warming up

[ultraslacker]

how many questions can I come up with in the speed zone this month? :)

So, I have this 10k race on Sunday.

The last time I did a 10k race was in 2006. Since my races are all long-distance and I'm slow, I don't tend to do a warm-up beforehand.

What do most people do for a 10k race warm-up, and also, what do you recommend? (keeping in mind that I'm erring on the side of caution these days, both for the warm-up and the race.)

[Jwolf]

My warmup for a 10K race is usually about 15 minutes of easy running, building the pace toward tempo pace at the end of the 15 minutes (for about 2 minutes, and then plus some 30 sec strides at my intended race pace (with full recovery between). I try to do finish this within a half-hour of the race start. If my mileage is low and 10K is a longer run for me, I'll just start the race easier and not do a warmup (like I should have on Saturday!!).

[ian]

For 10K and under, I like to get a good warmup so that when the race starts, I can get to the redline right away. This kind of warmup typically involves about 10-15 minutes of easy jogging with a few strides or drills & will often have me sweating lightly. This takes place about 15-30 minutes before the race.

Beyond 10K, I'm more interested in being a bit loose but I don't want to use up much energy getting there, so a few minutes of light jogging and a couple of well-placed stretches are usually enough.

Stretching and warming up are personal tastes, but given your hip issues and lack of recent experience with shorter races, I'd probably suggest that you do something similar to my second paragraph and then start the race somewhat conservatively until you can get a read on what kind of effort your body will be willing to give you on this particular day.

[MichaelMc]

For 10K and under, I like to get a good warmup so that when the race starts, I can get to the redline right away. This kind of warmup typically involves about 10-15 minutes of easy jogging with a few strides or drills & will often have me sweating lightly. This takes place about 15-30 minutes before the race.

Beyond 10K, I'm more interested in being a bit loose but I don't want to use up much energy getting there, so a few minutes of light jogging and a couple of well-placed stretches are usually enough.

Stretching and warming up are personal tastes, but given your hip issues and lack of recent experience with shorter races, I'd probably suggest that you do something similar to my second paragraph and then start the race somewhat conservatively until you can get a read on what kind of effort your body will be willing to give you on this particular day.

+1

For many people a 10k is still not a "sprint type" effort, so some on-course warmup is possible, but you should be warm enough to run on pace smoothly and easily. I'd start early enough to get in 5-10 minutes of easy jogging with maybe the last minute close to race-pace. Leave yourself enough time to stretch out a little (just so you're not tight) and fully recover, but not get cold again.

[ultraslacker]

awesome, that's kind of what I was thinking.

I definitely notice it on my everyday training runs. This morning, for example. I ran each mile faster than the last, but the fifth felt way easier than the first because I was nicely warmed up (ok and it was a slight downhill). So I definitely see the value, but like ian said I don't want to do too much and be tired/sore.

[Jo-Jo]

For 10K and under, I like to get a good warmup so that when the race starts, I can get to the redline right away. This kind of warmup typically involves about 10-15 minutes of easy jogging with a few strides or drills & will often have me sweating lightly. This takes place about 15-30 minutes before the race.

Beyond 10K, I'm more interested in being a bit loose but I don't want to use up much energy getting there, so a few minutes of light jogging and a couple of well-placed stretches are usually enough.

Stretching and warming up are personal tastes, but given your hip issues and lack of recent experience with shorter races, I'd probably suggest that you do something similar to my second paragraph and then start the race somewhat conservatively until you can get a read on what kind of effort your body will be willing to give you on this particular day.

+1

For many people a 10k is still not a "sprint type" effort, so some on-course warmup is possible, but you should be warm enough to run on pace smoothly and easily. I'd start early enough to get in 5-10 minutes of easy jogging with maybe the last minute close to race-pace. Leave yourself enough time to stretch out a little (just so you're not tight) and fully recover, but not get cold again.

Yep...I agree.

I think one of the reasons I had a pretty decent 5k race (very close to a PB) when I hadn't been training in a very focused way was that I actually took the time to do a proper warmup on what was a very chilly windy day. So when the gun went off...I was "good to go"