My natural stride length is long. I tend to lift my feet high and make big steps. Maybe because I always thought those who ran that way looked cool, or maybe I was just too afraid of tripping on a rock.
Recently I have run with a running group at work a few times, and many people in that group are hardcore runners. I noticed that some of them use noticeably shorter but faster strides even though they are at my height or taller. So today, I did an experiment -- I tried to keep my feet closer to the ground. I think the end result is my average speed on the 5 mile run is a little lower than usual. But I was glad to find that I didn't get the pain in my hip joint that I always get. Hmmm... maybe it is a better way to do it. Next time, I'll see if I can increase my cadence to bring my average speed up.
