Told cadence is to high to be efficient. 190-200 during tempo runs

After reviewing my data from the last 2 indoor 3Ks and 1500m my cadence was not any different at race pace.

In the two 3Ks I averaged 190 cadence and the 1500m wasn’t much different. This is exactly the cadence of my Tempo run. So it tells me that I run different speeds with the same cadence which means my stride length has to be significantly different at different paces with the same cadence

That modification I was told to do Friday really “F”ed my left calf up where the two part of calf muscle connect and above. I have had literally no issues with this leg since I started running. Two miles in and I had to stop the muscle seized up and tightened up so badly. I started walking home. Then decide red to modify my running and got thru 15K. Now it’s so tight even touching it hurts. I need some dry needling to release it.

This is how I feel now. There really is no use changing something that works. I’ll look at changing it after I max out my potential which I doubt I’m anywhere close to. I feel like I can be a pretty decent Masters runner with my cadence.

Ah, I think I understand. Both you and your coach are right, but your coach is coming to the wrong conclusion.

You want to be most efficient at your goal race pace. For you, that's a cadence of ~190 steps per minute.

Your coach wants you to have a slower cadence at a slower pace so you'll be more efficient at those slower paces, but here is what he is missing. You don't need to be efficient at slower paces! You want to be efficient at race pace. At slower paces, you are primarily building endurance and training your cardiovascular system. There is no need to work on getting efficient at running slow.

About 15 years ago, I realized that for those of us focusing on the 1500 and shorter, slower runs should be treated more like drills to train specific body systems rather than attempting to run slow as efficiently as possible.

Like you, I am inefficient at slower paces, but so what? I'm world ranked in the 400/800.

About 15 years ago, I did a workout with Jim Spivey, 3-time Olympian. We all wanted to show off, so we went out fast. I dropped in behind Jim to watch his form and I was surprised to see that he was bouncing. Later, I realized that our 400 interval pace was so slow it was just a jog for him!

I've learned through myself and others that it's a very individual thing.

I've run just over 63 minutes in the half and also ran under the OTQ marathon standard. My numbers are usually :

Easy Runs: 170

Marathon Pace: 180-185

Half-Marathon Pace: 185-190

5k Pace: 195ish

you are likely running on your toes with little to no push-off effort, just turnover

your stride length is extra short at that cadence, so yes, a little wasted effort

but if you can maintain that cadence without exhaustion, seems okay

might want to experiment with a longer leg release delay, imagine striking down your legs harder and higher knee lift in response from that strike/bounce

shift a tiny bit back from your toes to midfoot

never hurts to tinker, just do not do massive form changes, just experiment with little tweaks

also try rotating your shoe brand/model a bit more, different amounts of drop, will cause you to maybe experience different leg strike and find more efficient form