What is a cadence drill?

Hello, well, I said my training would be quite technical to get started, but also promised to tell you what the technical aspects were, so that you weren't left in the dark.  This morning was a 30 minute run with a Cadence Drill; a workout taken from Jeff Galloway's book, Boston Marathon: How to Qualify

These steps are copied verbatim from the book:
1. Warm up by walking 5 minutes and running and walking very gently for 10 minutes.
2. Start jogging slowly for 1-2 minutes, and then time yourself for 30 seconds.  During this 30 seconds count the number of times your left foot touches
3. Walk around for a minute or so
4. On the 2nd 30 second drill, increase the count by 1 or 2
5. Repeat this 3-7 more times, each time trying to increase by 1-2 additional counts.

Galloway then goes on to explain how this drill will cause numerous adaptations that make you a more efficient runner, which is perfect for me!  I've built up my speed, as demonstrated in my shorter races, now I need my endurance to get my desired marathon time.  Part of this is increasing fitness, which is a given with any training program followed correctly, but the other, is running more efficiently.  Not wasting energy.

If you are a running book fiend like me, the popular 'Born to Run, by Chris McDougall' wont have escaped your notice.  Whilst it is known for promoting the barefoot running movement, something I was sucked into quickly upon reading, tried it, got injured, and stuck to what I know, which is cushioning!  The other important factor he talks about is running form.  Many studies show that the running cadence of elite athletes is typically around 180bpm.  So if they followed the above drill, they ought to get a count of 45.  I did the drill 5 times, and got the following counts:

42, 45, 45, 47, 48

What I found when trying to increase my cadence is that my stride shortened, and a lot more of the effort came from the area around my pelvis: strong hip flexors.  If we are trying to increase efficiency, surely this makes sense.  It will take a while for me to explain this succinctly, but if we think of levers for a moment, in using my glutes and hip flexors to provide more energy to move my legs, I am applying a force very close to the pivot (my hip), and thus creating a greater outcome at the other end of the lever.  Essentially, the extra effort in the pelvic region is allowing me to increase the number of steps I take.  If I get used to this, imagine what a difference 12 more steps every half a minute in a marathon can make (the difference between my lowest and highest cadence above multiplied by 2 to take account of the steps of my right leg).

Anyways, enough of my babbling.  Galloway recommends doing this drill at least once a week, although I have it in my schedule twice per week.  Best to do it on an east run day, when you're not going to be bothered about stopping to walk in between the drills.

Why not give it a go?  Tell me how it works out for you...