Running

[Xmann]

has anyone ever hired a professional running coach?

I've pretty much decided to gift myself some lessons with a coach. When I get my endurance up, I can essentially run relatively easy for many miles. However, I want to increase my pace.

I've done triathlons, 3 marathons and countless 10k and 5k's. Yet, those times aren't at a pace I'd love to hit. I need a coach to get me under the 8:30/mile pace I've been at for years. Love to get it at <8.

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[Kurth]

has anyone ever hired a professional running coach?

I've pretty much decided to gift myself some lessons with a coach. When I get my endurance up, I can essentially run relatively easy for many miles. However, I want to increase my pace.

I've done triathlons, 3 marathons and countless 10k and 5k's. Yet, those times aren't at a pace I'd love to hit. I need a coach to get me under the 8:30/mile pace I've been at for years. Love to get it at <8.

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I've often thought about that but have no actual experience, except for running as a group with a Nike Run Club group. Many of the NRC "coaches" are really just very friendly motivators, but there are always some of them that know a shit ton about running and have some really good advice. So much so that I've thought getting some one-on-one time with them would be worth the investment.

Let us know how it turns out Xmann. Would love to hear your experience with this.

My update on the 1,320 yearly goal: I'm now at 1,278. Just 42 miles to go!

[coopasonic]

Bringing this forward because GreenGoo had questions in another thread...

11 minute video hack of my somewhat more than 11 minute spartan run (GoProd chest-cam footage):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mM1T6CyDMY

Finished in 1:13:09. I think it was supposed to be 4 miles. When we weren't doing obstacles we were climbing or descending stairs all the time. Even at 16x oin the video, a LOT of time is spent on the stairs.

45th of 226 in my age group, 547 of 2806 overall. I move up an age group next year so maybe that will improve

It made the warrior dash seem like a walk in the park. So many strength obstacles. I am feeling surprisingly good today though.

When I used to run, I was constantly evaluating my legs and lungs, with fatigue coming in spurts and then some minor recovery as I slow down to rest. I'm pretty much constantly monitoring myself with 1/2 my brain and daydreaming with the other half.

That's just how I work, so it might have been cool to hear commentary along the lines of "ok, seriously fatigued here, slowing my pace to recover" etc. You did mention when you were happy to get a rest that you had no control over (so you didn't need to feel guilty, I assume )

Did you do anything special to train? Find a nice high set of stairs to run? What did you do for upper body? Anything special or just standard workout stuff?

I've never trained specifically for any race since high school cross country. I generally just rely on my overall good fitness and a bit of stubbornness to get me through. Between April and November I will generally go for a run up to 5-6 times a month. I signed up for the spartan race at the last minute with no idea what I was about to face. I live in the Dallas area which really doesn't have the concept of hills. In retrospect, the parking garage at my office would probably work. 8 levels of ramps, a lot like the start of the video.

[Xmann]

I'm doing Ragnar in August and I'm going to look for a 1/2 marathon around June. Depending on how that goes, might do a marathon in the fall.

I have a running coach I'm going to take some lessons from in a couple weeks.

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[stessier]

Hit 1,105.82 miles last year.

Haven't set on goals for this year. Right now I'm thinking a half marathon sometime in late May/early June and then a repeat of the marathon in October, but I haven't mapped out what that would mean for training yet. Hope to do that by this weekend.

Got a new watch for Christmas - the Garmin Forerunner 935. This is my first smart watch and I've fallen in love with it. The band is super comfortable and I forget I'm wearing it most of the time. It has a customizable face and I've received an inordinate amount of pleasure from using this one.



I know it's stupid - it's just a display - and yet I smile every time I glance at it.

I used it for my first run this morning. It was on a treadmill and I was a little concerned as I finished the run and the watch said I went 0.12 miles further than the treadmill. But when I stopped and saved the workout, it asked for the treadmill readout and said it's calibration was finished. I'm very interested to see how it performs tomorrow. As soon as I walked into the house, it had finished uploading the workout to Garmin Connect. I've also attached SportsTracks, so I can track workouts that way as well. I likely won't get to test out the GPS performance until March or April.

