Cadence

Just out of curiosity, has anyone found a good way to count strides? I lose track somewhere around 75, or sooner if I'm not running on a perfectly flat surface by myself. And, that's progress... I never got past 5 when I triple jumped. I don't know what it is, but I cannot count footsteps and not run into things. And, of the two, I'd rather not run into things.

Anyhoo, I know 180 is the ideal number, and I know that I don't get close to that for any significant amount of time. When I do though, I feel better for the minute or so that I approach what I imagine is 180. However, maintaining that rate is hard, and I usually get distracted by something else (like not falling), and I revert back to my slower cadence. I'm guessing I'm not the only one with this problem (the increased cadence I mean, not having to concentrate on not falling or running into things). Anyways, here are some things you can try:

• Downhill accelerations (150-200m) down a gentle grade hill
• Take as many steps as you can in 10m while minimizing ground contact 
• Fartlek 0.5-1-2-1 (2 sets with counting strides on second rep)