Using Strides to Train for the Triathlon Run

"Again as a tri-athlete, you have to make what you do count. So for running, you should have at least one day a week where you emphasize some technique work where you run through some forms, and after those forms, what you can do are some strides. A lot of tri-athletes think, 'I race 5K or 10K or half marathons' so they do all their goal pace work at that pace and slower. And really you should do some work much faster than you race for the neuromuscular benefit, for the efficiency benefit, for the benefits to your form, all those things, to activate fast twitch muscles fibers. So one thing we can do are strides, and I use strides, I start out at the beginning of the year with just a set of three by one hundreds. And a stride is a brisk 100 meter run. It can be done on a track, it can be done on a road, it can be on a trail. And it's done real brisk, as fast as you can go while maintaining form. So you want to think about the elbows being close in, the knees coming up, the heels kicking up and smooth, fast, efficient running. As soon as your form starts to break down you want to slow down. Start out with three by one hundred, each one just a little bit faster with full recovery in between. You can walk back or you can jog back really slowly. Progress over the course of the year to where, on your bigger weeks you do six by one hundred strides. Strides can also be used after a warm up and a form set as then a final, get your heart rate up effort, before a local running event, a 5K or a 10K fun run, or before a big session of intervals or something on the track."