My only complaint is that it's not back lit without pressing a button. The battery life is great as a result - only down to 75% after 4 days of no charging - but it takes a button press to see the time in a dim/dark room. There is a gesture based method for turning on the backlight, but I haven't tried that yet.

[Xmann]

I have the Garmin Fenix 5X and for similar reasons I love it

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[coopasonic]

I know it's stupid - it's just a display - and yet I smile every time I glance at it.

And it makes me grimace... that's way too busy. There's no need for the labels on any of the top half of that screen. The Weekday and Day of month should be swapped as well. Then there's the price tag.

[stessier]

I know it's stupid - it's just a display - and yet I smile every time I glance at it.

And it makes me grimace... that's way too busy. There's no need for the labels on any of the top half of that screen. The Weekday and Day of month should be swapped as well. Then there's the price tag.

It's an homage to this...

[Kurth]

Congrats on all those 2017 miles, Stessier!

I ended up busting through my original mileage goal of 1,200 (shooting for 100/month) and actually hit 1,336 miles on the year. What's interesting is how inconsistent I ended up being. When I started out, I figured I'd just aimed for a steady monthly mileage, but that proved really difficult. Work and travel and injury all interfered. Here's how my year looked:



I think I hit 100 just once over the January through May time frame, but I ramped it up over the summer topping out at around 180 miles in July and August and then maintained 110 to 120 through the end of the year.

In 2018, I think I may ease off the running a bit and try to diversify my workouts to incorporate some other stuff. With all the running, I haven't had time for spin or lifting or anything else, so I'm feeling pretty one dimensional right now.

But then again . . . if I could find a way to consistently hit 100 miles monthly over the first half of the year, 1,500 might be possible.

[stessier]

Does anyone use SportTracks to keep track of their running? I'm trying to use their Performance and Training Load graphs to improve my running and I'm not sure I understand them.

[Xmann]

I took my first running lesson this week. Lesson #1 of 3. The 3 lessons set me back $200. Next lesson in 2 weeks so I can work on drills he taught me.

Wasn't aware that this gentleman is a close friend of Danny Dreyer, famous for his creation of Chi Running. He ran with Danny on an ultrarunning team for years. Additionally, he's a retired Physical Therapist who specialized in sports injuries for 40 years. He's now 70 and still runs ridiculous miles a week. I traveled an hour to Boulder for the lesson and I'm happy I did. I think I might have found gold.

First thing he did was look at my posture standing. He immediately noticed some issues with my pelvis and shoulders. He gave me some suggestions and drills to practice.

Next, he took me out for a quick jog. He drove slowly beside me and filmed. Two things he noticed right away are big problems.

#1 My pelvis is forward and my shoulders are back. I was shocked when I looked at the video and can't imagine how I've been running. Essentially I've been running leaning backwards and my stride tries to over compensate. My stride is super long and slow and I've been putting ridiculous amounts of strain on my legs running this way over the years.
#2 Running cadence ideally should be 180. Professional runners are 180 and up to 190. Average everyday weekend warriors should be 180. My cadence is about 160. Essentially my legs are working waaaay too hard and not in the least efficient.

So, I got some drills and was sent home. I've been practicing and working on the specific issues he made me aware of all week. Yesterday was my third run and believe it or not, I've already cut 50 seconds off my pace. I've been able to get my cadence near 175 using a metronome. Looking back at my runs over the past 3 months, I averaged around 156 and never got close to 170.

Basically the principals he teaches are similar to chi running. I asked him about this and he doesn't like that label and doesn't particularly want to be associated with it. But his philosophy is that proper and efficient running form can be called Chi Running or whatever you choose. It is what it is.

Regardless, I'm super excited and glad I took the chance and took some lessons.


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[Kurth]

I took my first running lesson this week. Lesson #1 of 3. The 3 lessons set me back $200. Next lesson in 2 weeks so I can work on drills he taught me.

