Race warm-ups

Christos Dimitrakakis said:

One should probably warm up before the race, but the question is
1) For how long
2) At what intensity
3) How much time before the race

I guess the answer depends on:

a) Race duration
b) Level of preparation
c) Intended effort level at the race

For my first race I did a bit of walking plus a 1-2 min run at the top
speed I expected to do at the race. Then I started the race slowly
(it was a projected 90-115 min race, at moderate effort). I guess
that 5 minutes of jogging wouldn't have hurt either. But if I wanted
to race faster, I guess that warming up during the initial race stages
is not an option... Does there exist an authoritative breakdown of
warmup tactics depending on those 3 variables?

Cheers,
Christos

Best race I ever ran (Boston of course) I arrived late, and just had
time to get out of my limo, and rush for the starting line just as the
gun went off. No warmup at all. I of course, set a new record.

Christos said:

One should probably warm up before the race, but the question is
1) For how long
2) At what intensity
3) How much time before the race

I guess the answer depends on:

a) Race duration
b) Level of preparation
c) Intended effort level at the race
[...]
Does there exist an authoritative breakdown of
warmup tactics depending on those 3 variables?

No, not a one-size-fits-all prescription anyway - it's another case of
too many variables for one simple formula to be optimal for all.

_Daniels' Running Formula_ has the best section on this of any books
I've seen - he recognizes that as individuals we'll have different
optimal practices, and suggests a number of variations from steady
jogging to folding in some strides or bursts of tempo or race pace,
along with suggested timing relative to the race start.

A few principles I like (but don't always follow, especially since I
tend to be running late for relatively low-priority early morning
races):

- For a marathon (or presumably longer) warmup would be really minimal
since you don't want to waste glycogen and will be running slower
anyhow.

- The shorter and faster you'll be running, the more important the
warmup.

- Bare minimum of 15-20 minutes jogging to get the legs and metabolism
going. Time permitting, I like 40 minutes. Dan likes to say that it
takes about 40 minutes for the fat burning part of your energy system
to come fully online, or something like that; I don't know much about
the physiology but have indeed found that by around 40 minutes into a
run I often seem notably more warmed up and running faster with less
effort.

Of course your training and the race distance comes into play here.
If you've gotten to the point where you can run 60 minutes at training
pace and not much more, probably best not to warm up 40 minutes for a
race you anticipate taking another 40.

- It's generally preferable to be warming up until as close as
possible to the start.

- I like to throw in about 6 or 8 strides or "accelerations" or
whatever - 20 second bursts of speed. Wait until at least 5-10
minutes into your warmup jog so you're loosened up a little. Then the
first couple strides are notably faster than your jogging, but nowhere
near all out. Gradually increase the speed of each subsequent burst
until they're somewhere near top speed - top speed, that is, that you
can run while remaining very relaxed and natural.

If you're going to do this sort of thing for a race warmup, do it in
training first. In fact I'd highly recommend doing strides like this
in training; maybe a few more, like 8 to 12, on a regular basis
anyway. Even - especially - if you're in a phase of just building
base miles without faster workouts. Just don't lose sight of your
goal: to run fast but always relaxed. If you tense up, you're doing
it wrong and back off and relax.

"Charlie Pendejo" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

I don't know much about
the physiology but have indeed found that by around 40 minutes into a
run I often seem notably more warmed up and running faster with less
effort.

I try to get in easy jogging for 25-30 minutes for up to a 10k. Beyond that
distance, I get worried and cut down the warmup -- 20 min for a 1/2
marathon, 10 minutes for a marathon, 5 for a 50 miler...(one 50 I ran 20
years ago, I ran with the lead pack and we hit 6:02 at mile 1!)

I seem to do well just jogging very slowly. Don't get much benefit from
surges or pickups, although if nervous and a short race I'll do a couple to
blend in with the crowd.

My fast friends the Kenyans (Maiyo and Mbithe) said they warmed up 30
minutes even for marathons.

Quoted message said:

Of course your training and the race distance comes into play here.
If you've gotten to the point where you can run 60 minutes at training
pace and not much more, probably best not to warm up 40 minutes for a
race you anticipate taking another 40.

Maybe we could get pseudo mathematical and just say "for a 10k or less, jog
easy for 40% of your average daily running time"

Quoted message said:

- It's generally preferable to be warming up until as close as
possible to the start.

Agree, but Mark H (who is mysteriously absent these days) has a wacky theory
involving all out 440 repeats an hour before the race, then nothing. And my
former Mass. state champ friend just stretched for 1/2 hour and did 5
minutes of jogging before big races. Interestingly, he said he usually
started feeling good at mile 3 in his longer races -- I volunteered that he
was finally warmed up!

Christos Dimitrakakis said:

One should probably warm up before the race, but the question is

Here's what I do, but that's just me:

Quoted message said:

1) For how long

for a 5K - run the course
for 8K to half-marathon - 2 miles or so
marathon - jog from hotel or car to start

Quoted message said:

2) At what intensity

all at jog-to-easy pace. If I feel like doing strides before a 5K I
will, but most of the time it just makes me nervous.

Quoted message said:

3) How much time before the race

ideally, in just enough time to have 5 or 10 minutes of shoe-changing,
bathroom-visiting, etc before the start of the race. In real life
this rarely happens; small races hardly ever start on time, and big
races make you get into corrals and then stand there for a while and
then finally listen to the national anthem before you actually get to
start running.

Karen

live! vicariously!