I was back on the treadmill today after taking the weekend off. I’m headed to Savannah on Friday, so I’m lengthening my 4 runs this week to try to get in 20-22 miles again. I ran 4.5 today, counting my steps every five minutes. I was right at 180 steps per minute for the first 7 checks, but I slipped to 172 steps per minute on the last one. Still, it was an easy, relaxing workout and it felt good.
Actual workout
4.5 miles at 9:31 pace
5 minutes cool down
Full body strength training
OK, I have gotten caught up, but I am missing why you are counting steps. I assume it has to do with JD’s book. I read a little about him in Runners World but I am not familiar with the program.
It doesn’t specifically have to do with JD’s book, but it’s more of a realization I’ve come to from reading that book and also a book by Hal Higdon.
I always thought that fewer long steps was the most efficient way to run because I assumed that the actual act of moving one’s legs itself used the most energy.
When you stride long, however, you wasted energy by propelling yourself upward. So, it’s actually less efficient than small steps.
When I started thinking about my running form, I realized that to run more slowly, I was propelling myself more upward instead of outward. So, I was using almost the same amount of effort as when I was running faster,only I was wasting more energy.
When I started making an effort to shorten my steps and increase my cadence, I found that even at 180 steps per minute, I felt very good and could breathe/converse quite comfortably. It forces me to push myself upward only enough to propel myself forward without scraping my toes on the ground and I’m more efficient because of it.