Unlucky Thirteens

Time: 26:55
Distance: 4.02 miles

The poor weather continued here in Palm Springs as a wind storm sneaked its way into the canyon. Palm branches littered the streets and dust blew everywhere. I wasn't interested in running through the windy conditions so I hit up the development's fitness center. There are three treadmills, a couple of ellipticals and a few other cardio machines.

I was surprised at how good I felt on the 'mill. I was able to look out the window and see patrons at Koffi while seeing a reflection of my form. I tried to keep my arm swing symmetrical and knee lift balanced. Normally a 4 mile jog on a treadmill is absolute misery but I could have easily gone longer.

While on the treadmill I did a little observation of my turnover. As the run progressed, I toggled the speed buttons faster. I started counting my right leg's foot plant for a minute's duration. At roughly 6:45 pace I was taking 81-82 strides, at 6:20 pace it was 82-83 and at 6:00 pace I took 83-84 steps. This tells me that my stride length is getting longer while my turnover stays about the same when the pace picks up. I have done a bit of reading and know that the world's elites take 90+ strides/min and the very best on the track will take closer to 100 strides/min. It would be an interesting coaching method to design workouts based on turnover rather than pace or heart rate.

My morning run of 9.11 combined with this evening's 4.02 got me to unlucky 13.13.