Wasn't aware that this gentleman is a close friend of Danny Dreyer, famous for his creation of Chi Running. He ran with Danny on an ultrarunning team for years. Additionally, he's a retired Physical Therapist who specialized in sports injuries for 40 years. He's now 70 and still runs ridiculous miles a week. I traveled an hour to Boulder for the lesson and I'm happy I did. I think I might have found gold.

First thing he did was look at my posture standing. He immediately noticed some issues with my pelvis and shoulders. He gave me some suggestions and drills to practice.

Next, he took me out for a quick jog. He drove slowly beside me and filmed. Two things he noticed right away are big problems.

#1 My pelvis is forward and my shoulders are back. I was shocked when I looked at the video and can't imagine how I've been running. Essentially I've been running leaning backwards and my stride tries to over compensate. My stride is super long and slow and I've been putting ridiculous amounts of strain on my legs running this way over the years.
#2 Running cadence ideally should be 180. Professional runners are 180 and up to 190. Average everyday weekend warriors should be 180. My cadence is about 160. Essentially my legs are working waaaay too hard and not in the least efficient.

So, I got some drills and was sent home. I've been practicing and working on the specific issues he made me aware of all week. Yesterday was my third run and believe it or not, I've already cut 50 seconds off my pace. I've been able to get my cadence near 175 using a metronome. Looking back at my runs over the past 3 months, I averaged around 156 and never got close to 170.

Basically the principals he teaches are similar to chi running. I asked him about this and he doesn't like that label and doesn't particularly want to be associated with it. But his philosophy is that proper and efficient running form can be called Chi Running or whatever you choose. It is what it is.

Regardless, I'm super excited and glad I took the chance and took some lessons.


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This sounds awesome! How did you find this guy?

[Xmann]

just a Google search for running coaches. plenty of options for Colorado

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[Baroquen]

Glad to hear your lesson went well Xmann. Fun to read about your experience.

I can't shake a calf "injury". Just discomfort and tightness, but gets worse after 5-10 miles. Tried to rest it, but keep tweaking it. Big issue is an out-of-state marathon in 3 weeks. I believe I'll finish. But I fully expect a struggle, and not a enjoyable challenge. Hopefully better things for the next marathon, whenever it happens.

[Kurth]

So, reading about Xmann’s running lesson got me thinking about running cadence. Outside of a vague awareness that higher turnover is something to aim for, I’ve never really focused on my cadence all that much. I kind of just do whatever feels right in the moment, and often, that means matching my cadence to the beat of whatever music I’m listening to. This actually leads me to vary my cadence a lot within any given run, which helps break things up a little on long runs, but also results in my cadence being all over the place.

Today, on the treadmill, I was doing a 10K and decided to actually measure what my cadence was. I measured just my right footfalls for a minute and got 83, so doubling that would put me at 166. That seems to be in line with the 150-170 that gets reported a lot as the range for most recreational runners.

But reading this blog post from Training Peaks got me thinking I should try to improve on that in order to get more efficient and to help avoid injury. They lay out a nice gradual plan to increase cadence, and I think I’m going to give it a try. I’ll report back on my findings.

[Xmann]

I googled some YouTube videos about drills to improve cadence as well.

My first run was a mess and was only about 165 and I couldn't concentrate because I was thinking too hard about it.

I downloaded a metronome and set it to 175 and bingo, it clicked. I wear my headphones but play nothing but the metronome and it works. In another week I'm going to up it to 180.

Additionally, I've had zero hip pain that I've experienced for a number of years following a run. I have no doubt it's due to a change in my form.

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[A nonny mouse]

I googled some YouTube videos about drills to improve cadence as well.

My first run was a mess and was only about 165 and I couldn't concentrate because I was thinking too hard about it.

I downloaded a metronome and set it to 175 and bingo, it clicked. I wear my headphones but play nothing but the metronome and it works. In another week I'm going to up it to 180.

Additionally, I've had zero hip pain that I've experienced for a number of years following a run. I have no doubt it's due to a change in my form.

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Sounds like the coach is working well. sometimes it is just that extra motivator as well as the experienced teaching.

