Overview

What is cadence? This is the frequency of which you feet strike the ground measured as single foot strikes per minute (spm) or counting both foot strikes per minute (More typical and we will quote these cadence numbers in our suggestions here). Cadence can range as very low of 140rpm to high of 240spm.

Why should you care? Cadence can help improve your speed potential at all levels of running. What cadence you select can help you to produce more spring in your stride as well as help you to prevent running injuries.

Running Cadence

Typical cadence is 170-180rpm, though we believe at all levels you should strive for a minimum of 180spm.
Beginner runners will struggle to be above 160spm and faster runners with higher thresholds and speed potential will be closer to 200spm.
Running drills such as striders, (short quick bursts of running) can help to improve foot turnover/cadence.
Low cadence happens! ….when you fatigue in a longer distance race everyone’s cadence slows. The key is to start as high as possible and hold it for as long as possible.
Low cadence; This is one of the top reasons for running related injuries. When cadence drops so too does form. In order to produce when running at a lower cadence most athletes will take a longer stride (over-stride) which has their feet landing out in front of them. This causes a deceleration or “brake” effect such that the impact of running transfers from the heal and upwards to the back of the athlete causing strain on the “chassis” or athletes body.
Using your watch / Garmin you can set a minimum strikes per minute to alert when you dip below 180spm. Our coaches have found runners with lower cadence can learn to imprint run form when on the treadmill and looking at their spm. This allows the athlete to focus on the number and make changes to their gait to improve their cadence numbers.
Recovery runs; Slower runs for recovery and or warm ups will see lower cadences. Its not atypical to see 5-10spm below 180spm goal.
High cadence; Many athletes find running greater than 190spm a challenge and “work”. Running with this higher cadence is more efficient however the strain is less on the legs and more on the transmission or heart rate. Many athletes will feel the increased heart rate feels like more work at first. As you practice higher cadence and gain fitness however this will feel actually easier!
Off road; on uneven terrain it may be challenging to keep a high cadence as you negotiate roots, rocks and other debris.
Athletes with lower threshold will need to run “slow” and “shuffle” with quick feet in order to maintain these cadences. This is ‘ok’ even though it may look like a “stubby” run. Imprinting this type of form is critical at slower speeds so that it translates into faster speeds and can be held during challenging race efforts.

Screen Shot 2019-02-26 at 6.19.53 AM.png

Screen Shot 2019-02-26 at 6.21.35 AM.png

More on cadence

Featured

★★★ Swimming cadence

What is swim cadence? This is the frequency of which your arms are rotating / propelling in the water. (rpm, revolutions per minute.) Our coaches have put together these key points for you to think about depending on your goals and abilities.

★★★ Running cadence

One of the key form metrics for running, cadence is critical towards running healthy and quickly. Our coaches have put together these key points for you to think about depending on your goals and abilities.

★★★ Bike cadence for triathletes

As a cyclist or triathlete, how you ride makes a difference depending on what the goal is and what you are trying to accomplish. Our coaches have put together these key points for you to think about depending on your goals and abilities.

Holding Best form during your swim time trials

Review of Peter Ekvall’s swim time trial - “holding best form!”

More Running resources

Featured

★★★ Treadmill Incline Pace Conversions - Normalized graded pace

Due to a lack of wind resistance while running on a treadmill, the effort of running on a treadmill at 0% incline is less than that of running on a level road at the same pace. Our Tristar chart can help you get an approximate equivalent effort for zones between running on a treadmill at different paces and inclines and running outdoors on a level surface. Learn how you can use the normalized graded pace incline chart to target different pace zones with slower uphill running efforts.

Run training block introduction

Tristar Athlete, your next block is posted in Training Peaks and the plan has been adjusted and calibrated towards your goals. The following rules are key to a run focused block as your prepare for your weekly sessions.

Estimating key continuous training loads for stand alone running (CTL's)

Tristar Athletes, In this table we present the peak continuous training load score for each athlete. Recall that CTL score is a rolling average of your daily training stress score over the past 42 days. Your peak CTL is the highest CTL you achieve in a period of training. The numbers in this table help you select your training hours and load that’s best for you and your ability.

★★★ Staying injury free on your run

Running as a sport is highly demanding and for most endurance athletes from time to time it lands them in injured territory throughout their career. Unlike swimming and cycling which can be forgiving when you go too hard, running has a higher cost when it comes to the injuries we see. Our coaches provide our top tips for your run and how to stay fast and injury free.

★★★ Tristar Athletes stand alone run pacing and guidelines for training

In this coaches corner we discuss how our athletes should pace and prepare for a stand alone run or “foot race”. The pacing and planning that we use to maximize your race-day whether you are a runner or multisport athlete.

Art of the long run

Learn best practices as an athlete when taking on a long run. This key workout can be enhanced when you understand the goals and needs of how to execute it properly.

Run form correction: "Over-striding"

in this coaches corner video review, we show you what overstraining is in your run gait and how to correct it.

Running Power Analysis - A hilly trail run in Honduras - Jose Alvarado's pacing review

A video analysis review of run power with Tristar Athletes Jose Alvarado. This was an 8mile trail run at altitude, we review his pacing, power, and heart rate data.

★★★ Running cadence

★★★ D.Y.O.T ⚠️ "Doing your own thing"

From time to time in your training you will come to a point where you go off the reservation and “do your own thing”. Some areas of your training this will be inherently risky and other areas this will have less consequence. Our coaches guide you on how to “engage” these limited occurrences.