Over the last few months, I’ve been paying much closer attention to my cadence. I’ve made a conscious effort to take quicker, shorter steps—and so far, the biggest payoff has been a noticeable reduction in hip flexor soreness. That ache has been a nagging issue for as long as I can remember, so even if cadence work doesn’t make me more efficient, it’s already worth it for that reason alone.
Today my legs felt especially peppy. I focused on keeping my turnover high and ended up averaging 180 steps per minute for the run. That’s a cadence I normally hit during races or tempo efforts, not on an easy base run. By the time I finished, I had covered 5.59 miles in 45 minutes, averaging an 8:03 pace. I started with a comfortable 8:37 mile, then steadily worked the pace down until the last few miles dipped under 8:00. I felt strong throughout, though I was definitely pressing toward the end.
Maybe I pushed a little harder than I should have, but I was running by feel—and today, I felt good. Tomorrow’s scheduled recovery day will take care of the rest. After all, it’s nice to actually have something to recover from.
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