The cadence thing is, mmm, maybe not controversial, but hotly debated. I don't agree with your previous statement that "even weekend warriors should be at 180". that seems a bit unrealistic. If the coach is telling you to do it and it works, keep at it. But every time I try to increase my cadence to 170-175, I either feel like i am wasting energy running in place or I am increasing my pace (because of the faster cadence) and wear myself out too quickly. I normally run a 7:30-7:45 min/mile pace. SO not super fast or anything, but I guess the cadence I have suits me. /shrug

I'm not trying to pick at anything or flame war anyone. so please, do not take it that way.

I normally run mornings of 2.5-3 miles and weekends (when I can fit it in) 7 or so. Honestly the longest I have run is 10 miles. I don't really see a need - FOR ME - to do marathons. I mainly run to try and convince myself I will live longer than all the males in my ancestry (all died in their early to mid 50's). I am almost 48.

Now, If someone could tell me how to SLOW my pace without it feeling like I am plodding (or decreasing the cadence to 150) that would be great. I would love to run 9 min/mile to go a bit longer.

I want to run longer distances but get tired (or bored!) relatively quickly.

Anyway, it is great to hear about all the good running here. It is keeping me motivated to stay at it, even when it is dark at 5:15am and 30 damned degrees. I'm getting tired of the treadmill.

[Xmann]

I googled some YouTube videos about drills to improve cadence as well.

My first run was a mess and was only about 165 and I couldn't concentrate because I was thinking too hard about it.

I downloaded a metronome and set it to 175 and bingo, it clicked. I wear my headphones but play nothing but the metronome and it works. In another week I'm going to up it to 180.

Additionally, I've had zero hip pain that I've experienced for a number of years following a run. I have no doubt it's due to a change in my form.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Sounds like the coach is working well. sometimes it is just that extra motivator as well as the experienced teaching.

The cadence thing is, mmm, maybe not controversial, but hotly debated. I don't agree with your previous statement that "even weekend warriors should be at 180". that seems a bit unrealistic. If the coach is telling you to do it and it works, keep at it. But every time I try to increase my cadence to 170-175, I either feel like i am wasting energy running in place or I am increasing my pace (because of the faster cadence) and wear myself out too quickly. I normally run a 7:30-7:45 min/mile pace. SO not super fast or anything, but I guess the cadence I have suits me. /shrug

I'm not trying to pick at anything or flame war anyone. so please, do not take it that way.

I normally run mornings of 2.5-3 miles and weekends (when I can fit it in) 7 or so. Honestly the longest I have run is 10 miles. I don't really see a need - FOR ME - to do marathons. I mainly run to try and convince myself I will live longer than all the males in my ancestry (all died in their early to mid 50's). I am almost 48.

Now, If someone could tell me how to SLOW my pace without it feeling like I am plodding (or decreasing the cadence to 150) that would be great. I would love to run 9 min/mile to go a bit longer.

I want to run longer distances but get tired (or bored!) relatively quickly.

Anyway, it is great to hear about all the good running here. It is keeping me motivated to stay at it, even when it is dark at 5:15am and 30 damned degrees. I'm getting tired of the treadmill.

have you ever had someone teach you how to change your cadence?

I ask because I've tried numerous times over the years and had no luck. It wasn't until I met with this coach and he taught me some drills and I watched some YouTube videos that I finally have the hang of it.

And definitely practice. The metronome did wonders as well. Downloaded an app and play it through my headsets.

For anyone with some interest, there's good drills on YouTube (that doesn't require actual running) and the metronome.

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[Xmann]

and yep, I run for similar reason. my dad dropped dead of a heart attack at 51 and I have primary hypertension that I'm treated for. so I'm with you on trying to outrun bad genetics.

maybe a difference is that I'm so competitive, I'm always looking for a challenge and that's why I've done marathons and triathlons and continue to push my training.

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[Xmann]

still with zero aches, pains, discomfort, etc after running. first time in many many years I can say that.

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[coopasonic]

I did a mile in 26 minutes this afternoon!

Note: I had back surgery last week. These times may eventually improve.

[Jeff V]

I did a mile in 26 minutes this afternoon!

