Random Running Questions

I have any number of questions! I'll try and break them up so this isn't just a total brain fart sort of thing...

1. I guess ground contact time and cadence are closely linked? The higher my cadence the shorter my contact time?

2. Do taller people find it harder to run at a fast cadence? I can hit the 180s/190s etc when I'm running at what is a fast pace for me, but find it almost impossible to get above around 165 at slower paces. I'm around 6 foot 3, and fast cadence at slow speed just feels ridiculous and like I'm jogging on the spot!

3. I understand that there's a genetic limitation to things like Vo2 max etc, but at what stage would a runner be approaching their natural limits?? Years of training and marathons etc? I am only running since March / April 2020 (lock down, 2km etc). I had a reasonable level of fitness before that but nothing above average (eg I wasn't obese or gasping for breath on a brisk walk) but I had not played any kind of sport or anything taxing in a very long time so think I was coming off a fairly low base. Naturally like all sports, I came on quickly in the initial months and this slowed as time went by. However I am no quicker now than I was in January of this year. I am generally following the Garmin training programmes on my watch, so running a good deal of easy pace, some tempo, hills etc etc... I think it's reasonably well balanced. I don't go out and try and run a fast 5k more than about once every 2 or 3 months so I am by no means obsessed with times, but when I do I am not improving anymore and wonder am I hitting my natural limits (eg so quickly as from never having run in April 2020 to hitting my limits in December 2020?? Surely not?!) or would some significant revision of training approach be worth considering? Strava says this year I'm averaging 5 runs a week for 45kms. Would I need to massively up this to see improvements? My goals are not marathon etc but would like to shave a bit of time off 5k and 10k distances.

Thanks and sorry if that's a bit of a ramble

Thanks to all.

Slideways, I try and do some speed work which is usually either 10x400m with 60 seconds walking recovery, 6x800m with 90 seconds jogged recovery, 5x1km with 90 seconds jogged recovery.

Is that what you mean by intervals? For clarity, it would be either of those 3, not all at once! I'd also do a 2km warm up slow jog and cool down with that. My 400m, 800m and 1km, and 1 mile times have not improved in last 9 months.

I have found that if I do more than about 1 session like this per week I get pain in my calfs, have been to physio who said it's "post tib" and gave me some strengthening work.

The current garmin 10k programme I'm doing has none of this speed work so I do drop out one of the garmin sessions occasionally for my own speed work. It also has no long easy run... The only easy run per week is a 6km one.

Next weeks garmin programme (over 7 days) is

Day 1: 3.2km easy, 6.4km @ 4.30, 3.2km easy,

Day 2: 6.4km easy

Day 3: 1.6km easy,

200 m fast as can, 600m hard, 1.6km @ 4.45, 1.6km recover, repeat x 3

Day 4: Hills, 1.6km easy,

400m uphill hard, 400 m down moderate, jog recover 60 seconds, repeat x8

1.6km cool down

I have also been for a full fitness assessment /vo2 max etc the lot (got this for free would not have paid for it as I don't need it!) and all of my numbers were good apart from ground contact time/reaction time to spring back up when dropping and I've been given a lot of single leg jump type work to do.

I'm very comfortable at high cadence when I run a bit harder, so last night I did 15km at 4.25per km pace with cadence of 175 and that's comfortable /natural/ I don't even think about cadence. But it feels absolutely horrible cadence if I do an easy run slower than 5min per km or even sometimes 5.30 per km etc. My vertical oscillating was 8.7. This means I'm propelling myself too far upwards rather than forward?

I've said this on here before and not sure to what extend its relevant or just an excuse, but I'm almost 100kg and 6 foot 3... I feel like my cardio system has a long way to go but isn't really improving (eg I can run at say a little over 3min per km pace for a short burst but can't sustain it, so I can only hit around 3.15 per km for 400m, and only hit around 3.35 per km for 1k, but again can't sustain that for the mile.... But also suspect if I lost 20kg I'd improve times (but I'm not willing to do this, I'm not carrying any excess weight at the moment really).

Does anyone know if there are any Irish spring marathons on the cards?

What’s your 5k time? What’s your VO2Max? How old are you?

Is there a danger of ‘paralysis by analysis’ here? Running is a simple enough game. Have you considered joining a club and/or training with others?

Over analysing, sure yeah it's possible. I haven't really done any analysing to be honest before now and just noting that my times are no longer improving and wonder if that sort of plateau is normal or I need a new approach to my training. That's all I'm really asking, the rest re cadence etc was just some other things I wondered about.

5k time is 20. 05 from early this year, just running around the local streets etc by myself, crossing roads and so on. Reckon if pushed right now I'd only manage about 21 or just under. Back then I was doing 1km repeats at 3.50 handy enough, 90 seconds recovery, now I'm struggling to to do the same thing in 4 mins.

Vo2 51 per machine /wearing the mask etc (garmin watch says 57!).

Age is early 40s.

Don't really have set times for running so a club or others would be difficult for me, I can run at 7am or 11pm or morning or afternoon if I get a chance.

