From my experience and from what I've read, you shorten your stride dramatically. That will keep your heart rate down and allow you to run the cadence that you wish.

Takes time. I've been working at it for a year and it's finally starting to really work. Took a long time, but I'm excited about running again. Just keep working at it.

HH

---

________
It doesn't really matter what Phil is saying, the music of his voice is the appropriate soundtrack for a bicycle race. HTupolev

I've worked on the same thing since this past January, and am just now starting to "get it". It still isn't easy, but I haven't been using a metronome for a couple of weeks now, and when I periodically check my cadence on runs, I'm pretty much always right around ~90 bpm. I find though that the slower I go, the harder it is to maintain this cadence and the more concentration it takes. Which means that even my easy runs are kind of hard. Just in the past couple of weeks has my HR actually start to come down during my slow easy runs. The thing I've found that helps me run slow while keeping the right cadence is to run with someone slower than me. It forces me to slow down, and I can really concentrate on the strike rate.

I honestly think cadence is a huge part of run form, as the previous poster said, it forces you to shorten your stride. This has a few implications as I see it (an uneducated amatuer). One is that it reduces the impact angle of the foot to more parallel, two is that it reduces vertical displacement of the body, and three (which is related to the above two) is that it puts the leg in a better position to absorb impact. In my opinion, if people simply work on cadence alone they will find they gravitate towards a very efficient and injury free run stride. I think Chi running and Pose take advantage of this but put too much emphasis on foot plant and other things. If you run with a high cadence, over time your body will run the "right" way. It's interesting that I feel more of the impact on my mid and forefoot, but I don't try to run that way. Also, if you look at my shoes, they are still distinctly wearing down at the heel first - I'm still touching down heel first, just not so hard heel first.

Of course, the thing I noticed right away was that my shoes were getting in the way of running with a high cadence. It was super hard in my motion control shoes. So I started running in a spike less xc shoe. It made running at 90 bpm infinitely easier, and my HR came way down. I've been doing this since March. Your results may vary and I don't want to get into a debate about shoes. I definitely feel cadence is the most important of the two with my limited experience.

Moral of the story is, keep at it. If you're having trouble, get a metronome. I have a pretty good one that's $30, small, and fits right in the ear. The only problem is that sweating has killed the thing. It worked long enough for me to get the hang of it, and it was easy to wean off of it since I couldn't use it.

It's definitely challenging, and I never thought I'd be able to do it, but it does get easier. I liken it to a blurp I saw on Lance Armstrong's training on easy rides. He still holds a cadence at 100 rpm or so, working on technique while riding. It makes the easy days not so easy, but I hope will make me a better runner.

Edit to add that not only does running in a minimal shoe make increasing run cadence easier, it actually encourages it. You find out very quickly what does not feel good and what feels okay - running with a high cadence is the only way I can do it. Personally, I feel the two go hand in hand.

---

---------------------------------------------------------

"What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind and body can achieve; and those who stay will be champions."

Learning to run slowly with high turnover is tough, especially for taller runners, but it pays huge dividends. Below is an article on that topic. I agree strongly with the previous poster about a metronome. More information is available in my book The Triathlete's Guide to Run Training and the video that Joe Friel and I produced, Evolution Running: Run Faster with Fewer Injuries. www.Fitness-Concepts.com Ken

Running Slowly with High Turnover

© 2005 by Ken Mierke

Running with high turnover (180-182 foot-strikes per minute) increases running efficiency and reduces the risk of injury. Many runners maintain high turnover during tempo runs, track workouts, and races, but fail to do so when running at a basic endurance pace. Learning to maintain the same turnover when running at any speed will improve your training and racing.



Elite runners of any height and leg length, generally run with a cadence between 180 and 182 steps per minute. Watch the lead pack in a road race the next time you get the opportunity. You will be amazed at the incredible synchronicity of the runner’s strides. Efficient runners of significantly different height and leg length consistently chose almost identical turnover rates. Why would a 6’2” professional runner use the same turnover rate and significantly shorter stride length (proportionate to height) than a 5’4” runner?



