What does help, though, is turning my attention to an entirely different metric\u2014one that I suspect many runners don\u2019t even keep pinned to their watch screen. But whenever I focus on it, it consistently helps me find my groove again: I settle in, find the rhythm of my stride, and the run begins to feel easier.<\/p>\n
What to Focus on to Make Runs Feel Easier<\/p>\n
The metric I focus on when my easy runs feel hard is cadence<\/a>, or the number of steps you take per minute (spm). But I\u2019m not just keeping an eye on it; I\u2019m trying to increase this number.<\/p>\n Laura Norris<\/a>, an RRCA-certified run coach, exercise scientist, and cohost of the Tread Lightly<\/a> podcast, explains that when you drop below your usual cadence, running can feel harder because you\u2019re not moving with efficiency. \u201cThat lower cadence is going to cost more energy, which can make our perceived effort feel higher,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n You might feel like your stride is a little \u201coff,\u201d like you just can\u2019t quite settle into your usual rhythm. It\u2019s also why you might hear some runners say, counterintuitively, that it actually feels harder<\/a>\u2014not easier\u2014for them to go slow on their easy days, Norris adds.<\/p>\n That described exactly what I\u2019d been experiencing recently in the early miles of my runs. I\u2019d look at my watch within the first 15 minutes of my jog and see my cadence hovering somewhere in the 160s. But once I focused on hitting at least 170 steps per minute, the effort came more naturally.<\/p>\n Why Does Cadence Matter?<\/p>\n Norris says many runners lower their cadence on easy runs in an effort to slow their pace and avoid going too fast<\/a>. And while our cadence at slower speeds will typically be lower than our cadence at faster paces<\/a>, each runner still has a fairly narrow range that\u2019s most efficient for them. Dropping below it can make an easy run suddenly feel like a slog.<\/p>\n Your ideal cadence isn\u2019t entirely within your control, Norris explains, because your neuromuscular system works behind the scenes to shape your gait<\/a> and running mechanics<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you start a run, there\u2019s all this communication that has to go neurally between your brain and muscles to help you warm up<\/a>. Those things are automatic in the sense that we don’t necessarily have to think hard about them,\u201d Norris says. \u201cEssentially, your body is figuring out its most efficient cadence for the intensity you\u2019re aiming for that day.\u201d But sometimes, those neuromuscular firings take more time than we\u2019d like them to.<\/p>\n One thing that can cause delays? Fatigue.<\/p>\n Hard training can create a bit of central nervous system fatigue<\/a>, which can temporarily disrupt communication between your brain and muscles, Norris says. Additionally, running can cause a small amount of muscle damage. \u201cDamaged or tired muscles can also be a bit less efficient in their motor unit firing,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n But as you warm up and get blood flowing to those working muscles, those units begin to fire a little more smoothly and you\u2019ll start to feel better. So if a runner starts out below their usual cadence, intentionally trying to bump up their steps per minute into their optimal range can help, Norris says.<\/p>\n So how do you figure out your optimal cadence so you can pick it up?<\/p>\n \u201cCadence is very individual\u2014there\u2019s no uniform steps per minute that every runner should aim for,\u201d Norris says. The famous \u201c180 spm\u201d that we hear about comes from a statistical observation that the late Jack Daniels made by watching elite runners in a 3K race, Norris says. But just because those runners averaged about 180 spm during a hard, fast effort doesn\u2019t mean that\u2019s the cadence we should all try to achieve.<\/p>\n \u201cEach runner has their most economical gait<\/a>, and that\u2019s what their body can fall into and run with using the least amount of energy,\u201d Norris explains. And because so many factors influence cadence\u2014your height, pace, level of fatigue, and the terrain you\u2019re running on\u2014it\u2019s not helpful to compare your cadence to your running buddy\u2019s, she says.<\/p>\n To find your most efficient cadence, start by reviewing the data collected by your running watch. \u201cIf you look at your runs at different intensities, you\u2019ll begin to see patterns over time,\u201d Norris says. For example, you might check the average cadence of your easy runs<\/a> and see that it usually lands somewhere between 170 and 175. During your faster workouts<\/a>, you might see that your average trends a bit higher, maybe between 175 and 180. \u201cMost runners will find they usually fall within a 5 to 10 spm variation, depending on how fast they\u2019re going and how fatigued they are,\u201d Norris says.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s important to determine your ranges from your watch data<\/a> retrospectively\u2014not in the middle of a run. \u201cIf you try to hit a certain cadence during your run to then use as a reference point going forward, that will make your data a lot less accurate,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n What Can Help You Find Your Rhythm Faster? <\/p>\n One practice that can help you settle into your most efficient cadence more quickly when you start a run is simply warming up. Try plyometric<\/a> drills that mimic a similar motion pattern to running, as they help facilitate the same neuromuscular connections.<\/p>\n \u201cPogo hops, bounding, A-skips, and B-skips help prime the muscle fibers for how we want them to move. They wake up the neuromuscular system, which can help you settle into your stride more quickly,\u201d explains Norris.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t need a long warmup routine though. Choose three plyometric exercises<\/a> and do two sets of eight reps of each\u2014that\u2019s all you need to help facilitate that important mind-to-muscle communication.<\/p>\n TRY THIS PLYO WARMUP<\/a><\/p>\n Another fun option to try? Jumping or skipping rope. \u201cSome research suggests that just five minutes of jumping rope<\/a> as a running warmup can improve performance,\u201d Norris says. \u201cPart of the reason why is because it can help you settle into your most economical gait.\u201d<\/p>\n Jumping rope has worked especially well for me. I\u2019m likely to cut out traditional drills<\/a> and stretches<\/a>, but I\u2019ve found a little prerun jump rope too fun to pass up. (Plus, it\u2019s led me down the fascinating rabbit hole of competitive Double Dutch on YouTube.)<\/p>\n Two or three minutes before I head out has already made a noticeable difference: I\u2019ve got a bit more pep in my step that helps me settle into my ideal cadence and my easy running groove.<\/p>\n Morgan is a gear editor who has been with Runner\u2019s World since 2017. She started as an intern ghostwriting The Warmup, a bygone version of the daily RW newsletter. Now, she tests and reviews anything you might find on runners\u2019 feet-from crew socks and compression boots to carbon-plated super shoes.<\/p>\n A lifelong runner and shoe geek, Morgan has been chasing the perfect pair of kicks since she joined her grade school cross-country team. Since then, she ran as a Division I walk-on for the cross-country and track & field teams at the University of Delaware, where she studied English and Biology. She has one full marathon under her belt, and has raced more halfs and 5Ks than she can count.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of my favorite movie quotes from The Emperor\u2019s New Groove is when Emperor Kuzco shrieks, \u201cYou threw…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":887115,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[64,63,538,297640,137,149141],"class_list":["post-887114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fitness","tag-fitr","tag-health","tag-loveservice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=887114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887114\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/887115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=887114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=887114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=887114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Headshot](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789058782_956_90bd1b5c-5e78-4865-bf3d-54f9898d17f1_1734435800.jpg\" "\\"Headshot")
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