Shhh...I have a Running Secret...

I've tapped into a lil' gem that has greatly improved my running. No, it's not this lil' one above (although she's a great motivator too). This secret technique has been my sole focus for the past 2 months (thanks to my trainer Luc!), and I can tell you it's working.  You want to know what it is? Ready...

Cadence. 
That's it. Most runners have a stride rate of ~85 strides a minute, and that will do you well. But the big marathon winners have a rate of 110 rpm, which is quick! So make a goal to have your strides hit somewhere between 90-95 rpm.
Here's how you do it:
On your next run focus only on your cadence.  Don't worry about intervals, speed, heart rate, power, whatever. Also, don't wear your music because it'll distract you from your strides. 
Just do the following:
Time yourself for 30 seconds by counting your left (or right) foot as it hits the ground as 0, then your next left footstep as 1, and so on. Multiply the final number (how many times 1 foot hits the ground in 30 sec) by 2 for your current stride rate. Then consciously think about having quicker, smaller, steps to get it up to 90. Time yourself every few minutes to see if your increasing the rate.  
I have to tell you, it feels pretty funny at first. You'll feel like your'e doing something wrong, but you're not. It also takes time. It took me a good two months of focusing purely on cadence to feel more natural now at ~92-95 rpm. 
But I'm seeing results. I had a PR 10k this past weekend and it's my 'off' season. So, I'm looking forward to adding intervals and speed work in 2010 and seeing what happens.  
Now go on out and start counting! And I'd love to hear how it goes but Shhhh!....mums the word to the rest of the world okay?;)