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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

GREAT ADVICE! + FEELIN' THE LOVE

I'm always open for some great advice or helpful criticism on how to improve my pace and I came across this sweet little paragraph by Rick Morris on http://www.runningplanet.com. No need to paraphrase because it's good stuff and not too much to take in.



High Cadence

"One of the most noticeable differences between recreational runners and world class competitive runners is cadence. Top level runners use a cadence of around 90 to 100 full strides per minute, compared to a rather sluggish 75 to 85 strides per minute for recreational runners. A higher stride rate encourages a shorter more efficient stride. Low stride rates are usually associated with over striding and spending too much time on the ground. Try to maintain a stride rate of at least 90 strides per minute at all running velocities. You’ll run easier and more efficiently."

You better believe I'll be counting my steps on my next run! If all I have to do to add a little more speed is take a few more steps per minute than that sounds great to me! Tomorrow's a rest day but I'll let you know Friday how it works out. I'm actually kinda hopin' I fall short on the candence per minute so I can tweak things a little and improve my 5k pace just in time for a race on Labor Day.


Feelin' the Love

As you may know I recently participated in the "Mama Goes Master" race and I'm pleased to announce that I WON the 8.25 mile portion. Hooray! I'm looking forward to the little prize package arriving in the mail soon. Thanks again for takin' on the RD position MCMmama! Click here if you're interested in the race results.

Also, Andrew at RunningManWannaBe sent me an email yesterday with questions about stretching technique and he appreciated the advice so much that he gave me a little shout out on his blog. It's nice to use my professional brain every once in a while since I'm usually preoccupied in Mommyland. I would love to help anyone with their training and I welcome any questions you may have. Thanks for the link love Andrew!

5 comments:

Rae said...

Good tip! I will have to count my steps too on my next run!

Congrats on winning your race!

Andrew Opala said...

The stride length and number of strides is another area I'm looking at in my training/learning ... this is a well-timed find.

Thanks again!

Jamie said...

definitely something i need to be focusing on. congrats on winning the virtual 8.25 race!

Trainer T.s Fitness said...

Thats so funny I have counted steps walking but never running. I tend to get into the music so I dont "feel the pain" lol

The Boring Runner said...

Stride is a give and take - that is for sure. The shorter your stride is (therefore faster given the same speed), the less punishment on your body....but the faster your heart rate. however, the longer your stride is, the less muscle force it takes to move you - but the more punishing it is on your body. Hmmm.