Back To Basics Series: Running Strides
If you’ve been around the sport long enough, you’ve probably heard someone say let’s do some strides or I finish up my workout with some strides. But, what are strides and how should we effectively incorporate them into our training? As a coach, I’ve heard so many varied descriptions of what strides are and how you should do them. Today I want to discuss what I believe strides are, and how I use them to enhance my athletes training.
Strides: What Are They
I define strides as neuromuscular work designed to increase run cadence and run speed. I consider strides to be a running drill that is beneficial for all runners from beginner to elite. In the Off Season and Prep Phase of training I incorporate them into my athletes training sessions for a bit of speed work when they are mostly logging a lot of aerobic miles.
The primary purpose I use strides is to work on run cadence. The “ideal” run cadence will vary athlete to athlete, but the cadence to shoot for is 180 foot strikes over 60 seconds. This cadence keeps ground contact time to a minimum and keeps unnecessary load off your big muscles (quads!, etc). That means you can run longer before you wear those muscles out! While you may notice an increase in cardiovascular work, that is considered a good trade off as you can recover your heart rate more quickly than those big muscle groups.
The secondary purpose for strides is to work on run speed. A quicker cadence leads to faster running and we can practice this over short bits of time without completely wearing out the body.
Strides: When To Use Them
I prescribe strides for my athletes mainly in two ways. The first is at the end of a longer aerobic run when their form may have started to slip with the slower pace. I have them finish off the day practicing good form and faster feet so that is what their body remembers at the end of the session. The second way I prescribe strides is at the end of a warm up before a track session. They are used in this instance to prepare the body for the greater workload to come.
Strides: How To Do Them
Find a flat area to do these. It could be a track, a soft surface, or an open stretch of road and get ready to count! Each stride will be approximately 80 meters (or about 20 seconds) in length. Begin running at what would be faster than your 5k pace. If you don’t know your 5k pace, shoot for faster running than you might normally do. Every time your right foot (or left) strikes the ground, count. Your goal within this 80 meters (or 20 seconds) is 30 right foot strikes. Rest 45- 60 seconds, or however long it takes to get your heart rate back to baseline. This equals out to 90 right foot strikes over 60 seconds, or that 180 total foot strikes mentioned above. Repeat this sequence 6 - 8 times.
Strides are easy to incorporate into your run because they won’t fatigue you for the next session. Instead, they should leave you feeling slightly peppy and ready to roll on the next workout.
Have questions on Strides or how I use them in my athletes training? You can contact me here for a free consultation.
-Happy Training!