Serious questions about strides.

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Gibraltar

Strides:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euN56EFx1XM

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I think many people do strides differently.

For me, they definitely are not sprints.

My "strides" are pretty close to what Daniels suggests in the Running Formula book. For 5k runners and up, strides are somewhere between 1-mile and 800m race pace. I think Daniels suggests about 150m, but I do them anywhere from about 75m-150m, depending how I feel.

I do an easy buildup and then just maintain pace the last half or so of the distance. The key is to try to feel relaxed while moving quickly. Think "quick", not "hard".

Also, understand that the purpose of these is mostly neuromuscular and to improve your economy... not conditioning like a typical workout - so don't try to cut down the recovery to get more benefits like you might in an interval workout.

I take enough time to fully recover between each one. Walk for a while, and then jog some.

The first sets of the year, I'll usually only do 3-4. In later weeks I might do 5-8 at one time.

In the base phase, when much of the running is easy, Daniels might have you do them 4x per week. Then, as you add other quality workouts, he cuts the strides back a bit to maybe 1-2 times per week.

Another idea I've seen people do is to incorporate the strides into an easy run or recovery run.

RE: hill sprints - these are different for me than strides. I occasionally do these, a la Brad Hudson (who might have gotten them from Canova or somebody else). These are actual all-out sprints, up a steep hill. It is important to keep them under 10 seconds or so. And full recovery is also supposed to be very important... giving your creatine-phosphate system time to recover. It is hard for me to take the full suggested 2-4 minutes recovery... though I imagine he says this long for a reason. These are more taxing in my opinion than strides, and I have strained a muscle doing them, so I tend to be really conservative by only going 85% or so when I haven't done them in a while.

I think Hudson has you start with 2 or so, do them twice a week, and add 1-2 each time. Once you are up to 10, he says you can cut them back to 1 set of around 10 per week.

I believe Pete Magill incorporates hill sprints into his 5k training program, alternating them with drills so each is done every other week. He prefers drills, but says hill sprints definitely have benefits.

It seems you don't need a lot of the hill sprints to get some benefit from them.

Hopefully that helps some.

I experimented with this a lot, and have asked a lot of elite level athletes and coaches (one being an anonymous NCAA 1500m champ, another being Joe Vigil) and countless other coaches of all levels and abilities.

a few observations i've had over the years:

-it seems to me that strides have become a showcasing of finishing kick abilities at many track/ xc meets. most inexperienced (and sometimes good) runners sprint really hard for 60-100m and do this several times before the race, in both directions, not really knowing what they're doing. it's been clear that in most cases, the coach said, "do strides as part of your warm-up."

-some strides are as long as 150m and as short as 50m, and are at varying intensities. If one does not know the why/ how in doing them, the application is a waste.

-strides post run are different than pre-race or workout warm-up situations.

my applications:

1. strides after an easy run are a great idea, as they activate fast-twitch muscle fibers. preferably done flat, barefoot on grass, and possibly including a push-up/ sit-up routine can be an enjoyable way to finish the run.

the more mature I got in my racing career, and something that I had my athletes do once per week, was to do the strides in the middle of an easy run. So if they did an out and back 60 minute run, at 30ish minutes at a park, they'd do the strides there. usually barefoot on flat grass at goal 800m pace--quick, but not all out. this would be 8-12x 80-100m, and recovery would be standing, until the athlete isn't breathing heavy. if done on a football field, recovery would be a jog across the end zone; we called these boxes, and would complete 1 set of 5.

2. uphill strides are excellent at building hip strength and mobility. as long as they are not done at a high intensity level, and the hill is gradual, they can be beneficial. depending on the intensity/ hill/ surface (grass, asphalt, dirt), you may want to adjust the recovery. downhill strides can be effective, so long as you're not crashing hard on your way down.

3. warm-up and pre-race strides should always be done the same way. the race and workout warm-up routines should be the exact same every time (now, a 1500m warm-up may differ from that of 10k XC, so keep that in mind. one race is 4 minutes long, the other is 30 minutes). nevertheless, i believe that the warm-up should mostly be active, and in between the low intensity jogging and high intensity strides, a transitional intensity activity such as drills should be done. this is especially important for both the heart, and the muscle fibers, as the transition will go from zero intensity (resting on the bus ride to the race) to high intensity a minute into the race.

4. Strides should be like a story: beginning, middle and end. The beginning, you go from a stationary/ low movement phase, and progress into a higher faster running during the 2nd phase, and finally, come in for your landing, as you coast towards the end. If one is doing 100m strides, break it up by 30m build-up (the first 5-10m may even be more like a bound, as your starting from a standing position), and hit your top speed (which in most cases is not very fast (800/1500m races are different) and hold it for 40m, and coast back down the final 30m. this same concept can be applied to shorter or longer strides, and the intensities can be adjusted as well.

a few final closing thoughts:

I once watched Chris Lukezic do 4 strides after an easy run the day before an important 1500m race. This was when he was competing for Reebok in 2007. He ran 4x150 with full recovery, running each 50m faster than the previous. I was told once by one of his competitors (I'd like to keep him anonymous since he's not here to say it), "I'm only afraid of Lukezic's kick. He can launch into it within about 2-3 steps from 200m out. Webb takes 5-6 steps and lacks the explosiveness needed to get into his kick. As long as i'm a few steps ahead of Lukezic with 200m to go, i'll beat him every time." So Lukezic's 4x150m strides were definitely playing to his strengths.

I hope this helps answer your question. for future research, try Jay Johnson's videos, they are excellent. Especially his aerobic work warm-up.

http://vimeo.com/coachjayjohnson/videos/page:5/sort:date

Great post. thank you. any comments on strides for marathoners?

To "fasten your seatbelts" and "outlaw". Thank you so much for your replies. I really appreciate the help. I have been doing my strides as an all out sprint and without much rest. They are extremely sloppy and violent. I will take your help and improve upon my training. Thanks again.

renewed marathoner wrote:

Great post. thank you. any comments on strides for marathoners?

i've never run, nor have I coached a marathoner, so in regards to marathon specific strides, i'm afraid i'm not a qualified expert. Given that, if you were a former athlete of mine who came to me with that question, I would say to use strides a few times a week to improve and/ or maintain running economy. Perhaps you could alternate days your easy days with shorter/ faster strides (focus on fast twitch development), and then the next easy day could be longer/ controlled strides (focus on running economy).

I want to revisit my first point I made in my previous post about strides being done barefoot in the grass: I am a firm believer in barefoot running and have been for quite a while. There is a great chapter on the subject in Dr. Michael Yessis' book, Explosive Running (I think it's chapter 18). Ultimately, my rationale for doing it barefoot on flat grass is for running economy, achilles/ soleus strengthening and improved knee drive (less weight on the foot to pick up the leg).

One last note in regards to strides, because this topic has been on my mind the past few days. I don't know how you guys train in the snow--I've lived in California my whole life, and only know excellent training weather year-round. Finding places to run barefoot in the winter time is easy. I'd like to hear from some of you, who enjoy barefoot running and how you accomplish it in the harsh winter areas like Minnesota or urban areas like NYC.