Yes that is correct, I have one easy run of 6km per week and the rest is a bit harder stuff

I agree with Treviso above - your easy pace is fairly easy alright (although I wouldn't be afraid to slow some of it down a bit more), it's just that you're not doing enough easy stuff in relation to the sessions. I aim for at least 80% of my mileage being easy.

Thanks, grateful for that and I've enough now to go away for a few months so don't want to drag this out too much but just I note that the calculator gives me speed work suggestions of times I am nowhere near capable of running.... Hopefully that's something that will improve in the future but I feel I will never hit some of the paces set out there (eg 4.48 for the mile but I can only run it in 6 now and that's all out and gasping afterwards).

There are real benefits in increasing mileage as long as you are able to recover from it. If you're doing too much and get injured it obviously will set you back, so it's a risk vs. reward equation.

Having said that, increasing mileage for your easy runs is usually a beneficial thing. There are a few rules of thumb on how much you should increase your weekly distance (e.g. by no more than 10% a week, or by no more km that the number of days per week you are running) but in the end we only ever know afterwards if it was beneficial or not.

Before responding to this can I ask why do you specify "with the exception of carbon plated shoes"? Is that an assumption of massive price tag or a lack of desire to wear carbon plated shoes? The reason I ask is it will help direct the response to you...plenty of good value carbon plated options that don't cost an arm and a leg.

Not going to recommend any specific brand of shoe, but maybe give you something to think about before you pull the trigger on a new pair.

One of the key things in a "faster shoe is weight. The less weight you have to carry the better. Kayano are a heavy shoe.

Traditionally for races people would have worn" racing flats" (pre Vaporfly) which were a lower profile and also lightweight.

Whether any specific shoe can actually make you faster is a bit debated, but some can certainly make you more efficient and as a result may help you sustain a given pace longer.

The newer carbon plated shoes use a different foam and is reported to give approx 85% energy return as opposed to traditional 65/70% with Eva foam. The carbon is more to give support to the stack height of the foam, as they would be to unstable without it.

As for stability for over pronation, well that's more of a marketing plot and has absolutely no merit at all.

Elites pronate...and they ain't racing in stability shoes!

Pronation is a natural occurring part of the gait cycle and In order to qualify that you "over pronate' you would need to have a baseline of what normal pronation is, and to that end there is no such baseline.

The next thing is shoe manufacturers and shops would have you believe that pronation is a bad thing, (it's not) and by extension that it is responsible for a whole host of injuries. There's on evidence of this.

Putting a medial post in a shoe may or may not prevent some movement at the foot, but we would then need to consider that we are asymmetric and not pronate on one side more than the other, and doesn't take into account that there can be as much as 10% difference in the density of the foam between right and left shoes.

This is even before we delve into why there's is excess pronation in the 1st place, things like external rotation of the tibial bone, ankle rocker dysfunction etc.. A whole othe minefield altogether.

All that been being said, if you're wearing a particular type of shoes and find the comfortable and aren't picking up niggles, then stay with them.

Personally I'd recommend NB Fuelcell TC (even the Fuelcell Rebel v2 are a decent all rounder and certainly faster than Gel Kayano) . Also recommend Saucony Endorphin Speed. Both the TC and Endorphin Speeds are widely popular...both have plates though. There are other non plated shoes you could go for but why bother!? If cost isn't an issue then the TC or endorphins are well worth it.

Can anyone recommend a good app for beginners. I've downloaded the coach to 5 k and have completed that. Now I just want to carry on casually and log and track my runs in an attempt to just compete with myself and try and better my times. Ta.

Thinking about it more and might be tempted to get the carbon plated shoes for racing - can you suggest some the value options?

See post above in the thread

Use the same metric you are using in training, otherwise you will just confuse yourself.

You do realise that pace = speed. Whether a given speed is expressed in kilometre per hour, miler per hour, minutes per kilometre, minutes per mile, or seconds for X hundred meters, matters not one jot. It is still the same given speed.

Next time someone takes you for a ride in a car have a look at how the speedometer changes. If it is in KmH you don't have to wait for each kilometre to pass to see the change in speed (pace). Similarly, if it is measured in MpH. Pace doesn't have to be measured over the distance of the units being used to express it. Sprinters would never know their speed in standard units if that was necessary. So the concept of "giving a slightly more even pace as it is over a longer distance" doesn't make sense in reality.

Running longer distances does not infer more even pacing. Using bigger units to express pace does not lead to more even pacing.

You can just create a workout in Garmin connect and under the intensity select pace with the target being in or around your range. You can even have it beep at you if you go outside the range.

Allow for a minimum of 20 secs variance or it will drive you bonkers buzzing at you

Not picking on anyone in particular and I'm not having a go but some of the recent questions on this thread really made me realise just how much people overthink running and take it a bit too seriously. It's a very, very simple sport, train within your abilities, do some races, keep showing up and enjoy it. We're not professionals so why do so many focus on complexity and the 1%'ers before even getting the basics right - consistency and hard work. If folks really want to get serious, then join a club and train with people better than you as that's where you really start improving and seeing the bigger picture.

Could you give an example of some drills please?