{"id":892695,"date":"2026-09-15T08:52:47","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T08:52:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/892695\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T08:52:47","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T08:52:47","slug":"do-your-runs-always-feel-hard-focusing-on-this-simple-metric-makes-running-feel-easier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/892695\/","title":{"rendered":"Do your runs always feel hard? Focusing on this simple metric makes running feel easier"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of my favourite movie quotes from The Emperor\u2019s New Groove is when Emperor Kuzco shrieks, \u2018You threw off my groove!\u2019 at a villager who accidentally bumps into him. Because lately, that\u2019s exactly how I\u2019ve been feeling when I start my easy runs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll head out for my usual jog and it will feel stupidly hard for no reason. My stride is awkward, disjointed and a little stiff \u2013 and I just can\u2019t seem to get going. In short, my groove is thrown off. Way off.<\/p>\n

So, in my attempt to get it back, I\u2019ve tried a few different tactics. And as it happens, focusing on my pace or the time and distance on my watch has proved the exact opposite of helpful in these situations.<\/p>\n

What does help, though, is turning my attention to an entirely different metric \u2013 one that many runners wouldn\u2019t even thinking of pinning to their watch screen. But whenever I focus on it, it consistently helps me to 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 that I focus on when my easy runs feel hard is cadence<\/a>, or the number of steps that you take per minute (spm). But I\u2019m not just keeping an eye on it \u2013 I\u2019m also trying to increase this number.<\/p>\n

Laura Norris<\/a>, an RRCA-certified running 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. \u2018That lower cadence is going to cost more energy, which can make our perceived effort feel higher,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n

You might feel like your stride is a little \u2018off\u2019 \u2013 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 \u2013 not easier \u2013 for them to go slow on their easy days, adds Norris.<\/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 spm, the effort came more naturally.<\/p>\n

Why does cadence matter?<\/p>\n

Norris says that 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, 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, explains Norris, because your neuromuscular system works behind the scenes to shape your gait and running mechanics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2018When you start a run, there\u2019s all this communication that has to go neurally between your brain and muscles to help you warm up,\u2019 she says. \u2018Those things are automatic in the sense that we don\u2019t necessarily have to think hard about them. Essentially, your body is figuring out its most efficient cadence for the intensity that you\u2019re aiming for that day.\u2019<\/p>\n

But sometimes, those neuromuscular firings take more time than we\u2019d like them to. And one thing that can cause delays? Fatigue<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hard training can create a bit of central nervous system fatigue, which can temporarily disrupt communication between your brain and muscles, says Norris. Additionally, running can cause a small amount of muscle damage. \u2018Damaged or tired muscles can also be a bit less efficient in their motor unit firing,\u2019 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 Norris says that if a runner starts out below their usual cadence, intentionally trying to bump up their steps per minute into their optimal range can help.<\/p>\n

So how do you figure out your optimal cadence so that you can pick it up?<\/p>\n

\u2018Cadence is very individual \u2013 there\u2019s no uniform steps per minute that every runner should aim for,\u2019 says Norris. The famous \u2018180 spm\u2019 that we hear about comes from a statistical observation that the late Jack Daniels made by watching elite runners in a 3km race, adds Norris. But just because those runners averaged about 180 spm during a hard, fast effort, it doesn\u2019t mean that it\u2019s the cadence that we should all try to achieve.<\/p>\n

\u2018Each runner has their most economical gait and that\u2019s what their body can fall into and run with using the least amount of energy,\u2019 explains Norris. And because so many factors influence cadence, like your height, pace, level of fatigue and the terrain that you\u2019re running on, it\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<\/a>. \u2018If you look at your runs at different intensities, you\u2019ll begin to see patterns over time,\u2019 says Norris. For example, you might check the average cadence of your easy runs and see that it usually lands somewhere between 170 and 175. During your faster workouts, you might see that your average trends a bit higher, maybe between 175 and 180. \u2018Most runners will find that they usually fall within a 5 to 10 spm variation, depending on how fast they\u2019re going and how fatigued they are,\u2019 says Norris.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s important to determine your ranges from your watch data retrospectively \u2013 not in the middle of a run. \u2018If you try to hit a certain cadence during your run to then use as a reference point going forwards, that will make your data a lot less accurate,\u2019 explains Norris.<\/p>\n

What can help you to find your rhythm faster? <\/p>\n

One practice that can help you to settle into your most efficient cadence more quickly when you start a run is simple: warming up. Try plyometric drills<\/a> that mimic a similar motion pattern to running, as they help to facilitate the same neuromuscular connections.<\/p>\n

\u2018Pogo hops, bounding, A-skips and B-skips help to prime the muscle fibres for how we want them to move,\u2019 explains Norris. \u2018They wake up the neuromuscular system, which can help you to settle into your stride more quickly.\u2019<\/p>\n

Your warm-up routine doesn\u2019t need to be long, though. Choose three plyometrics exercises and do two sets of eight reps of each \u2013 that\u2019s all you need to help facilitate that important mind-to-muscle communication.<\/p>\n

Another fun option to try? Jumping rope<\/a>. \u2018Some research suggests that just five minutes of jumping rope as a running warm-up can improve performance,\u2019 says Norris. \u2018Part of the reason why is because it can help you to settle into your most economical gait.\u2019<\/p>\n

Jumping rope has worked especially well for me. I\u2019m likely to cut out traditional drills and stretches, but I\u2019ve found a little pre-run 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 to settle into my ideal cadence and my easy running groove.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of my favourite movie quotes from The Emperor\u2019s New Groove is when Emperor Kuzco shrieks, \u2018You threw…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":892696,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[64,63,538,297640,137,149141],"class_list":["post-892695","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\/892695","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=892695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/892696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=892695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=892695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=892695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}