12

Strides... (Read 895 times)


...---...

    Who can explain how to do a stride? I've read a couple of descriptions but isn't sinking in. I wish I knew someone who could show me (sounds comical)... Thnaks in advance.

    San Francisco - 7/29/12

    Warrior Dash Ohio II - 8/26/12

    Chicago - 10/7/12



    Just Be

      IMO, strides should never be a primary focal point of running. Just run how you feel most natural and gradually check your default form for proper running style. Things to look for include: * Stand up straight, head in a neutral and relaxed position * Shoulders should - for the most part - always stay perpendicular to your direction of movement (don't sway or rock them) * Shoulders should be relaxed as to not strain the neck muscles * Arms should swing minimally * Hands should be relaxed but not floppy * Hands should never cross their respective side of the sagittal plane (left to right side of the body) * Hips should always be perpendicular to the direction of movement (minimal to no lateral rotation) * Hips should always be coronally in line with the shoulders (longitudinal - front to back body plane) * Ground impact force should be focused on the ball of your foot, as close to in line with the shoulders and hips on the coronal plane as possible, with secondary distribution of impact force on the heel and tertiary on the toes Checking your form for all of the above should be primary focus if you want it to be, but only during slower runs where you are not breathing heavy. Good luck! Smile


      Think Whirled Peas

        I think Runner67 is refering to doing "striders", not the form of running itself. I too am interested in how to do these. I've seen them written like, strides 6x20...what does that mean?

        Just because running is simple does not mean it is easy.

         

        Relentless. Forward. Motion. <repeat>

        jEfFgObLuE


        I've got a fever...

          Mikeymike is the stridemaster, but I'll jump in. Strides (or "striders" or "pickups") are short, controlled bursts of speed ranging from 20m to about 150m (100m is typical). They are usually sprinkled into an otherwise easy run, after the body is well warmed up. The idea is to get your body used to running fast, but without the stress of a more rigorous speed workout. Stride pace should be quite brisk (best 5k pace or better), but short of a full-on sprint. It's typical to do 5~6 strides during a run; 6x100 would mean 6 strides of 100m in length. The amount of recovery between strides is usually arbitrary. Stride are usually only done on easy days.

          On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.


          SMART Approach

            Striders kick in your neuromuscular system and add some fire to the legs. They are valuable in a training plan year round and are aerobic speed work because you recover fully between them and do not run long enough to be anaerobic. Most of us low mileage runners or beginners should not do much more speed work than this to maintain running health and long term improvements. Your body responds well to this exercise. In the offseason you may run them at 1 mile pace or a bit slower and in race season or as race season approach you do them at 800M pace. They are not a sprint, just a hard effort but controlled where you basically stride out at a quick pace and focus on breathing and running form. Generally they are about 100M. You ease into your pace for around 10-20 meters. Hold pace for 60-70 meters and gradually slow down last 10-20 meters. Then recovery fully. This is the key to not going aerobic. If you keep pounding them without much rest,you go anaerobic which is not recommended. Generally take 30-60 sec to recover or longer if needed. Generally, one would do 4-10 striders after a run or work out run. Nothing wrong with doing them twice per week or more if higher mileage runner. I like to use as part of progression to race. In offseason I may do 4 - 5 at 1 mile pace. As my goal race approaces I slowly work up to 8-10 striders and a quicker pace or work up to 4-5 X 200M. Still full recovery but in offseason my recovery may be 45 sec but in season 20-30 sec. (for 100M striders. Listen to your body.

            Run Coach. Recovery Coach. Founder of SMART Approach Training, Coaching & Recovery

            Structured Marathon Adaptive Recovery Training

            Safe Muscle Activation Recovery Technique

            www.smartapproachtraining.com

              I've seen them written like, strides 6x20...what does that mean?
              6 reps of 20 seconds each, with full recoveries.
              The amount of recovery between strides is usually arbitrary.
              So long as they are at least long enough for full recovery.
              Stride are usually only done on easy days.
              Sometimes it's good to throw in a few before a workout or race as part of a warmup routine, or after a workout for turnover/recovery.

              Runners run


              Think Whirled Peas

                Thanks for the explanation. One more question about them...should I be lengthening my stride for these short bursts, or should I be concentrating on turnover? I just got back from an 8 miler and did a few of them, a couple with elongated strides (this is normally how I "go fast") and I did prolly 7 or 8 where I just tried to pick 'em up and put 'em down more quickly. Oh, if you live in (lower) Michigan and haven't been out for a run yet...GET OUT THERE!!! It's 41 degrees, sunny and little to no wind. BEAUTIFUL!

