Run Analysis

[recursiveBeginner]

Late to the party but thought I'd chip in. I'm FAR from an expert here but have had my own long journey with niggles and injuries while running.

So the single most useful tip I ever got was to watch my cadence: aim for 3 steps a second.

If you watch long distance runners at the olympics etc., you'll see that even though they might be all different sizes with different anthropometry, they will all be mostly running at this cadence (example here). Watch long distance-running animals like wolves loping along and you'll see it there too.

There is a reason for this: at that turnover you are best harnessing the elasticity in your tendons, fascia etc., so it ends up being very economical.

That's all a bonus though: the big thing I found is that just focusing on this mostly fixed everything else: it forced me to take shorter steps, so I couldn't heel strike - you have to land on the correct part of your foot. Shorter steps means less impact too, so you are less likely to injure yourself.

So yeah: count 3 steps a second is my golden tip. To speed up you maintain the cadence, but lean forward.

This is, IMO, a great video, (if slightly hippy with the bare feet!):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSIDRHUWlVo

My 2c, hope it helps!

[Barkadion]

So yeah: count 3 steps a second is my golden tip. To speed up you maintain the cadence, but lean forward

Thank you. How do you go about counting? Watching your running watch all the time, using metronome, perhaps?

[spemma]

i've tried running with a metronome and that was unsuccessful. hard to keep up. i think the answer is shortening the stride, but how to affect it is tough in practice.

the key seems to be to land on a bent knee to absorb impact. it's less about forefoot vs. midfoot vs. heel. the cadence and the foot strike also focus so much attention on the foot, but the foot landing is just a consequence of a string of events set in motion from the hips and upper legs.

i've read a lot about the cadence. i know the 180 steps/minute is widely touted, but a few caveats are important. the oly runners are running at a pretty quick clip, even though they aren't sprinting. iirc, the 180 number was determined during a race. training pace may differ. in other words, me running my LSS at 10min/mile is going to be tough to do at 180 steps/min.

also, when these are finishing a race, if they are jockeying for first place, many speed up to over 180 steps/minute.

i do think that shorter strides, quicker cadence, foot landing, etc are all important. but they are all consequences of earlier actions and form. and trying to figure out what is right for you can be tricky.

i found this video on gliders vs. gazelles interesting.

http://www.kinetic-revolution.com/gazel ... ning-form/

[Barkadion]

i've tried running with a metronome and that was unsuccessful. hard to keep up. i think the answer is shortening the stride, but how to affect it is tough in practice.

the key seems to be to land on a bent knee to absorb impact. it's less about forefoot vs. midfoot vs. heel. the cadence and the foot strike also focus so much attention on the foot, but the foot landing is just a consequence of a string of events set in motion from the hips and upper legs.

i've read a lot about the cadence. i know the 180 steps/minute is widely touted, but a few caveats are important. the oly runners are running at a pretty quick clip, even though they aren't sprinting. iirc, the 180 number was determined during a race. training pace may differ. in other words, me running my LSS at 10min/mile is going to be tough to do at 180 steps/min.

also, when these are finishing a race, if they are jockeying for first place, many speed up to over 180 steps/minute.

i do think that shorter strides, quicker cadence, foot landing, etc are all important. but they are all consequences of earlier actions and form. and trying to figure out what is right for you can be tricky.

i found this video on gliders vs. gazelles interesting.

http://www.kinetic-revolution.com/gazel ... ning-form/

I think it is also about stabbing the ground with your forefoot and minimizing ground contact VS clawing at the ground. This was/is my issue anyway..

[recursiveBeginner]

@barkadion to be honest I started back running on a treadmill so there was a clock in front of me and I could roughly time it. It doesn't take long to get a feel for it. These days I'll quickly check in on my watch now and again but I don't think too hard about it.

I'd be astonished if my cadence is bang on 180 now - I'm probably a bit under (I'm 6'5" so it takes a while for my limbs to flail about) but it is definitely ball park. I'm not fast - I do about 7.5-8kph on my LSS runs ATM - but I do feel like I'm rolling on wheels and can go all day.

Like I say, the stuff about elasticity is more of a bonus, and I agree, people get hung up on it. If you watch oly sprinters, nobody has that cadence, but I guess energy preservation isn't a priority there. I think the 180 figure is probably more of a bell curve than a precise number.

I think in my case it was a silver bullet because it forced me to shorten my stride and reduce impact (I'm quite heavy too). It might just work for someone else, so I thought I'd mention it.

[Barkadion]

@barkadion to be honest I started back running on a treadmill so there was a clock in front of me and I could roughly time it. It doesn't take long to get a feel for it. These days I'll quickly check in on my watch now and again but I don't think too hard about it.

I'd be astonished if my cadence is bang on 180 now - I'm probably a bit under (I'm 6'5" so it takes a while for my limbs to flail about) but it is definitely ball park. I'm not fast - I do about 7.5-8kph on my LSS runs ATM - but I do feel like I'm rolling on wheels and can go all day.

Like I say, the stuff about elasticity is more of a bonus, and I agree, people get hung up on it. If you watch oly sprinters, nobody has that cadence, but I guess energy preservation isn't a priority there. I think the 180 figure is probably more of a bell curve than a precise number.

I think in my case it was a silver bullet because it forced me to shorten my stride and reduce impact (I'm quite heavy too). It might just work for someone else, so I thought I'd mention it.

Thanks! Yes, counting ain't easy I am bouncing between 160-180 with average of being close to 165..