One major reason for this is caused by the nature of the elastic responses of human tissue. At a given pace, longer strides mean more contact time with the ground. This reduces the benefit of elastic recoil, causing the muscles to contract more forcefully. Even though a taller runner’s legs may be longer, his elastic tissues respond just like shorter runners’. When human tissue is stretched and released, it snaps back forcefully. This enables runners to store energy in the Plantar Fascia, the Achilles tendon, and the Soleus and Gastrocnemius muscles from one stride and return that energy as propulsion in the next stride. Optimal use of elastic recoil is a major difference in efficiency differences between runners.



Runners’ tissues snap back forcefully when stretched and released, but they do not when stretched and held, even for a very short time period. When the stretch is held, even for a fraction of a second, the stored energy dissipates, resulting in far less energy returned as elastic recoil. The taller runner must take strides that are proportionally shorter (compared to leg length) in order to keep contact time between the feet and ground short to enable the energy return from elastic recoil.



The second reason is that a longer stride necessitates greater vertical displacement. If I wanted to throw a baseball 20 feet, I could basically throw it on a straight line without much arc. To throw the ball 50 yards, however, I would have to arc it upward, because gravity would have a long time to act on the ball. In the same way, running with long strides forces runners to move up and down more than shorter strides.



Longer strides also require the muscles to contract more forcefully to create horizontal propulsion. First of all, to cover 20% more ground, even with optimal efficiency, 20% more force at push-off would be required. Factoring in the need for vertical displacement and the loss of power from elastic recoil, and the increase in force required at push-off is staggering.



Contracting muscles more forcefully fatigues them far more than contracting them frequently with less force. Each of our muscles is made up of thousands of different muscle fibers. These muscle fibers fall into two basic categories (though there are also several sub-categories), slow-twitch and fast-twitch. Fast-twitch fibers are tremendously powerful, but fatigue very quickly. Slow twitch muscle fibers have tremendous endurance, but are not very powerful. One major problem with taking long strides is that the slow-twitch fibers are not able to provide the majority of the power required for push-off and the fast-twitch fibers are required to contribute significantly. Running with longer strides and slower turnover requires much more power at push-off than the slow-twitch fibers can produce. This means the fast-twitch, sprint muscle fibers must contract to make up the difference, which leads to lactic acid accumulation and premature fatigue.



Running with a slow turnover requires increased vertical displacement, greater contact time with the ground, and more forceful contractions at push-off, all of which impair economy and lead to local muscular fatigue and greater risk of injuries. Improving this aspect of technique pays big dividends.



Our research has shown that, for durations of the range of triathlon race durations, optimal turnover is about 180 – 182 steps per minute, regardless of running speed. This is considerably higher turnover than most runners naturally use, especially on long, slow runs.



Learning to keep turnover higher on your easy runs is a critical part of efficient training. Good cyclists keep cadence relatively high even on an easy zone 1-2 ride. Keeping turnover high on easy runs is even more important because slow turnover training does not effectively train the elastic response that you need to run your best on race day. If a runner uses slow turnover for basic endurance training, he/she is asking his/her muscles to create force on race day in a way that has been trained for a small fraction of training mileage. That is not the way to produce optimal results.



Running with quick, short strides is unnatural for all runners, but especially for taller runners, who have been told to take advantage of their long legs by using a long strides. To gain the “free speed” of elastic recoil, tall runners must use the same high turnover as shorter runners. This means they must learn to use steps which seem proportionally shorter for their leg length. I have had tremendous success teaching tall runners to take quick, short strides and increase their efficiency. My wife, who is 6 feet tall, learned to run with high turnover and as a result won a triathlon national championship, turning in the fastest run split.



Certain biomechanical techniques are key to increasing turnover to maximize efficiency.

1. Efficient runners have no pause at the completion of the leg’s follow through. The leg pulls back to provide propulsion and then immediately the knee drives forward. Leg recovery must be initiated as the leg is still moving backward in follow through from the propulsive phase.

