Love the run in 2025
Numerous athletes I coach are doing 5Ks up to marathons this off season to improve their run fitness before triathlons start up in March. As they set new PR’s and improve their run fitness and efficiency, my athletes and I have learned a few things about some practices you can incorporate into your training to help you love the run even more in 2025. Here are the things we have learned.
Increase your cadence. As your ground contact time increases, your injury rate increases. The gold standard for cadence is 180+ steps per minute, but even a 5% increase in your cadence will help decrease your chance of injury and help you run faster. To increase your cadence, figure out your current cadence by looking at your run data on your Garmin. Then on your easy runs, use a metronome or music set two beats faster than your current cadence. When you are comfortable at that new cadence, you can increase your cadence again by two beats. Gradual increases in cadence help you to rewire neural pathways and avoid injury so that your new cadence is sustainable.
Run more. By running more, you will increase your fitness and you will become a more efficient runner. But increase your mileage gradually. Running is a high impact sport so any increase in mileage also increases your chance of injury. Be careful and overly cautious with this.
Include weekly brick runs. My athletes regularly run off the bike each week. Most of their brick runs are 15 minutes this time of year, but this serves two purposes: 1) they improve their cardiovascular and run fitness with less impact on their joints; and 2) it prepares them for the triathlon season.
Strengthen your core. Core strength has a direct impact on all three triathlon disciplines, because your core is the source for all your strength and power in athletic endeavors. If your core is not strong enough, you cannot maintain proper form, pace, or power for long. Improving your core strength means strong and resilient hips, glutes, and deep core muscles (like obliques) that will help you in all three disciplines.
Include low level Plyometrics. Numerous studies show that plyometrics have a huge impact on run efficiency by strengthening lower leg muscles. In addition, as we age we are more susceptible to lower leg injuries. Even something as simple as hopping in place or jumping rope can have a drastic impact on your run performance and strengthening your lower leg muscles.
If you have any questions about anything in this article, one-on-one coaching sessions, or coaching, please contact me at jim.rowe@playtri.com. Happy training and racing this year!
Jim Rowe is a Playtri Level 4 Coach and Coach Education Lead, a USAT LI Certified Coach, an NASM Certified Personal Trainer, and an Ironman and 70.3 World Championship Qualifier who works with adult athletes from beginners to IRONMAN World Championship qualifiers. Learn more about Jim at www.playtri.com/jim-rowe