5K warm-up question......

most runners i know (17 to 13 min range) do 40 to 60 minutes of easy (very easy) running and do a serie of steugerungen in the (sprints that start slow end only the last meters are fast) middle and the end.

Don't eat 3 hours before the race.

Some peeps do a early morning footing session of 40 minutes and only do a short warmup before the race.

what is your warmup???

What you describe sounds like a typical case of going out too fast and getting tired. Try not going out so fast.

What were they smoking wrote:

What you describe sounds like a typical case of going out too fast and getting tired. Try not going out so fast.

^this

hurdlethief wrote:

I'm fairly new to distance running....was a sprinter/hurdler in college (51.4 400 hurdles, 47 split on 4 x 400). I'm 32 now and can run 52 in an open 400. I've been doing distance training for the last 2 years, 50-70 MPW, mostly long runs at 6:30-7:00 pace with some track workouts and tempo runs on occassion.

My 5K time still sucks....I feel like I could have ran faster when I was sprinting in college. Just ran 18:03 and can't seem to get much faster.

What does everyone do for a warm-up for this race? I've tried everything.....nothing seems to prepare me to run at the start. I go out in 5:20 and my arms/legs seem to just go "dead" at about 1.5 miles....

Suggestions? Ideas? Thanks.

Troll?

You go out in 5:20, and you end up averaging 5:48, so the last 2.1 miles you average 6:03 per mile.

Warming up is not your issue. Clearly you're warmed up enough to crank out the first mile in 5:20. Your issue is running the first mile too fast for your current fitness. Run the first mile in 5:48, and then progress faster from there. You can't go out in a 5k like you're racing a 400.

To answer your warmup question, just do what you typically do to warmup before a track workout or tempo run. Something like 2-3 miles easy, with the last minute or two faster to get your HR up a bit. Then 2-4 15 second strides at the pace you plan to go out at right before the race starts.

Lots of people warm up too much. Unless it's particularly cold, it doesn't take that much to get ready to run.

It's pretty obvious you're running that first mile way too fast.

race plan

your body knows 47 second 400 pace, so everything else feels slow.

intentionally run your next race "backwards" trying to run negative splits.

force yourself to run the first mile at the pace you ran the last mile of your PR. it should leave you feeling very fresh, and almost anxious to get running.

same problem many HS kids have that are new to running

fyweight wrote:

most runners i know (17 to 13 min range) do 40 to 60 minutes of easy (very easy) running and do a serie of steugerungen in the (sprints that start slow end only the last meters are fast) middle and the end.

Don't eat 3 hours before the race.

Some peeps do a early morning footing session of 40 minutes and only do a short warmup before the race.

what is your warmup???

40-60 mins of easy running? that would be a like 5-8 mile warmup which seems like a lot. Most people I know do a 1.5-3mile warmup along with some stretches and stride outs while staying active jogging around before the race starts.

Skip the warmup, it's costing you energy.

Thanks for the suggestions.....I guess I hang out with a lot of good distance runners who say I should easily be running 17 mintues or so (5:30 pace)....so that's what I'm trying to run. The advice I've gotten to date is basically along the lines of continue to run at the pace you want and eventually you will be able to carry it through the whole race. The problem is I'm practically walking across the finish line it feels so slow.

At your next race, find a smart old guy that can run 17:30. I would have been the perfect person to find a few years back. Take off and run your race with them. The first mile will feel like you are walking, the second mile, at the same pace, will feel a little faster, and the third mile, at the same pace, will really be tough but you will be able to hang with him and probably use a little of that 52 sec. speed the last 300.

That is my suggestion. Once you learn to pace yourself, you are going to be quite a runner. Your weekly mileage is super. I bet you can run a fast 800 right now or a mile. Try it!

Also, are you doing any T or I workouts or just running easy all week long?

You need to increase your workouts, at least two a week, then your fitness will start improving. After a few months of solid workouts your times will start dropping. You have the speed and are putting in the miles, add the workouts and you will be good.

^ This (silverfox) is a great suggestion about finding somebody who paces well and tagging along to learn how. And I predict each mile will unfold exactly as he describes. And, I predict that you will smash your 5k PR in the process. You are probably in much better 5K shape than your PR indicates... you're just sabatoging your efforts with your first mile.

You are doing the equvalent of sprinting (all-out) the first 100m of your 400m race. Actually, probably worse.

Always good advice from silverfox ^^^

When I first got into running, I would always look around me for older guys and women (I'm not scared to admit it!) because their pacing would be great.

It makes sense. A 17:2x 5k is pretty ho-hum for a 25-35 y.o. man, so you've got weekend warriors like me and the OP splitting anything from 5:00 to 6:00 for the first mile. But an old guy or woman who can do that is simply on a higher level of training and racing skills. They are going to run that thing like a metronome.

Great advice from all, thank you very much! The split times don't mean a whole lot to me yet....and 5:20 doesn't seem that fast as I time trialed a 4:45 mile. But I guess when you string a few of them together, it's obviously much more difficult.