Can anyone explain the point of doing drills before a tempo run?

I tend to agree. I'll warm up for 20 min and do a few strides and some light drills that might take 2 minutes but that's it. I see all of the pros spending an hour to do every drill stride, etc along with walking around killing time before actually starting their workout. I figure do enough to increase range of motion and dynamically stretch but anything else is just a waste of time.

Of course you'll have some people support all of these drills as something that improves running economy, form, or whatever else but I think they are overrated.

I don't get it either but I've noticed this is pretty common among teams these days.

My tempo runs have always been warm up and go.

Try it a few times and see. What do you have to lose?

You waste the first mile finishing your warm up vs hitting that threshold sooner. And holding it for the entire distance. Accomplishing the true purpose of workout instead of being a mile short.

I also think they are a bit overrated. I keep them to around 5 minutes, and I certainly don't think they need to be done every day as some teams or runners are dogmatic about.

It is one of those things you'll drive yourself crazy as a coach if you are trying to watch and make sure everybody is doing them just right.

I'm an 800/1500 guy, so a little biased. For most stuff that's slower than mile pace, I spend like 2–5 minutes doing a few high knees and a few skips. Sometimes if I'm pressed for time I'll roll straight into it, but that's rare. For a faster session, I'll spend up to 15–20 minutes doing drills and strides.

Some of this is a matter of being efficient with time. if you have all the time in the world, do this stuff for as long as you want. maybe there is something to gain from this and it can't hurt. if you have a very busy life filled with obligations that are more important than running, well, you fit what you can fit into 40-60-90 minutes or whatever you have. The actual running is almost always the priority before the ancillaries.

1ub2run wrote:

You waste the first mile finishing your warm up vs hitting that threshold sooner. And holding it for the entire distance. Accomplishing the true purpose of workout instead of being a mile short.

Can you explain how this is the case? If I am running at 5:10 pace, and the guy in front of me is running at 5:10 pace, how is he benefitting from it any more than I am?

British Guy wrote:

1ub2run wrote:

You waste the first mile finishing your warm up vs hitting that threshold sooner. And holding it for the entire distance. Accomplishing the true purpose of workout instead of being a mile short.

Can you explain how this is the case? If I am running at 5:10 pace, and the guy in front of me is running at 5:10 pace, how is he benefitting from it any more than I am?

To add to to British Guy, why jog for 15/20 minutes getting your body warmed up and heart rate up just to spend so much time skipping at almost resting heart rate? You'd be better off jogging the warm up, doing a handful of dynamic movements, running 2-3 minutes at LT, and then finishing with fast strides/sprints.

The gun goes off and you've done a complete warm up and your heart rate is near full rev. Spending 20-30 minutes after jogging to pull out resistance bands and yoga mats is overrated. I understand that pros might use this as a way to get that extra .05% performance and maybe mentally prepare for a tough session, but to the rest of us it's not time well spent.

high school xc coach wrote:

I also think they are a bit overrated. I keep them to around 5 minutes, and I certainly don't think they need to be done every day as some teams or runners are dogmatic about.

It is one of those things you'll drive yourself crazy as a coach if you are trying to watch and make sure everybody is doing them just right.

I believe it was Vigil who said he had like 2 athletes who always did the little stuff and they were the ones who never got injured. But put me in the camp of a few mins of drills go a long way. If you have 90 mins to workout, you have plenty of time for this stuff. Need to get it done in 60 mins? 15 min warm up with a few strides and drills, 30 min tempo, 15 min cool down

fkkfkfkfkf wrote:

high school xc coach wrote:

I also think they are a bit overrated. I keep them to around 5 minutes, and I certainly don't think they need to be done every day as some teams or runners are dogmatic about.

It is one of those things you'll drive yourself crazy as a coach if you are trying to watch and make sure everybody is doing them just right.

I believe it was Vigil who said he had like 2 athletes who always did the little stuff and they were the ones who never got injured. But put me in the camp of a few mins of drills go a long way. If you have 90 mins to workout, you have plenty of time for this stuff. Need to get it done in 60 mins? 15 min warm up with a few strides and drills, 30 min tempo, 15 min cool down

Sorry to ask, but how exactly do they go a 'long way'? I've done countless races without doing a single drill beforehand, and beaten countless people who spent 15 minutes doing drills before that same race.

I understand people talking about range of motion, which of course would benefit a 100m sprinter, but we're talking about running at 10K pace, Half Marathon pace, Marathon pace etc. How exactly would I gain anything by doing drills for 15 minutes before running a Half Marathon? I've not heard a single explanation for this.

My high school team would do an 800m warm up 30-40 min of drills and stretches, just to run 30 min

Your logic on this isn't too sound I'm afraid. The drills aren't going to be the deciding factor in what makes you faster than 'countless people'; your running talent/training is. However, if 15 mins of drills that help your range of motion, ligament elasticity and running efficiency was theoretically enough to improve performance by even 0.5% over a 1:06 half marathon, you're still going to shave 20 seconds off your finish time.

The drills and strides can help a bit with the warm up, but there are other benefits that might not be as obvious. A properly crafted drill set can improve your dynamic range of motion (flexibility), improve the strength of non-linear support muscles, and help improve running form and coordination.

I can almost always tell who the best runners on a team are going to be by the way the perform their drills. It may take months of drill repetition and focus to achieve even a 1% gain, but that is all it takes to beat out another athlete with similar training and ability.

Edinburger wrote:

Your logic on this isn't too sound I'm afraid. The drills aren't going to be the deciding factor in what makes you faster than 'countless people'; your running talent/training is. However, if 15 mins of drills that help your range of motion, ligament elasticity and running efficiency was theoretically enough to improve performance by even 0.5% over a 1:06 half marathon, you're still going to shave 20 seconds off your finish time.

Not to mention they’re primarily about long term injury prevention...

Edinburger wrote:

Your logic on this isn't too sound I'm afraid. The drills aren't going to be the deciding factor in what makes you faster than 'countless people'; your running talent/training is. However, if 15 mins of drills that help your range of motion, ligament elasticity and running efficiency was theoretically enough to improve performance by even 0.5% over a 1:06 half marathon, you're still going to shave 20 seconds off your finish time.

You beat me to it. Good post!

I think you are on to something!! All these elites, elite running groups, all the best Division 1 schools here in the U.S., etc....have been wasting a good 30 - 40 minutes everyday! Time better spent doing most anything else. Hopefully the word will get out & they'll see the light.

Amen! I've got my 8, 9, and 10 year olds doing them. Cant start too soon. At cross country camp every year I've got a whole slew of kids I've never seen before. 20 minutes of drills starting off Day 1 & I can pick out my Top runners already. Drills, plyos, some balance stuff,...help runners become more like 'athletes', less one dimensional. And for me at my advanced age, I feel they are critical for maintaining range of motion, flexibility, injury prevention....

form drills after runs, and not to warm up. Stupidest thing ever that has made it into tons of runners regimens.