1. During leg recovery, the knee is driven forward powerfully by the hip flexor muscles at the front of the upper thigh. The forward movement must be quick and powerful, with full knee bend, but the range of motion of leg recovery must be very short. The forward knee drive is completed when the knee is only slightly in front of the hip and the foot is directly beneath the knee.

1. The foot lands directly beneath the hips to prevent braking, instead of landing out in front.

1. Contact time between the feet and ground is minimized.

1. Pushoff is not created by forceful contractions, but by light, quick movements. Bodybuilders don’t win 10Ks or marathons.

1. Extend the knee and foot well behind your hips, but never very far in front. Your feet should stay under and behind you all the time, even at slow paces.

1. All this is accomplished while maintaining relaxation.

When increasing turnover, make sure that you do not attempt to increase turnover by pulling the leg back faster during the weight bearing phase of running. That will increase both turnover and stride length, leading to incorrect training intensity and possibly premature fatigue. That isn’t efficient running; that is going too hard. Work toward a significantly higher turnover with slightly shorter steps and you will increase speed without increasing energy expenditure.



Many of the athletes we coach use metronomes during running. A modern metronome is just slightly larger than a credit card and will beep at any rate you set it for. (Most music stores carry these devices) We usually have runners determine their natural turnover and gradually increase it over time, with the ultimate goal being approximately 180 steps per minute. We generally have runners increase turnover by three to five steps-per-minute each week until approximately 180 steps per minute feels natural.



Learning to run in a relaxed manner at high turnover with short to moderate stride length takes concentration, effort and patience, but these techniques will help almost every runner to maximize efficiency and minimize the risk for injuries. Take the time and effort to evolve your running and you will run faster with fewer injuries.

---

Ken Mierke
Head Coach, Fitness Concepts
http://www.Fitness-Concepts.com
Author, The Triathlete's Guide to Run Training

I thought 190 was the target run cadence to max efficiency. Don't most pro triathletes and marathoners run at about 190? 180-182 seems low to me. I'm 6'5" and have struggled all year to get my cadence up over 180. I shoot for 185 but have trouble keeping it there when I am fatigued.

So if I can condense this into a nutshell, take smaller strides and attempt to turn it over faster???

---

_________________________________
I'll be what I am
A solitary man

Where did you get the metronome? I'm picturing the thing on the piano in grade school, and can't figure out how to run with it.

thanks again...

mike

---

"A man must love a thing very much if he practices it without any hope of fame and money, but even practices it without any hope of doing it well." G.K. Chesterton

I am 6'5" also. I have found that by running with a faster turner, I have increased my run speed, and can hold it longer. Great to see there is some scientific reason behind this, rather than me guessing.

Makes a big difference using shorter strides and higer cadence for the up and down hills also.



Dave

---

Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

Finis Tempo Trainer
Click to enlarge

Best $30 you can spend on running. This is from http://www.all3sports.com and I'm sure you could find it elsewhere.

---

float , hammer , and jog

Check out www.zzounds.com/item--KORMM1

Basically it is called a Korg MetroGnome if you want to do a google search. I believe you can get it from multiple vendors. Only about an inch or so long, and sits in the ear. I set it at 60 bpm and make sure that every third foot strike hits on the beat. Which gives me 180 foot strikes per minute. Worked like a charm.

---

---------------------------------------------------------

"What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind and body can achieve; and those who stay will be champions."

Concerning use of a metronome, I think there's a money-making opportunity out there that nobody (to my knowledge) has yet taken advantage of, and that's to produce some CDs of "run music" at 90 BPM. I actually emailed this idea to Troy Jacobson's people, figuring it would be compatible with the kind of thing Troy already does with Spinervals and Runervals. I'd certainly buy a CD like that.

