Forefront Striking and Running Cadence

One of the things about this blog that makes it relevant enough to publish is that it’s a sort of public diary where I share (perhaps over-share) my experiences.  Although I’ve got about 2 years of running experience (2001-2002, 2013-present) I am still very much learning.  Of course, you can learn with me, and learn from my screw-ups and successes.

So this weeks big experiment, which I’m forced to do on my long run day (though, importantly I’m not forced to have my long today) is to start of the transition from striking at mid foot to striking at the forefoot.  I’m also going to track my running cadence—amazingly I don’t know how many steps per minute that I take.  

Let me also take a moment to state that my reasoning for altering my biomechanics has more to do with reducing the force of impact on striking and less to do with increasing my speed or anything like that.

As everyone knows the ideal cadence is 180 footfalls per minute, and that will be another item on my list of things to strive for today.

I’m actually writing this *before* my scheduled 14k run--after the list below, I'll return with my post-run thoughts.

Here are a links that are relevant here:

• Heel Strikes (Runner's World)
• How to boost your cadence (Runner's World)
• Fellrnr's Wiki on Cadence

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Part 2

Okay, so I completed exactly 14.02 kilometres (1 hour and 26 minutes)--though I wonder how accurate Runtastic on iPhone is (not that Garmin is any better).   

My first impression of forefront striking is that it's pretty tough stuff, but that you begin to tolerate it fairly well after a few kilometres.  As expected, I worked different leg muscles (and feeling it now as I type this).  The amount of energy expenditure was such that I'd say my run was less efficient than usual.  I compensated by filling my water bottle with gatorade (usually I go with a sugar free drink, like PowerAde Zero), and taking three glucose tablets (always a good idea of diabetics to keep these on hand).

I didn't experience as much force of impact with forefront striking as I normally do with midfoot striking. Ultimately, though, I only did about 10-11k forefoot striking... because, it's tiring.

I downloaded a metronome app and ran 180 paces per minute and can confirm that yes, a higher cadence does in fact reduce the force of impact.  I have to admit it felt a little strange increasing my cadence without immediately increasing my speed (I increased gradually).  But as was the case with forefront striking, I abandoned the whole 180 cadence when fatigue set in.

So there you have it.

Shoes, coffee, running, trains and trails...

I was out on the Meewasin Trail today running about 7.5k in what was, essentially, a meagre attempt at a tempo run. As I was running I noticed a strange feeling in my right leg (I have a leg length difference)... well, it wasn't too strange, but it was a pretty clear indication that my right shoe was probably worn own (since it absorbs more impact than my left).  At any rate, this was my final run wearing my trusty Brooks Adrenaline GTS 14--I used them for several runs longer than I ought to have.   My Sauncony Guide 6's are probably going to be retired in the near future as well, which leaves me with a pair of Brooks PureCadence and a pair of Mizuno Waves--neither of which has as much cushion as I'd like.

As you can see from the train in the photo above, I ran on a narrow bike/running path for part of today's run.  A general rule of thumb of safe running is to avoid running on the same surfaces as cars. Although I did run about 400-500 metres through University of Saskatchewan on roadways shared with cars, the traffic was so light that it didn't matter too much.  The wonderful thing about Saskatoon is that you can run for hours without running alongside cars.  Even my bike ride today was half on bike paths.

So I accomplished 7.5k running and 5.2k on my mountain bike (really, I need a road bike if I'm going to be touring around this very flat prairie province).   After I finished my run, I collected my bike at the Sobeys on Preston Avenue, and had an impromptu picnic right where the above photo was taken. My picnic consisted of Chocolate Milk (1 litre, lol--it was on sale at Sobeys for $1.99) and 2.5 servings of Doritos.

Now, onto coffee... and running.  If you have experience drinking coffee right before running, I'd love to hear from you.

