You're Almost There....

The Boston Marathon is considered one of the elite marathons in the world. Runners from all over the world travel to Boston in April to run the 26.2 mile course. It's also a huge spectator event with over a million fans lined along the 26.2 mile course. Spectators will play music, ring cowbells and hold up signs to encourage the runners. Some of the signs are hilarious.  

On my first trip to Boston to run the daunting 26.2 miles, my nerves were a wreck. Being herded into the corrals with the other 30,000 or so participants, you could feel the tension. As I approached the starting line, I saw a young girl holding a sign that read "You're Almost There." I couldn't help but to smile and even chuckle some. She had no idea how much her sign helped calm my nerves.

As a coach, I often get the question--How long do you think it will take me to see results? That's a loaded question!  

It takes about 6 weeks to see physiological aerobic benefits from training using the progressive overload principle This means overloading the body with training stimulus, recovering from it, and then overloading it again

In 12 weeks you can expect to see even more benefits and the longer you train, the more benefits you will see. Consistency is the key word all runners must embrace.

More seasoned runners will ask--"How long will it take me to run x:xx time?" 

This depends on so many factors! No two athletes are the same. It depends on:

1.) Your background and tendencies as a runner (how long you've been running, if you played other aerobic sports previously, how consistent you are with training, your ability to push yourself, what sacrifices you're willing to make for running)

2.) Your genetics. Your training can only take you so far. You can still accomplish great things, but your genetics play a huge factor.

3.) Your age. Age has multiple meanings in running. Your chronological age and your chronological years that you have been running are 2 different things.  Over 67% of runners over 45 that qualify for the Boston Marathon have been running for 10 years or less and are still getting faster. While those over 45 that have been training for more than 10 years tend to get slower with age. 

 

4.) Your life stressors. Running is a stress relief for most, but running in itself can be stressful as well. Add this to your everyday life stressors--and it can impact your training.

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5.) And probably the most important factor--you cannot improve without proper recovery. Remember that everyone is different and therefore every runner’s recovery time is a little different.

No 2 runners are the same and no 1 training plan works for everyone. As a high school Cross Country coach, it's hard to build a program that meets the needs of all of your runners when you have such a large number of runners.  

It goes back to the key component- CONSISTENCY!

One of my favorite tools to teach consistency-- The metronome! 

The Metronome Provides Rhythms

Your heart beat, your breath rate, your love for running, are all based on rhythms in your body or rhythms that you’ve established in your life. The more rhythms you establish, the better your body likes it.

When you’re body has a rhythm to follow it doesn’t work as hard. It knows what to do and when to do it. If you go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time every morning, your body experiences a rhythm… “now I get to rest, now it’s time to get up.”

One rhythm I’m acutely aware of when I run, is my cadence…the number of strides I take per minute. I have found that most people do best when they run with a steady rhythmical cadence. It varies slightly from person to person based on height, body structure and personality type, but the optimal cadence for humans, seems to fall between 170-180 strides per minute.

When your cadence is always the same, a lot of things seem to fall into place. When you cadence stays at a steady rate, it requires that you vary your stride length when you’re running at different speeds. If you think of changing your stride length to accommodate different levels of effort, your body learns to run with a set of gears and work in much the same way as your bicycle or your car.

I start all of our younger runners and hew runners with a metronome. Most say that running with a metronome is annoying, BUT it gives them a sense of stability in their running because the cadence becomes the single constant that underlies everything else that’s going on when they’re running. I love running with my metronome and I use it almost every time I run. It helps me most in creating a sense of effortlessness in my legs and it is without question the best training tool that I’ve ever run with.

How to use the metronome to improve your running

Step One: Determine Your Current Cadence

When you first begin to work on your cadence you should start by measuring your current cadence (the number of strides you take per minute). To determine the cadence you’re currently running, take your metronome and go out for an easy run at whatever pace you would run for a typical training run. For this test be sure to run on a flat course and preset your metronome to 170 bpm. Then, turn the volume off.

After about 5 minutes of running, turn the volume up on the metronome and match the beep of the metronome to your stride rate by pressing the (+) or (-) button. It may take a minute or two for you to perfectly align both, but just feel the rate at which you sense your feet hitting the ground, and then adjust the

beep of the metronome faster or slower until it’s a perfect match with your stride rate. Then, note the beats/minute reading on your metronome and you’ll know your current cadence.

Step Two: Run at this Cadence for One Week

Practice running with your metronome at your measured cadence for one week. Let’s say for example that it’s 170 strides/minute. Set your metronome to beep at that rate and start it  then you begin each run. Practice matching your cadence to the beat of the metronome with every step you take, if you can. This will train you to maintain a steady cadence no matter what your speed. That’s right! Your cadence should stay the same whether you’re running fast or slow, up or downhill, or trying to catch a bus. Keep it the same, no matter what and you’ll learn to be a highly efficient runner because you’ll never be caught overstriding or overworking your legs!

Step Three: Increase your cadence to fall between 170-180 strides/minute

Your cadence should ideally range between 170-180 strides per minute. If you’re a tall or long-legged runner you could run with a cadence closer to 170 spm. If you’re a short legged runner (like me) you should aim for a cadence closer to 180 spm.

Run for a week with your metronome set at whatever cadence you’re starting at. Then, after a week, increase the setting on your metronome by one beat per minute and run every run for the following week at your new cadence. By upping your cadence only one beat per week, your body will barely notice the cadence increase. This gradual way of increasing your cadence is much easier on your body than trying to run at your ideal cadence right away. It gives your body time to adjust to a new way of running.

Step Four: Run to a Waltz Beat

Actually, this can happen during Step Three. To keep your body balanced, it is better to run with a waltz rhythm which goes like this:

Set your metronome to beep on every third foot strike. So your footsteps with the beat would go: right 2, 3…left 2, 3…right 2, 3…left 2, 3…beep 2, 3…beep 2, 3…just like a waltz.

I suggest using the waltz rhythm as soon as you have gotten through your first week of using a metronome. You can use it right after you’ve determined your beginning cadence. A nice added feature of this is that you don’t have to listen to as many beats every minute.

Here’s a conversion chart for switching to a waltz rhythm. It’s a simple calculation. Take your current cadence and divide by 3.

Strides per minute

Total spm vs. Waltz (counting every third step)

150 50 (new setting on metronome)

153 51

156 52

159 53

162 54

165 55

168 56

171 57

174 58

180 60

Step Five: Use Your New Cadence to Improve Your Form

There is no better training tool than a metronome for learning to vary your stride length to accommodate different speeds and yet keep the same cadence. This really helps in running uphill. Now go out and used varied running paces and focus on keeping the same cadence. You will notice the pace may change but the rhythm doesn't.

Now you are almost there!