How do your knuckles feel?

From what others have told me about back surgery, going a mile so soon is quite an accomplishment. You'll be back to doing Ironmans in no time!

[Jaddison]

I have read about the 180 cadence for years but I think that only really applies above a certain speed.....you can only shorten your stride so much after all so a 180 cadence would essentially give you a absolute minimum speed of around the length of your foot x180......I have read that plodders like me can't really get to 180 and not go faster than I can handle.

I have found where my foot strikes is more important to me at my speed ranges. I had to work hard to get away from heel striking which then reduced the hammering on my knees and ankles.

[YellowKing]

Made it to Week 5 of Couch to 5K. This will be the third time I've gone through the whole thing (assuming I finish).

I'm really encouraged at my progress this year. Usually I don't even get *started* running until early March.

[Zaxxon]

Nice, YK.

[Baroquen]

I'm still "managing" aches and pains with my right knee and left calf. Marathon in Alabama is this weekend. This is will marathon #17 and state #15. Rain in the forecast from Saturday until Monday. But I'll be ok with that, as long as there aren't thunderstorms that could cancel the race. That would be worst case scenario.

I don't expect any thing close to a good time result, but I expect to finish and be hopefully (relatively) pain-free. Then rest a bit, before training properly for whatever's next.

[coopasonic]

I did a mile in 26 minutes this afternoon!

Note: I had back surgery last week. These times may eventually improve.

23 minutes last night. I can probably get it close to 20 but hard to go much faster than that without actually running (yes, Isgrimbot I know of speed walking, but I don't think I'm allowed to do that either) and I'm not allowed to run for another 5 weeks.

[Jeff V]

Good luck! I don't find running to be much fun in the best of circumstances, but playing through the pain certainly ratchets up the misery factor.

In a situation that flip-flops by the week, now my MiL might come back in early April. I won't hold my breath until I see her coming out of the terminal at the airport. Prospects for any sort of exercising (especially endurance activity like running or biking) will be almost nil unless she comes.

[coopasonic]

Running is basically the only exercise I get so I cling to it. That and I got myself a nice treadmill for Christmas and haven't really been able to use it due to sciatica from a herniated disc. I'm currently at my lowest weight since I was 17 years old (and I was a thin kid) so I guess I can slack off a little... but I kind of want to get back to regular running to see if I can get back to Kurth-ish speeds.

[Isgrimnur]

(yes, Isgrimbot I know of speed walking, but I don't think I'm allowed to do that either)

[coopasonic]

(yes, Isgrimbot I know of speed walking, but I don't think I'm allowed to do that either)

Just trying to save you the google effort. It looks like the speed walking record for a mile is 5:30-something, I forget since I googled it at the time of the original post. That's pretty stupid fast for technically walking. I could run faster than that pretty easily in my youth, but nowadays that walker would blaze past my plodding run and quite possibly lap me on a quarter mile track. Based on my last healthy run, I'd finish my third lap in a bit under six minutes so yeah, he'd lap me.

[Kurth]

Coop - Good luck with the back! Make sure you don’t overdue it coming back. Take it nice and easy.

Baroquen - FIngers crossed your weather holds this weekend. Please give us an AAR.

YK - Great job on the Couch to 5K. Have you thought about signing up for a race? There are fun-run 5Ks just about everywhere these days. I’ve always found that signing up for a race really puts a stake in the ground and gives a great goal to shoot for. Just a thought.

For me, I was really working on the cadence thing, then I hit a major road bump: the flu (or flu-like symptoms at least). My ER doc sister told me it’s really unlikely I have the flu since I got vaccinated (she believes the media is really overhyping the inefficacy of this year’s vaccine). But, man, I felt like crap, and it just wouldn’t go away. Missed a full week of work, and now, two weeks, later, I’m still getting over a hacking cough. Really sucks, and knocked me out of running for 12 days, which is the longest I’ve gone without a run for more than a year. I finally got back on the treadmill yesterday for a nice easy 5K, which felt good.