Susan

Sounds like some great advice people have given you so far. The stuff from Kens book sounds like great info. I've also thought a music for running CD sounded like a great idea. I never run with an mp3 or cd player but I always have songs in my head when I run. You just have to find some songs that are close to your run tempo that also inspire you. I run pretty consistently around 90 bpm. Some of my favorite songs are Bruce Springstein "Born to Run", I know it sounds cheesy but it is works for me. "Highway Star" by Deep Purple, and "Kickstart my Heart", by Motley Crue.
I don't use a metronome but a quick method I use to check my cadence it to count how many strikes on one foot I do in ten seconds. 15 will give you exactly 90 bpm.
If your changing from a lower cadence it will definitely feel like your heart and lungs are taking on more of the work burden than your legs but you'll get used to it eventually and for me it's much more comfortable that way.

One of the things that helps me the most to keep relaxed with a high cadence is to focus on keeping my face relaxed - it sounds weird but it's something I learned this back during my days as a 400 meter runner, and it really works for me. My HR drops noticably once I relax my face - my arms will then follow.

Shorter strides.

As your fitness/technique improves ... you can lengthen your strides (i.e., go faster). It really doesn't take long. For shorter runs like 4-6 miles, my pace has went from 10-11 min/miles to high 8's to -low 10's.

I have been actively working on this. The other day I ran for 2:20 with high cadence (shorter strides) and I enjoyed every minute of it. 12.4 miles -- my longest ever (I'm a slow runner). My avr HR was 151 ... which is zone 2 for me.

As a lifelong athlete, I was always taught to "run on your toes", because your "eyes don't bounce as much", which is important as an outfielder, wide receiver, or some other person tracking a projectile while running as fast as possible.

I concetrate on "pulling my feet off the concrete as quickly as possibly". I have also gotten pretty good at the "forward lean" thing. Different visualizations can be helpful. I imagine something is pulling my forward by my HR strap.

I am looking forward to much greater progress in a year of consitent training, rather than just the "few good months" approach.

---

=======================
-- Every morning brings opportunity;
Each evening offers judgement. --

Ken --

Excellent piece. I've had the same observation -- people have good quick turnover on tempo runs, but don't do it on long easy and steady runs. It's important for us to learn to have virtually the same running mechanics on our everyday runs as we do when we do tempo runs and hard efforts in races.

I take a hand-held electronic metronome out on basic endurance runs about once a month.

Cheers,

Ash

One of the things that helps me the most to keep relaxed with a high cadence is to focus on keeping my face relaxed

Me too. One thing that I have found that helps is to "chew gum s-l-o-w-l-y" ... keeps everything relaxed. This advice is only for those that can chew gum and run at the same time. =)

I also like to take short, effortless, steady breaths.

---

=======================
-- Every morning brings opportunity;
Each evening offers judgement. --

Trance music works.

---

=======================
-- Every morning brings opportunity;
Each evening offers judgement. --

Ken said:
"Elite runners of any height and leg length, generally run with a cadence between 180 and 182 steps per minute. ... Efficient runners of significantly different height and leg length consistently chose almost identical turnover rates."

This logic -- particularly the fact that elite sprinters and marathoners both self-select for this stride frequency -- is what convinced me to try to increase my turnover for a few months earlier this year. But then I realized: elite runners run faster than I do. An elite marathoner runs 5-minute miles, which at 180 steps per minute works out to a stride length of 5.9 feet. If I want to take 180 steps per minute on my long runs at a (slow) 9:30 pace, I only get to have a stride length of 3.1 feet. This is shorter than my stride length when walking. It doesn't seem possible to run this slowly with such a high stride rate without mincing steps. So I had decided the logic only applied to reasonably brisk paces (say 8:00 miles or faster).

I'm not unwilling to listen to research, logic, or experience of others, and to give it another try. if tall, slow runners have seen some gains from increasing to 180 bpm, by all means tell me about it. But can anyone convince me that such a short stride length makes any biomechanical sense (in addition to the elasticity argument in the article above)?

Susan herself said:
"Concerning use of a metronome, I think there's a money-making opportunity out there that nobody (to my knowledge) has yet taken advantage of, and that's to produce some CDs of "run music" at 90 BPM."

