every time. I focus on finding the perfect wavelike running form that uses the least oxygen and musculature to achieve the goal. Despite this quest, I am still not averaging under a ten-minute mile, though I do think I should be getting competitive with other fat guys now. I've tried so many different things. Guess what? I always get tired. Maybe this efficiency would gain me 20-30 seconds in the 5K which would translate to one minute in the entire Mooseman run. I think that time and money would be better spent losing weight. Twenty pounds off will shave me a minute per mile, I propose, giving me a six minute edge in the Moose, so the book I really need is Zen and the Art of Eating.
Maybe I'll write that. Then I can go around giving seminars and selling autographed copies of books, and finally have time to train properly.
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