Coach Jen sent me an article from LAVA Magizine about improving your run in triathlon. It’s one of the big things I told her I wanted to work on leading in to this season.
The run was the one thing I didn’t really worry about going in to any of the races last season, but it was the one part that I always fell apart on. I can’t think of a good thing to say about any of my run legs from last year other than “I finished”.
While racing Mooseman 70.3 (my 1st ever triathlon) I blamed the horrendous hills on the bike for killing my legs and at Bangs Lake I actually felt good going in to the run and planned to make up some time from my not so stellar ride… Fail. I’ve never been so angry after a race.
It’s really important to me to do well in EVERY race this year, so I’m open to anything I can do to improve my overall performance. The article was full of great tips, so I suggest reading it.
One of the big things I want to do is take part in a Biomechanics clinic. I’m hitting up a clinic at Runner’s High n’ Tri in Arlington Heights. The purpose of the clinic is to become a more efficient runner by working on your body position. I’m pretty pumped about it.
Another thing the article mentioned and Coach Jen often has me work on is cadence. Running cadence sometimes feels like a tedious task, but it is key to efficiency. Personally I find it diffacult to keep a high cadence, I often find myself over striding.
I’m adding a Garmin foot pod when I run so I get cadence data for all of my runs and not just the one’s where Coach tells me to keep track of!
So like the article says, it’s an “Early Season Check-in”. I think now is the time to start making these little changes to the way you swim, bike and run in order use them properly so you will perform well come race day!
Phil Castello 
I’m surprised that a faster cadence makes you over-stride—I would think the increased turnover would shorten your strides, not lengthen them.
Cadence work is boring if you use a metronome, like a lot of schools/trainers recommend.
Instead, check out http://www.hellasound.com It’s music designed for running. Cadence is built into the music, and helps you maintain it effortlessly through your run. Fun stuff.
What I meant was I find my self over-striding because I find it difficult to maintain the high cadence. As soon as I stop counting my foot strikes, I drift back in to the longer stride.
Thanks for reading.
The training plan I got at the running hq http://www.therunninghq.com talks about needing to run at a cadence of at least 180 beats per minute. I also find that my stride is shorter with better turnover and quicker pace than if I had a slower cadence.
If you take a good form running class you will find that your pace and cadence are not directly correlated. You can run a 180 cadence and either a fast or slow pace.