But, before the illness, the work on the cadence was going well. I realized pretty quickly that my initial counts were off. I was trying to count every foot strike, and I was clearly missing some. Reading up on it a little more, it seems the most recommended way to count is in 30 second increments, counting footstrikes on one foot, then doubling and doubling again to get total footstrikes per minute. Counting in this manner, I’m now generally sticking to 46-47 strikes per foot per 30 seconds, which translates into a cadence of 182-184. I can hold that pretty consistently through a 10K, and I do notice a difference in terms of my general feeling of wear and tear.

It’s interesting because I always used to feel like I was running “better” when I was opening up my stride and really taking big, loping strides. Seemed more graceful and fluid (in my mind’s eye at least; probably still looked like a thundering rhino). But the quicker turnover and faster cadence is really feeling more natural now. If you’re trying to work on that, I’d definitely recommend sticking with it. I think there’s a big payoff.

[Xmann]

Coop - Good luck with the back! Make sure you don’t overdue it coming back. Take it nice and easy.

Baroquen - FIngers crossed your weather holds this weekend. Please give us an AAR.

YK - Great job on the Couch to 5K. Have you thought about signing up for a race? There are fun-run 5Ks just about everywhere these days. I’ve always found that signing up for a race really puts a stake in the ground and gives a great goal to shoot for. Just a thought.

For me, I was really working on the cadence thing, then I hit a major road bump: the flu (or flu-like symptoms at least). My ER doc sister told me it’s really unlikely I have the flu since I got vaccinated (she believes the media is really overhyping the inefficacy of this year’s vaccine). But, man, I felt like crap, and it just wouldn’t go away. Missed a full week of work, and now, two weeks, later, I’m still getting over a hacking cough. Really sucks, and knocked me out of running for 12 days, which is the longest I’ve gone without a run for more than a year. I finally got back on the treadmill yesterday for a nice easy 5K, which felt good.

But, before the illness, the work on the cadence was going well. I realized pretty quickly that my initial counts were off. I was trying to count every foot strike, and I was clearly missing some. Reading up on it a little more, it seems the most recommended way to count is in 30 second increments, counting footstrikes on one foot, then doubling and doubling again to get total footstrikes per minute. Counting in this manner, I’m now generally sticking to 46-47 strikes per foot per 30 seconds, which translates into a cadence of 182-184. I can hold that pretty consistently through a 10K, and I do notice a difference in terms of my general feeling of wear and tear.

It’s interesting because I always used to feel like I was running “better” when I was opening up my stride and really taking big, loping strides. Seemed more graceful and fluid (in my mind’s eye at least; probably still looked like a thundering rhino). But the quicker turnover and faster cadence is really feeling more natural now. If you’re trying to work on that, I’d definitely recommend sticking with it. I think there’s a big payoff.

I'm a true believer in cadence. The fact I can run without any, and I mean zero aches or pain, is miraculous to me

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[YellowKing]

YK - Great job on the Couch to 5K. Have you thought about signing up for a race? There are fun-run 5Ks just about everywhere these days. I’ve always found that signing up for a race really puts a stake in the ground and gives a great goal to shoot for. Just a thought.

Thanks Kurth!

Yeah, I've actually run quite a few fun run races over the past 3-4 years. My work does 2 "Employee Fitness" 5Ks a year, one in spring and on in fall. I'll definitely be signing up for the spring race.

Another cool thing my department has implemented this year is a program where anyone can "champion" a fitness event - race, workout program, step challenge, walk, etc. You can even make a personal goal (such as 5000 steps a day) into a public event. If you sign up for it and complete it, you get a badge you can display in your office/cube. The "reward" is just bragging rights, but the important thing it has done is bring awareness to events and inspiring people to actually go do them.

I'm currently championing the Couch to 5K as an event, and have already had several people decide to try it that had not heard of it before.

[A nonny mouse]

Coop - Good luck with the back! Make sure you don’t overdue it coming back. Take it nice and easy.

Baroquen - FIngers crossed your weather holds this weekend. Please give us an AAR.

