Improving Run Cadence (Page 2)

The gyst of it is that each person has a somewhat "natural" range that works for them with regard to cadence.  One school of thought is to change that to what is approximately near your cycling cadence so that when you come off the bike you can keep the same sort of leg turnover and make a smoother more efficient transition from cycling to running.  But sometimes that just doesn't work .....

Me for example.  I'm a high spinner and my cadence on the bike is almost always around 100 or higher.  There is no way in hell my run turnover would ever be that high, even in a sprint.  But after running thousands of miles over the last few years I've developed some pretty decent running economy of motion and my turnover is whatever it is without any dertrimental affects going from high cadence bike to lower cadence running.

The best thing about being able to vary your cadence is that later in the run on a longer distance race when you start to tire you can shorten your stride and increase your turnover to put less stress on your legs when they are fatigued and maintain a similar pace.

Just my experience, take it as you want ......

Great responses this morning.  Thanks a ton!  Well, I did my tempo (Z4) run this morning (averaging 7:39's) and checked my cadence a few times.  Guess what....  84, 84, 84 (21 right foot strikes per 15 seconds).  Exactly the same as my Z2 cadence on the treadmill.  I suppose this is my natural rate.  I've been running for about 2 years.  Surely, as I become more experienced, I'll develop a more efficient stride.  Based on responses from Birkierunner, bryancd, Scout and Daremo (who are all way faster and more experienced than me), I'm not going to worry too much about it.

I am signing up for a summer (June-August) track session by D3's Amy Kuitse.  It's 12 weeks of Wednesday night sessions at the track to work on form, speed and running economy.  We'll see how that impacts my running. 

Happy Training Everyone!