When running with three of my buddies, I have noticed that I am always a few feet behind them, even at a slow pace (or warm up). When I look at their leg turnover, for me it seems slow, and that’s what get me frustrated since I say to myself “darn, they are not turning over faster than me”, but maybe am wrong Also I am the taller of us all, which makes me think there’s got to be wrong with my stride or cadence, since I should be covering more territory with each stride, I guess. Maybe am spending too much time in the air, instead of shuffling. Any thing I can do to improve that? maybe count their steps for a minute and then count mine?
180+ rpm, regardless off leg length (trust me…my inseam is 36").
If you are consistently a few feet behind them then you are, in fact, running the same speed…otherwise they woul dbe pulling much further ahead than that.
It’s probably psychological. Some people tend to push the pace when in a group, some tend to lag…and it isn’t always the faster runners who run from the front. I wouldn’t worry about it. There’s a comment in Running with the Buffaloes about how Adam Goucher would run 20 yards in front of his team on most runs, and that it seemed silly because they still ran the same speed…just 20 yds apart. He just liked running by himself.
Yeah but in a tri I have trouble breaking 2, mostly due to slow turnover.
I’m thinking of retraining the run.
I usually don’t break 2:30 very often in the bike but I know I’m not pushing it too hard. Now Clearwater was an exception as it was flat and everybody broker2:30. Usually, I happy with about a 2:30, or a little faster.
No, I’d be happy just doing in the forties. Anybody here know a good tri-run trainer who breaks down biomechanics?
Even if not going fast, should I try to reach the 180? Should I shorten my stride length to accomplish this number?
Well, there’s only two ways to accomplish this. 1) Shorter stride length or 2) run faster. However, in order to run fast, you are preprogramed to lengthen your stride…so I suggest #1.
Yes, even if running slow you want to keep the cadence high. It’s just lie riding a bicycle. Your body has an optimum cadence. In order to ride slower you keep the cadence the same and lower the gear. It’s the same with running. I occasionaly go out and run with my girl friend at 15 minutes a mile (I normaly run 7s) and am still able to manage 180 pretty comfortably. You have to train yourself so that it becomes natural.
Barry, I did run last night checking my cadence regularly, and I was in the range of 85-87 spm. By doing this, I came to the cnclusion I was running with a cadence way lower than this, since I had never experienced that feeling of fast trun over.
One thing I noticed was that eventhough my HR was in the range I wanted, low 140’s, I was breathing harder. Is that normal? Maybe is because my body is not adapted to that cadence yet?
Wiso, you’re on track, keep after it. Rather than trying to count to 180 for 60 seconds - count every foot fall for 10 seconds. You’ll need to hit 30 to be on the money. I would have expected your heart rate to sneak up along with your respirtory rate at first, but they’ll level out once you adapt to the new motion. You’ll be faster and more efficient in the end.
If I run a solo run race, I’m okay, about a 1:32 32K, but on a 70.3, I’m reduced to jogging.
Probably not related to your biomechanics but due to your run training volume and structure
I am also interested in the best way to go about increasing my run cadence. Right now it sits comfortably around 140-146 per minute. It seems that if I try to increase the cadence my heart rate instantly jumps with it. I know that without viewing someone actually running it is hard to assess what is going on, but I could use a few ideas as to what to look for by myself. I am not, by any means, a fast runner, but I am trying to learn. Thanks for the help.
Make sure you are not speeding up as you increase your turnover. You want to shorten your stride so that you maintain the same speed with the increased turnover.
Keep at it and your heart rate should settle down.
Wiso, you’re on track, keep after it. Rather than trying to count to 180 for 60 seconds - count every foot fall for 10 seconds. You’ll need to hit 30 to be on the money. I would have expected your heart rate to sneak up along with your respirtory rate at first, but they’ll level out once you adapt to the new motion. You’ll be faster and more efficient in the end.
Hold up…when you say “every foot fall”, that’s not a revolution. 30 foot-falls in 10 seconds is 180 ff/min. I assume you guys mean 180 ff/min (90 rpm), NOT 360 ff/min (180 rpm)??
Also I am the taller of us all, which makes me think there’s got to be wrong with my stride or cadence, since I should be covering more territory with each stride, I guess. Maybe am spending too much time in the air, instead of shuffling. Any thing I can do to improve that? maybe count their steps for a minute and then count mine?