15k run through Saskatoon

Yesterday I embarked on my longest run since the half marathon in Winnipeg back in June.  I decided to run to the river and back, while also running at least 5-6k along the river on the Meewasin trail.  I've uploaded a bunch of pics--for those of you who do not know how beautiful Saskatoon is.

Before we get to the pics, let me say that the hamstring tendon pain I'm feeling is a longstanding issue that I've only recently really address with any impact.

Night running in Saskatoon

Ever go running without a particular path in mind?  I did that last night when I set out to run 10k in my neighborhood.  I decided to continue down my street past Kenderdine Street--that's as far as I've been in my neighborhood.

I ran past a lot of recent houses along the way and saw a Mac store I hadn't seen before (those of you from outside of Western Canada may not realize that I'm referring to a convenience store chain: http://www.macs.ca/).  But the most surprising discovery was that of a man-made lake just 2 kilometers from my house.  How crazy is it to make such a discovery?  I did my best to snap a few picks from my journey, but you know how it is when you want to take night photos with iPhone.  Maybe the boys at Apple will invent a better camera?


I kept my pace pretty slow over the first 5k (my 5k split was 34:01), but sped up ever-so-slightly on the way back.  My final kilometer was my fastest... by far.

But here's the thing: by starting off really slow, my body eventually warmed up to the point that I was able to really hang in there without any of the usual fatigue I get when I run alone.

I didn't have any issues with my IT band, which as pretty freakin' nice.

Near the end of the run I started to really feel an intense runner's high.  The high lasted until well after the run.  It was such a terrific feeling.

I don't have any races lined up at the moment, but I'm training with the Saskatchewan Marathon (May, 2015) in mind.  I'd also like to run the Hypothermic Half Marathon as well as the Brainsport Brainfreeze (also a half-marathon).  Stay tuned.

Updates!

Check out the Race Recap page for the latest.

I did the Lace up with Team Diabetes race over the weekend, while it wasn't pretty, I feel happy that I didn't have to miss yet another race.  I'm also back to my gym routine as well (I had to take a month off to let my knee heal up).  I did 34 minutes on the treadmill, followed by squats (135lbs, including barbell weight) and pec work (chest press machine).  Boy was I sore the next day.

Next up is the Terry Fox Run in a few weeks, and that will be the likely end of my racing for 2014. Since I can't do the Queen City Marathon as planned in early September, I'm aiming for a half marathon in early 2015 followed by a full marathon in the spring.

Finally! 5K on a late summer afternoon.

To be perfectly frank, I didn't think I would be running 5K today when I set out.  I was hoping to last at least 4K before my IT band became an aggravated mess as usual, but it never happened.  With some well-timed stretch breaks, I was able to cover 5K in just under 34:00 (this *includes* several minutes of stretching).  That may sound like a terrible time, but this was my best run since the half marathon in Winnipeg.

The road to recovery has been extraordinarily long thanks to my decision to gun it at the end of the half marathon after my IT Band had decided to tighten up.  Truth-be-told I am truly lucky I didn't make things even worse.

But all that aside, I found that rest, foam rolling, heat (hot water bottle / heating pad) did wonders for my recovery.  Additionally the ice/Advil combination proved to be helpful as well.

Of course I've learned more than I ever thought I would about Illiotibial Band Syndrome (namely how to pronounce and spell this damned thing).  The most important lesson I learned is what caused my particular version of the syndrome.  In my case it was an habitually tight TFL muscle brought on because of a twisted pelvis (now fixed).

I stretched my right TFL several times during my run, and it paid off.  So I'm back!  But now I need to make up for all the conditioning I lost.

3k in 30 Degrees

It sure feels good to complete a legitimate run without pain.  I pushed the envelope quite a lot, and stopped when it seemed like my IT band was on the verge of stopping me.

The trick it seems was thirty minutes of stretching and ... My old Saucony running shoes.

It was a bit warm, at 30 Celsius.  

My previous false starts were attempted in either my Brooks Pure Performance or Mazuno Waves.  (These shoes have less support than Saucony Guide 6.)