Such a thing as cadence too high?

appleapple wrote:

My cadence typically averages 180-182 on an easy day. Today I did a workout and it went up to 186. I've heard that most pros level out at 180 no matter their speed - such a thing as cadence too high?

Yes, there's such a thing as having a cadence too high, and no, you shouldn't be worrying about it. Anyways, pros usually go well above 180 spm during races and even during easy runs, the "optimal cadence" being 180 spm is total BS.

Thanks, I'll sleep easier tonight.

Your cadence can certainly be too high on an easy run. If you run a constant pace, increasing cadence means your stride length decreases. If you were running w/ a 200 cadence @7:00/mile, that would be too high. Any competent runner's cadence will be fine. Going 7:00/mile you might see some fast guys as low as 160 whereas others are as high as 190. This depends on height and form.

Cadence definitely does not level off. The faster you go, the higher your cadence will climb. For me, I'll list some paces and what I would expect my cadence to be

7:00 165

6:00 170

5:00 175

4:30 180

4:00 185

3:30 200

3:00 220

Once I transition from smooth form at a pace I cam manage to sprinting and having to push for times, cadence jumps way up as I am turning my legs over and pumping my arms as hard as I can.

appleapple wrote:

I've heard that most pros level out at 180 no matter their speed

Just curious, where the hell did you hear this? I've never heard anything that ridiculous from any reliable source.

I got the notion from Jack Daniels' second edition, which is what I have at home. I definitely oversimplified what he was saying in my mind in the months after reading it though, and this is a pretty old edition.

https://thebodymechanic.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Jack-Daniels-Cadence.pdf

Thanks, that's helpful. My easy run pace tends to be around 7:30 and the workout I was doing was at HM pace, so nothing too fast. I don't tend to do quicker work but it would be fun to see what the progression looked like.

asdasdasd wrote:

Your cadence can certainly be too high on an easy run. If you run a constant pace, increasing cadence means your stride length decreases. If you were running w/ a 200 cadence @7:00/mile, that would be too high. Any competent runner's cadence will be fine. Going 7:00/mile you might see some fast guys as low as 160 whereas others are as high as 190. This depends on height and form.

Cadence definitely does not level off. The faster you go, the higher your cadence will climb. For me, I'll list some paces and what I would expect my cadence to be

7:00 165

6:00 170

5:00 175

4:30 180

4:00 185

3:30 200

3:00 220

Once I transition from smooth form at a pace I cam manage to sprinting and having to push for times, cadence jumps way up as I am turning my legs over and pumping my arms as hard as I can.

You can't run 3:00/mile pace for 25 meters so thats BS

Why? It's slower than 100 / 200 meters pace

dimka11 wrote:

Why? It's slower than 100 / 200 meters pace

You think hes got 22 sec 200m speed?