YK - Great job on the Couch to 5K. Have you thought about signing up for a race? There are fun-run 5Ks just about everywhere these days. I’ve always found that signing up for a race really puts a stake in the ground and gives a great goal to shoot for. Just a thought.

For me, I was really working on the cadence thing, then I hit a major road bump: the flu (or flu-like symptoms at least). My ER doc sister told me it’s really unlikely I have the flu since I got vaccinated (she believes the media is really overhyping the inefficacy of this year’s vaccine). But, man, I felt like crap, and it just wouldn’t go away. Missed a full week of work, and now, two weeks, later, I’m still getting over a hacking cough. Really sucks, and knocked me out of running for 12 days, which is the longest I’ve gone without a run for more than a year. I finally got back on the treadmill yesterday for a nice easy 5K, which felt good.

But, before the illness, the work on the cadence was going well. I realized pretty quickly that my initial counts were off. I was trying to count every foot strike, and I was clearly missing some. Reading up on it a little more, it seems the most recommended way to count is in 30 second increments, counting footstrikes on one foot, then doubling and doubling again to get total footstrikes per minute. Counting in this manner, I’m now generally sticking to 46-47 strikes per foot per 30 seconds, which translates into a cadence of 182-184. I can hold that pretty consistently through a 10K, and I do notice a difference in terms of my general feeling of wear and tear.

It’s interesting because I always used to feel like I was running “better” when I was opening up my stride and really taking big, loping strides. Seemed more graceful and fluid (in my mind’s eye at least; probably still looked like a thundering rhino). But the quicker turnover and faster cadence is really feeling more natural now. If you’re trying to work on that, I’d definitely recommend sticking with it. I think there’s a big payoff.

I'm a true believer in cadence. The fact I can run without any, and I mean zero aches or pain, is miraculous to me

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But wouldn't the lack of aches or pains be attributed more to you correcting the posture/hip issue more than just the cadence?

Sorry, regardless, it is working and that is great!

Do you set the metronome to 170bpm? or did you start off with a different (slower) cadence to get adjusted and work up?

Also, any advice on youtube vids? I cannot afford ($$ or timewise) a coach, so it looks like other options for me.

Thanks.

[Zaxxon]

But wouldn't the lack of aches or pains be attributed more to you correcting the posture/hip issue more than just the cadence?

Yes, you'd think so. But perhaps the increased cadence is resulting in better posture/striking.

Also, any advice on youtube vids? I cannot afford ($$ or timewise) a coach, so it looks like other options for me.

I don't have anything relating to cadence specifically, but I'm a longtime fan of Hal Higdon's training plans. He's an old dude, former Olympian. I like his plans for a few reasons--1) he provides beginner/intermediate/advanced options which gives pretty much any runner an entry point; 2) the plans have enough variety over the course of each week that I don't get totally bored with them; 3) they're pretty easy to adjust to fit your circumstances; and 4) they're free.

For example, earlier this year I started training for a late-June half-marathon. The half plans are usually around 12 weeks long and assume a certain base level. I'm well over 12 weeks out, so I took the intermediate plan, wrote it out to lead up to the half, then dialed down the beginning to make my own 10-week extension to take me from now to the 'actual' start of the plan.

Makes it easy to get a solid training plan in place, and to keep me from over-doing it early on.

Good luck to you all with your 2018 running goals!

[A nonny mouse]

But wouldn't the lack of aches or pains be attributed more to you correcting the posture/hip issue more than just the cadence?

Yes, you'd think so. But perhaps the increased cadence is resulting in better posture/striking.

Also, any advice on youtube vids? I cannot afford ($$ or timewise) a coach, so it looks like other options for me.

I don't have anything relating to cadence specifically, but I'm a longtime fan of Hal Higdon's training plans. He's an old dude, former Olympian. I like his plans for a few reasons--1) he provides beginner/intermediate/advanced options which gives pretty much any runner an entry point; 2) the plans have enough variety over the course of each week that I don't get totally bored with them; 3) they're pretty easy to adjust to fit your circumstances; and 4) they're free.