                Just because running is simple does not mean it is easy.

                 

                Relentless. Forward. Motion. <repeat>

                  PoQ, my .02 is that you should focus on turnover and try not to artificially elongate your stride. You want to really maintain good form and go for maximum speed/minimum effort. Re: the weather it's similar here. Just got in 10 at lunchtime and it was the nicest day in a long while--37 and sunny, not much wind.

                  Runners run

                  jEfFgObLuE


                  I've got a fever...

                    Thanks for the explanation. One more question about them...should I be lengthening my stride for these short bursts, or should I be concentrating on turnover? I just got back from an 8 miler and did a few of them, a couple with elongated strides (this is normally how I "go fast") and I did prolly 7 or 8 where I just tried to pick 'em up and put 'em down more quickly.
                    Just run whatever feels natural to you for fast running. For most people, that's a combination of faster turnover and slightly increased stride length. Whatever you do, don't do anything that's highly exaggerated and unnatural for you -- that leads to injury.

                    On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

                      Right. It's the exaggerated part you want to avoid. Your stride will lengthen the faster you run (stride length being the distance your center of mass travels between footstrikes.) I tend to focus on turnover as a way to keep from overstriding, but the truth is my turnover is probably not much faster when running fast than when running easy pace.

                      Runners run

                        If you're anything like me, I have absolutely no way of knowing when I've gone 80m, 100m, etc. Therefore, I do it by time - 2:00 each. I use my "intervals" program on my Garmin to set stride time/recovery time. (However, now my Garmin goes off every 2 min, even when I haven't told it to do keep track - Roll eyes )

                        Leslie
                        Living and Running Behind the Redwood Curtain
                        -------------

                        Trail Runner Nation

                        Sally McCrae-Choose Strong

                        Bare Performance

                         

                          I go by time, sort of. I count steps. If I'm aiming for a 20 second stride, I count 60 steps. That plus the time it takes to actually hit the lap button on my watch usually comes out to right around 20 seconds, or just under.

                          Runners run


                          Think Whirled Peas

                            Thanks for the info gang...Sorry, 'nother question. I'm a bit leery of technology at this point in my running career (read: cheap), so using a Garmin/watch prolly isn't an option right now. OK, yeah, I have a watch, but find my a runner who doesn't have one and I'll show you a dirty hippie. In all seriousness, can I just go by "feel" for how long to hold the acceleration? Tchuck mentions making sure that the effort doesn't become anaerobic. How do I know that I'm at the anaerobic threshhold? Are there typical indicators that I'll notice when I reach this point? Can you tell that I'm still pretty new to running?!?!? I really do appreciate the help though, and Runner67, please accept my apologies for threadjacking you! It's just that I've been really interested in this topic and am a glutton for chocolate knowledge about running drills.

                            Just because running is simple does not mean it is easy.

                             

                            Relentless. Forward. Motion. <repeat>


                            SMART Approach

                              Go by feel as far as length- 15-20 second is about right. 2 min pick up would be considered an interval or Fartlek and has a different training effect than a strider.

                              Run Coach. Recovery Coach. Founder of SMART Approach Training, Coaching & Recovery

                              Structured Marathon Adaptive Recovery Training

                              Safe Muscle Activation Recovery Technique

                              www.smartapproachtraining.com

                              jEfFgObLuE


                              I've got a fever...

                                Go by feel as far as length- 15-20 second is about right. 2 min pick up would be considered an interval or Fartlek and has a different training effect than a strider.
                                Agreed. 2 minutes is fine if you're doing fast interval and/or vVO2max training, but too long for strides. 15~20 sec is a good time to shoot for. Like mikeymike said, you could count steps.. The trick is to go somewhere you know is ~100m long (a football field or straightaway on a track). Run the distance at your "strides" pace and count how many steps you take with your left foot (but not both -- too much counting.) Then in the future, you'll know how many steps to count for ~100m. That being said, the actual distance/time is nothing to obsess over. Just be sure you're warmed up, and throw ~6 fast, controlled pickups of ~100m (for 15~20 sec) into your easy run. I too like the idea of strides as part of a pre-race warm-up. Otherwise, whether you're warmed up or not, it's a bit of a shock to start a race having not yet done any running at race pace.

                                On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

                                12