Completed weeks 1-5. My average Cadence is 135-140. Should I be working on improving this now, or should I complete the program first?

[thegreensun]

Google says I should be doing 180

[nowster Graduate]

Welcome! Have a read of the FAQ if you haven't already: healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

As to cadence, I suspect you're trying to take long strides. Maybe this video will help:

youtube.com/watch?v=kQ5wQ5N...(Not working as expected?)

And I very rarely get up to 180 myself. I tend to be around the 170 mark most of the time.

[Cmoi Graduate]

Hi thegreensun , well done on completing weeks 1-5.

As for cadence, I think you're putting too much pressure on yourself. How could Google possibly know anything about the right cadence for you? There is no one-size-fits-all way to run.

Forget the figures, run comfortably and enjoy completing C25K.

[BrokeyNotSoBusted Graduate]

Spent a few weeks looking at this also. Mid-programme my cadence was in the 140s but my stride was shorter than my first weeks. I worked on reducing stride to make sure I wasn't heel striking, feet landing under body and it made it easier to slightly increase cadence.... But honestly it was too much to think about during the programme and made runs less enjoyable.

The 180 figure is the "optimal" target but really everyone is different and I don't think we can all expect that figure to fit us all.

Personally I'd work through the programme, keep at a conversational pace as much as possible and if feeling good towards the end you could shorten your stride and quicken your cadence. The video nowster has shared is very useful for showing technique however I just didn't find it comfortable to sustain it for the runs.

There is a C25K+ stepping stone podcast for after you graduate which gets you to run at a cadence of 150, increasing to 155 then to 160 during the run. I've done two runs with it and found them tough, especially last 5 mins at 160. I'd suggest trying to enjoy your runs, slow and conversational, and go with what is most comfortable to get through the programme. During or after consolidation try to change one run to this podcast or some alternative to play about with cadence but keep other runs just to build your stamina and strengthen your body but more importantly just to enjoy without overthinking.

[SueAppleRun Graduate]

Have you see. google out running? it’s your run you run at a comfortable pace, google is a bit rubbish at times

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

My advice... just run. No stress, no overthinking.Run at your comfortable pace. and enjoy every step.

You are just setting out, the running legs are only just beginning to find their happy pace. Time enough to start thinking about cadence, speed or distance.

Just run and know that as you move on things will evolve, and years on, we are still learning, still trying new techniques, and new ideas, but, we hope, still enjoying our runs!

[DylanTheRabbit Graduate]

I came across this advice in a couple of books on running, including Prof Tanaka's book on slow jogging. I see no harm in trying to develop good habits, but you have plenty of time. As others have said it's a case of taking smaller strides. I wouldn't overthink it or force it, but if you keep it in mind your cadence will get higher.

Doing a little running on the spot to a metronome (on your phone) will give you an idea of what it feels like. I've tried this at home, doing it out on a run would kill the joy for me.

Something to bear in mind is that if you run TO the beat of music, that will change your cadence and 180bpm is super fast (90bpm is pretty laid back).