For example, earlier this year I started training for a late-June half-marathon. The half plans are usually around 12 weeks long and assume a certain base level. I'm well over 12 weeks out, so I took the intermediate plan, wrote it out to lead up to the half, then dialed down the beginning to make my own 10-week extension to take me from now to the 'actual' start of the plan.

Makes it easy to get a solid training plan in place, and to keep me from over-doing it early on.

Good luck to you all with your 2018 running goals!

Thanks. Good to know for training plans. I was actually referring to vids for cadence (as Xmann mentioned for correcting/speeding cadence.

[Zaxxon]

Whups! That's clear upon re-reading your post.

I like this one. Whenever I work on cadence, I just try to add a slight bit to it. I prefer working on cadence on a treadmill because it's super-simple to do the recommended increase-cadence-without-increasing-speed maneuver (since the treadmill enforces your speed).

I like all the cadence talk here, as it's something I always mean to work at (my brother, who's much faster than I am, always calls me out on my low cadence) and never seem to get around to taking seriously. I'm definitely going to pay attention on tomorrow morning's run.

[Xmann]

Coop - Good luck with the back! Make sure you don’t overdue it coming back. Take it nice and easy.

Baroquen - FIngers crossed your weather holds this weekend. Please give us an AAR.

YK - Great job on the Couch to 5K. Have you thought about signing up for a race? There are fun-run 5Ks just about everywhere these days. I’ve always found that signing up for a race really puts a stake in the ground and gives a great goal to shoot for. Just a thought.

For me, I was really working on the cadence thing, then I hit a major road bump: the flu (or flu-like symptoms at least). My ER doc sister told me it’s really unlikely I have the flu since I got vaccinated (she believes the media is really overhyping the inefficacy of this year’s vaccine). But, man, I felt like crap, and it just wouldn’t go away. Missed a full week of work, and now, two weeks, later, I’m still getting over a hacking cough. Really sucks, and knocked me out of running for 12 days, which is the longest I’ve gone without a run for more than a year. I finally got back on the treadmill yesterday for a nice easy 5K, which felt good.

But, before the illness, the work on the cadence was going well. I realized pretty quickly that my initial counts were off. I was trying to count every foot strike, and I was clearly missing some. Reading up on it a little more, it seems the most recommended way to count is in 30 second increments, counting footstrikes on one foot, then doubling and doubling again to get total footstrikes per minute. Counting in this manner, I’m now generally sticking to 46-47 strikes per foot per 30 seconds, which translates into a cadence of 182-184. I can hold that pretty consistently through a 10K, and I do notice a difference in terms of my general feeling of wear and tear.

It’s interesting because I always used to feel like I was running “better” when I was opening up my stride and really taking big, loping strides. Seemed more graceful and fluid (in my mind’s eye at least; probably still looked like a thundering rhino). But the quicker turnover and faster cadence is really feeling more natural now. If you’re trying to work on that, I’d definitely recommend sticking with it. I think there’s a big payoff.

I'm a true believer in cadence. The fact I can run without any, and I mean zero aches or pain, is miraculous to me

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But wouldn't the lack of aches or pains be attributed more to you correcting the posture/hip issue more than just the cadence?

Sorry, regardless, it is working and that is great!

Do you set the metronome to 170bpm? or did you start off with a different (slower) cadence to get adjusted and work up?

Also, any advice on youtube vids? I cannot afford ($$ or timewise) a coach, so it looks like other options for me.

Thanks.

Zaxxon pretty much has it correct. Increased cadence improved my posture, which has in turn solved some major issues.

I started out with a metronome set at 170, for the first week of running. I've since increased it to 175 and that's where I've kept it at since. I'm averaging around 176 and usually hit a max of 180. I plan on keeping it at 175 for a while longer.

I don't know any particular good YouTube videos, but I did watch some that helped me get started with my cadence. Just searched and found some.

A good place to start would be searching for Chi Running. The principles are sort of what the coach I paid taught me. It's all about proper body alignment. My local library has the Chi Running book and instructional DVD.

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[Zaxxon]

FWIW, I asked my brother tonight what his cadence is. He said 182 for typical training runs and 190s (!) for a 5k.