how does warming up affect races?

What's your 1500m PR?

times?

4.59 and 17.22

I'm 27 and started running 3 years ago. I've only done a handful of 5k's and one 10k and one five miler.

I never warmed up for my 5k's and ran them in the 21xx range.

My last 2 races were a 10k and the 5 miler. I didn't warm up for those.

In both of those races, I started off a little slower than in my 5k's. In the last 2 miles of both races, I ran 5:50 per mile and it felt effortless.

I have a 5k at the end of the month and I'm definitely going to warm up for that.

Dude, every fast runner does it. Should probably tell you something.

the point wrote:

4.59 and 17.22

That explains it. Try warming up before your races and you should see some improvement. I warm up for any race less than a marathon.

other factors, such as training and diet, have way more of an effect on your performance -- which might explain why you've clocked some decent times with no warmup. and the times when you warmed up and ran slower probably weren't the fault of the warmup, you probably just had a bad race (or weren't as well-trained, or whatever).

all things being equal, the person who warms up will run faster than the person who doesn't. of course, it matters what your warm-up is. an hour or so before the race i'll do a real easy 20-30 minute jog and then around 10 strides, sometimes doing some high-knees and butt-kicks. i'm sure there are better runners here with better routines, but you get the picture.

Yes, warming up is silly. On that point, I heard that Larry Bird wouldn't shoot for days before big games. He liked to go into all games ice cold.

Does anyone else see threads like these and feel bad for the OP who was confused by the very inclusive title of this website? Perhaps "LetsRun" is a bit misleading and should be changed to something more elitist ("LetsRunFasterThanYou"?).

are you talking not warming up like showing up to the race slapping on shoes and going? or do you stretch, jog around and do a couple strides...because any of that is a warmup....and I highly doubt you do no physical activity before a race

I like to do a small warm up and as a consequence come to training 15 mins after everyone else or I find I'm standing around for 15 mins after I've warmed up waiting for the session to start.

I don't think huge warm ups are necessary.

Have seen people do over 10 strides before races and think this is probably counterproductive.

These kind of questions make me wonder, whether I had accidentally clicked on RW web site.

Of course, warm up is necessary. The shorter the race (or the faster the beginning pace), the more thorough warm-up is NECCESSARY.

It's like trying to ramp up the engine without alowing it to warm up- the car won't perform at its best. The same applies to the body- even more exponentially.

I did warm ups even before the marathons. It's not easy for me to start running at 5:10-15/mile ice cold, and hold it for 26.2miles.

For shorter races, I do fast strides (in addition to 20 min progressive run and dynamic stretching- no standing around), sometimes up to ten, if I don't feel relaxed enough. It won't tire me, since I do much more in workouts and am fine. The whole routine takes me 35-40 minutes, depending, whether I need to use a bathroom once more. Flats/spikes on and 2 more strides and short jog a minute or so before the gun. If I stand more than a couple of minutes, I feel I am losing the benefits of warm-up. So- no standing around, always in move.

Only a fool would put himself into deliberate disadvantage by skipping a proper warm up.

Not everyone is the same. I've tried a variety of warm ups before races over a long period of time. What consistantly seems to work for me is to jog a lap then do dynamic stretches and 3 strides. If I do more than that I don't feel as fresh. If I warmed up for 40 mins I doubt I'd run better. 15 mins is a lot better than 30 for me.

the point wrote:

4.59 and 17.22

haha IMPOSTER!!! i'm the real OP and i lost this thread, but i found it just now. not that it makes too much of a difference but my personal bests are 4:20 and 15:58. Yeah, I feel like the less warming up i do the better for the mile and 5k.