Jun 17, 2024
Training Tips by Runzy Director of Coaching Joe McConkey
Strides Done Right
Strides are short accelerations aimed to help loosen the body up, improve muscle coordination, and overall strengthen the gait. They can be part of a warm-up to a workout, part of a cooldown, or even included during an easy run or long run. Many runners do them, but many also can get more out of them if done right.
Strides, defined: 80-100 meter bouts where the first 30-40 meters are a gradual acceleration, the next 40-60 meters are a held fast pace, and the final 10-20 meters a gradual deceleration. 30-120 sec rest, then repeat for 2-8 repetitions.
The important variable from the above definition is 'fast pace'. What does this mean? Are we limiting ourselves with what we feel our 'fast pace' is? Do we physically have the ability to go faster?
For runners to continually develop and get faster there should be a constant exploration and curiosity into their perceived limits. This may mean challenging ourselves with things like weekly volume, tempo distance, interval pace, power and stride length, or leg speed. With the 'fast pace' of strides, this is our opportunity to explore those last two - power and leg speed. If done right each final stride should have you reaching near full effort with one or both of those variables. With good posture and a prepared body (symmetrically pliable, flexible, and strong) these 3-5 seconds of fast running can open up a new realm of possibilities when it comes to the sub-max paces used during our daily workouts.