I would also buy these CDs. I have entered bpm rates for a lot of the music in my iTunes database, and can generate playlists at arbitrary cadences to help inch up my turnover. I have even gone so far as to purchase "happy hardcore" techno compilations in search of good music at 180 bpm.

Good post (Good one by Ken too, thanks). I share your experience. Where can I find a spike-less xc shoe? What brand do you use? (I've been using New Balance rx230s, a spikeless racing flat and love them, but they don't make them anymore.)

Thanks. HH

---

________
It doesn't really matter what Phil is saying, the music of his voice is the appropriate soundtrack for a bicycle race. HTupolev

I know what you're saying, and I think there is something to it. I personally believe there is a critical pace where running at 180 bpm is not optimal and not necessary to prevent vertical displacement and so forth. In other words, it doesn't apply universally. From my own experience, I find that I can run at 180 strikes per minute comfortably at 8:30 or faster. If I go any slower it starts to get hard. At about 9:00 minute miles it starts to feel really hard, and slower than that I don't worry too much, particularly since I hardly ever run at those paces since for me, 9:00/mile is a very easy pace. I am working up my mileage and just did a relatively comfortable 12 miler last sunday at 8:30 / mile and held the cadence the whole time. The first few miles it was tough to keep the cadence up, but after a couple I was quite comfortable and worried it was dropping, however, everytime I checked I was spot on.

So, for example, if someone can't run any faster than 10:00/ mile, I'm not sure 180 bpm is the best goal. I'd say improving fitness is important, and also that the optimum cadence for proper run form, i.e. not heel striking heavily, is still high, but not 180. I think you are spot on that the stride length is the limiting factor for high cadence running. I do think you can do it for slower paces than 8:00 miles though, at least I do.

---

---------------------------------------------------------

"What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind and body can achieve; and those who stay will be champions."

I got mine at the local running shop. I went in and asked about spikeless xc shoes and all they had were a pair of Nike's. I don't even know if they make them anymore.

Here's asics pair - http://www.asicsamerica.com/...ATEGORY_ID=250001258

The ones I purchased were only $45, whereas these are $75, so maybe other brands are cheaper. I'm not sure. My shoes have a good bit of tread left though, so I don't plan on buying anything for a while still, unless I can't stand the smell any longer.

I think my next set will be an addias H street or something like that. The xc shoes are pretty uncomfortable. I think they make the upper pretty stiff to hold up to hard terrain, whereas I just want something with enough rubber to protect my feet from the road surface and debris. If the Nike free had less cushioning in it, I'd be all over it.

---

---------------------------------------------------------

"What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind and body can achieve; and those who stay will be champions."

My research has shown that runners taught to use turnover between 180 and 182 improve economy at any speed. My wife is 5'11" and improved her economy at 12 min/mile by more than 4%. At any running speed, runners use less oxygen when contact time between feet and ground is minimized.

I have worked with hundreds of runners of all levels and have not found any who didn't run most economically at 180+. The body does need to be trained for this - it isn't necessarily instantaneous, but sometimes takes 8 weeks or more. Many runners also find running with tiny steps at high turnover to seem awkward at first, but once they adapt, they love it.

Ken

---

Ken Mierke
Head Coach, Fitness Concepts
http://www.Fitness-Concepts.com
Author, The Triathlete's Guide to Run Training

Many runners also find running with tiny steps at high turnover to seem awkward at first, but once they adapt, they love it.

I felt flat-out stupid the first time I did it. You don't even feel like you're running, almost like "jogging in place", and your HR skyrockets, as the first times it's harder than running at a much lower cadence. I already posted that I recently ran a very comfortable 2:20 run (12.4 miles) at a HR that pleased me. If I can duplicate that in my 1/2IM I'll be as happy as ... well, I'll be really happy. I'll be even more happy if I can carry <10min/miles for the duration, next year.

---

=======================
-- Every morning brings opportunity;
Each evening offers judgement. --