The word of the day is cadence...as in steps per minute running or rpm's on the bike. Why? Because I took Thing 1 (who is doing his first sprint Tri in 2 weeks) to a triathlon efficiency clinic at the gym tonight. It was AWESOME! Triathlon Tom took us through each leg & transition (including a rather hilarious demonstration of how to & how not to put on a wetsuit!). Some of it was more technical than I'm interested in (though thanks to Michael @ Slowly Tri-ing I at least knew what clip less pedals were!). What I immediately took away was Triathlon Tom's recommendations on cadence: 90-110 rpm's on the bike & 23-25 steps/15 seconds on the run. Gotta conserve those legs. Short fast steps were emphasized...so even though I am a reluctant workday runner (8-12 hours of med-surg nursing takes it's toll) I figured I wasn't going to waste a trip to the gym & a beautiful temperate evening so set out for a little 5K loop using those short fast steps that Triathlon Tom called controlled falling...sounded like what I've been reading about in Chi Running too. The result: overall 9:59 pace .... Which btw is smokin' fast for me on a good day with fresh legs. But after work, with dinner still digesting, I am simply amazed. I didn't even feel overly tired (or nauseous). I'll definitely be paying attention to form and short fast steps on my long run Friday. I'm curious to see how it works over 10 miles.
So how do you run? Are you a long loper or do you use those short fast steps?
Happy Running!
3 comments:
Wow, that's awesome!
Since I'm an extremely short Green Girl, I do short, slow steps. Heh!
Nice! I have never really payed attention to cadence before, I will have to the nest time I run!
Sounds like a good class! I might have to take a class like that if I want to get into doing a triathlon sometime.
I've heard a lot of varying input about what the ideal cadence should be. I've heard around 180 steps per minute running is ideal, but who knows if that is accurate. I tried to see what my cadence was on the treadmill in the gym, and it seemed to be around 180 I believe - it felt a little bit quicker than my normal stride rate, but quick turnover leads to faster times I think.
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