17May08 training

not a bad one at all. not great, but definitely not bad.

towards the end, i tried a new technique - short stepping... basically take short steps instead of long strides. see on the Nike+ where things go UP for a bit, i was short stepping it there ... below is more info on short steps. my pace was significantly faster i was short stepping. next time i will do the entire time out with short steps and see how it goes.





Training tip: Take Baby steps and be sure to count them.
Lisa's tip of the day----COUNT YOUR STEPS!!! I did not believe my coach last year--didn't believe him this year...UNTIL this morning.

Walkers should be at 70 steps per minute (per foot) and runners at 90 steps per minute (per foot). You accomplish this by taking SHORTER steps....not more longer ones. It will feel foolish--I felt like a Looney tune on steroids trying to shuffle along....though I have been affirmed that I looked just fabulous (but of course!). I got to 90....I went from a 13:42 pace 2 weeks ago to a 12:55 pace today and that is with 3:1 intervals. Now some of that is the fact we didn't run the bridge--but with the bridge I was at 4:1, so that is an impressive improvement.

Count your steps--and work on getting close to the 70 or 90 per your activity. If counting for a minute is hard, just count for 30 seconds (35 steps for walkers and 45 steps for runners).

Now here is why this is important:

With every step (at least for running)--you impact with 3x your body weight with each step. The longer the stride (and the less steps you take)--the more in the air you are between steps--and the more weight/stress you are place on your legs (ahem--KNEES!). Shortening the steps does a few things: It increases the turnover rate, gives you less time in the air, and it lessens the impact and reduces the risk of injury and strain to your knees and other parts of your leg.

And here's the best part--at least for me anyway....I was not running fast--but I felt like I was zipping along (though as a zippy turtle) and it did not feel fatiguing to me.

If you are several steps away from 90 (or 70)...make a goal in the workout to shorten the strides to increase the amount of steps you take. It may take one or two workouts--it may take several.....but you will eventually get to 90. As training progresses and as your walking or running regime continues on well past Disney....you will notice as you get stronger, that your strides will naturally get longer...(a clue is that your step counts start going above your goal....time to lengthen the stride a little bit). Your body will then be telling you it is ready to take bigger steps.

Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase BABY steps.

If you are a mortal--and want to get FASTER...the key is to step shorter--and not reaching as far as you can with your foot.

Happy Training!!!