In today’s post I will discuss two additional techniques that will help your running stride become more efficient, leading to longer distances, better race times, decreasing your risk of repetitive injuries and making running more enjoyable.
CADENCE – also referred to as stride frequency or how often your feet hit the ground.
- Optimal cadence is around 180 strides per minute, meaning each foot will contact the ground 90 times per minute…….
- One way to determine you cadence is to count how many times one foot contacts the ground in 30sec and multiply by 2.
- Aim to contact the ground between 85-90 times per minute with each foot.
- Over-striding will dramatically increase impact on muscles and joints
- Increasing your cadence will soften your foot strike and reduce time on the ground with a proper mid-foot impact which will help reduce your chances of impact injuries.
BREATHING
- Focus on deep belly breaths
- Avoiding shallow, quick chest breathing
- Keep mouth open and try to breathe through both mouth and nose simultaneously or through you mouth alone (nose does not get enough oxygen in by itself)
- Keep shoulders relaxed
As always I hope you enjoyed this blog and found it useful in your quest to become a better runner. If you have any questions or comments do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Phil
Hi Phil,
I see you are on the speaking circuit with other running groups now! Good for you!
I”ve been relaying to everyone I know how informative and enjoyable our clinic was and people are interested! I know Jane Dowd’s club is very happy to have you speaking to them! I just thought of something (I think) would be great to talk about when you are addressing shoes for running. I just learned about the tying technique that “locks” your heals in place in your shoes. For people, such as myself, who have extremely narrow heals and suffer from chronic blisters from abrasion, this easy and completely free “locking device” can be a God send! That along with addressing the various types of socks that are on the market, which also can play a significant part in how your feet feel in your shoes are valuable information, particularly for beginner runners. Also other things like Glide and mole skin are great tips for beginners who have foot and blister issues. I had to learn the hard way about such things and I know I would have very much appreciated these tips when I was suffering from bleeding and raw blisters. Anyway, it’s just a thought for you to consider in one of your talks. Hope to see you at the Unity Run!!!
Cheers,
Tracy Reid
Hi Tracy,
Thanks for your feedback. I think that information on tying techniques is a great idea to incorporate into a presentation or blog, thank you.
Hope your training is going well.
See you at the Unity run.
Phil