Warming-up for your race

[saquila]

I use one of the three warm-ups below:

1) No warm-up. I reserve this for long races and or hot/humid days. The initial miles of the race serves as my warm-up.

2) 10′ Easy into 5x (20″ Build to Fast/40″ Easy or walk). Finish with 5′ Easy. The goal is to be done with the warm-up within 15′ of the race start.

3) 10′ Easy into 2-3x (30-60″ Faster than 5K pace/60-90″ Easy or walk). Finish with 5′ Easy. Goal is to be done with the warm-up within 15′ of the race start.

Choosing option one is about self-preservation. Option two is about reminding myself what fast feet feels like and starting to activate my aerobic system. Option three is one used by Kenyan runners and activates aerobic/anaerobic systems for the race ahead.

Our G9 races are a wonderful opportunity to experiment with different warm-ups. Enjoy!

[Jeremy]

On the topic of warm-up, as someone in recovery, I’ve been finding a
5-10 minute bike ride to be really helpful. I got clued in to this
when at physical therapy, where they had me do 5 minutes on the
exercise bike before starting the session.

[KatieEdmonds]

I’m curious where you see the cutoff between short races worthy of a warmup and long races worthy of option 1. I think I can remember when I would have considered 5k long enough not to have a separate warmup! I guess with a 60 mi/wk base, a half marathon could be short enough for a separate warmup. I know I need a warmup for our upcoming 10K, but a 20 minute warmup followed by 6.2 miles will put me around the distance of my longest long run. I might be tempted to cut out the last 5 minutes from option 2.

[saquila]

Jeremy, love that tip. Might be a great protocol for anyone injured.

Katie, good call on cutting your warm up short. Five minutes and a few of whether type strides and you should be good to go.

[Author]

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