I often here and see people running for 10 minutes in the morning before a race which may take place in the afternoon, does anyone do this and for how long?
Would be grateful for suggestions
I often here and see people running for 10 minutes in the morning before a race which may take place in the afternoon, does anyone do this and for how long?
Would be grateful for suggestions
race prep wrote:
I often here and see people running for 10 minutes in the morning before a race which may take place in the afternoon, does anyone do this and for how long?
Would be grateful for suggestions
I always do 2 miles right when I get up if I am racing. If the race is in the morning I like this jog to be about 4.5 hours before. If it is in the pm I really don't care about timing, just doing it right after I get up. I may add a mile about 4 hours before as well for a pm race and then do the standard warm up about an hour before. It has worked well for me.
Thanks for that. Yeah I often here people doing the same. Thanks once again for your reply.
yeah, I run for a mile 4 hours before my race. I don't know the science behind why this is beneficial. I just do it because "coach says".
the idea behind this is to get your systems fired up; blood, metabolism, etc. plus studies have shown that the most optimal time for performance is about 4-5hrs after waking.
a 15min slog with some light stretches after will leave you feeling good but not stressed. kenyans are known to do this in the morning before their races. most major programs have their athletes do it as well. at Arkansas, Coach Mac would have the guys eat a light breakfast and then walk for about 20mins. so try it before some workouts or low key races and see how you feel. i know i feel better in the afternoon workouts when i did an easy 3-4miler in the AM, assuming it did not interrupt my sleep.
the most preferred time seems to be +-4hours before the race.
i've done this since college, though it wasn't until post-collegiate competition that my coach insisted on me waking up a minimum of 4 hours before important competitions. during track season this didn't matter as much, but i would regularly wake up at 4am before 8am 5ks/10ks.
while i believe there are physiological benefits, i also believe it will help if you THINK it will help...