Running at its most rudimentary level is pretty simple; put one foot in front of the other, repeat. You don’t need a lot of extra equipment like you do on the bike and you don’t have to wait to breathe like you do in the water.

Painting at its most rudimentary level is pretty simple. You get a brush and some paint; Dip, apply, repeat. Ah, but there’s a difference between throwing a gallon of Benjamin-Moore on the garage walls and creating art.

The same goes for running. The purpose of this article is to look beyond the simple footsteps that go into running and look at running more efficiently, preventing injury and extending your running career.

The run portion of triathlon is at least five kilometers, up to marathon distance, so we are talking about a substantial number of footsteps. It is generally considered favorable to have 180 foot strikes per minute while running longer distances (90 per foot). This will vary from person to person and often requires a conscious change in stride length, but that’s another subject. Assuming 180 foot strikes per minute, a person running five kilometers in 30 minutes will take 5400 steps. A person running a 4 ½ half hour marathon would take 48600 steps. Consider the force of the weight of our body and our momentum and it’s not a wonder that running takes its toll on our bodies.

A great place to start is by running with a “quiet” body. A nice smooth, even stride gets the job done more efficiently than a bouncing or overly long stride. A good time to work on this is during a track workout. The terrain is flat and predictable. Here you can also work on keeping your posture upright with a slight forward tilt. Several other parts of your running form can be honed while enjoying the benefits of a good interval session.

Now that we’re all running efficiently, the next step is to add a longer run to the mix, especially if you are planning on racing Olympic distance and longer. These long runs will amount to between 10000 and 40000 steps depending how far you go. It pays to be aware of where you take those steps. The softer the landing, the better. This can often be difficult while running in the city, but I know several seasoned runners who will choose the grass beside a sidewalk (when it’s flat), even if it’s only for a few steps, to lessen the cumulative impact. Trail running is also popular for similar reasons. Shoes should also be replaced regularly, so that you’re getting the cushioning you need. The lifespan of your running shoe will vary depending upon your running style and the particular shoe, but 600 kilometers is a ballpark figure.

So before the next time you put one foot in front of the other, replace those worn out shoes, plan to come out to track, a pace run, a trail run or a long run and think about running well for years to come. Oh, and try not to run into anything while you’re counting foot strikes.

There are three factors I like to consider when climbing: Position, gearing and pacing. There are other factors to consider, but for the sake of simplicity, these three are a good place to start.

Position

Start with good bike fit. Is the saddle at the correct height, such that your hips don’t rock? A ballpark check is while holding yourself against a wall while on your bike, put your heels on the pedals and pedal backward. You want to just lose contact at the bottom of the pedal stroke without dropping your hips. Is the saddle setback correct? With crankarms at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock, a plumb line from the front of your front knee should intersect your pedal spindle. These are ballparks for a road position. Each individual may vary and there are other disciplines such as time trial and triathlon that would have a different position. A professional bike fit is really the best place to start.

Gearing

It is considered optimum to have a cadence of 90-95rpm over the course of a ride. For hills, this will drop, but it is important to limit the amount with correct gearing. Most bikes come with a 39-tooth as the smallest ring up front and a 23-tooth as the biggest on the back. This may be suitable for you, but if you try these gears on your chosen hill and your cadence is below 50, it’s time to consider alternatives. For some, changing to a cassette with a 25 or 27 will do the trick. You could also opt for a compact crankset, which will have a 34 as the smallest ring. You may even do both. There are also road triple cranksets available to give even easier gears. It’s best to try training on hills first since there is some expense to making these changes.

Pacing

This is the part that most people get wrong. It seems in our nature to want to conquer hills as aggressively as possible. The quickest way up over the long haul is to go slow and steady. For hill repeats, I’d suggest going very slowly for the first repeat. Feel as if you could carry on a conversation. Let subsequent repeats feel only slightly harder each time. Learning to climb easily will make hills not seem so bad. As you get stronger, you can add harder repeats to the mix. I like climbing alone. Having others with me can make pacing difficult since there is a tendency to try to keep up with that person in front. Ride at YOUR pace. For longer climbs, the pace should also start out easy. Let it feel almost too easy. Then it’s all about rhythm. If you climb at the correct pace, your breathing and pedal strokes will become rhythmic and the long hill won’t feel so insurmountable.