Slornow's and Wannabefaster's Summer Mentor Group - CLOSED (Page 82)

Originally posted by wannabefaster Cadence, Tempo, Turnover….. Is faster always better? While running tonight I counted my cadence for the first time in a long time. I was consistently right around 98 strides/minute. Same as it was the last time I counted. That is where I have naturally fallen and no matter what pace I am running, I am very close to that turnover. It is what feels comfortable to me but I suspect that it would be uncomfortably fast for some. At what point is fast turnover too fast? Does this happen in running? I am not sure. It might be that physics prevents you from ever having too high a turnover in running, instead, to go faster the push-off gets stronger, the stride lengthens, and maybe the cadence goes up a little bit. We have talked a lot about tempo in swimming. I have been trying diligently to increase my tempo with some success. But most of us have seen that at too high a tempo, the oxygen demand becomes very high, form breaks down, and we go slower, not faster. The (my) goal in swimming is to be able to increase my tempo with out losing my distance per stroke. In other words, if I can travel 1.25 yards per stroke, a 25 yard length takes 20 strokes (right?) If I take 20 strokes/minute, I only go 25 yards/minute. If I take 100 strokes/minute but maintain my distance per stroke, I go 100 yards/minute. The trick is figuring out what I can maintain for any length of time……. Cadence on the bike…… Here is where I am really interested in the intersection of cadence vs power. To generate more power, you either need to push harder or push faster (or both). Pushing harder wears out the muscles in your legs. Pushing faster really increases the cardiovascular demand. I think I have been guilty of trying to generate power by pedaling faster and faster and failing miserably as my heart rate sky rockets as high as the 180s. I have not had the results that I want in my last two power tests, falling well short of my expectations. Next time around I am going to start at a much lower cadence and see what happens. I had the opportunity to look at a power file from an impressive 10 minute TT and one of the things that was very noticeable was the downshift to a lower cadence for the last 3-4 minutes when things got really tough. Not sure if a great TT really translates to triathlon success but it is interesting for me to think about. I don't know if I really am breaking any new ground with the group but just wanted to randomly mumble about things going through my mind. Any thoughts?

Originally posted by jimmyb



Bib #2356

Athlete dinner done, now sorting through my gear, where did all this stuff come from? I sure have accumulated a lot over the years!

Originally posted by wannabefaster

not sure what happened in the last segment but athlete tracker says over the last 9 miles, Jim passed 125 in his age group, and about 700 people overall.

if this is true, that guy is flying

Originally posted by wannabefaster

On the schedule for this afternoon: an hour run. Also on the schedule: tornado-like conditions/severe weather. Looks like it may be another hour on the treadmill. At least I can watch the Lions, hopefully beating the Steelers.