Forums >General Running>How long do you warm up / cool down for a Tempo run?
Sincere question for those of you doing cool downs longer than, say, 15 minutes... why? (literal question asking for info, not code for "that's dumb") Edit: well, I already do understand the case where your workout just kind of ended more than 15 minutes away from where you need to be. But I'm seeing people doing 2-4 miles (hiya catman) of cooldown purposefully.
Sincere question for those of you doing cool downs longer than, say, 15 minutes... why? (literal question asking for info, not code for "that's dumb")
Edit: well, I already do understand the case where your workout just kind of ended more than 15 minutes away from where you need to be. But I'm seeing people doing 2-4 miles (hiya catman) of cooldown purposefully.
I've started running longer cool downs after reading this article:http://www.scienceofrunning.com/2012/09/rethinking-cool-down-and-xc-coach-at.html
Basically, the idea (and that's all it is - no proof/studies/anything) is that the cool down recruits different muscle fibers that haven't been exhausted in the workout. I don't know if that's what's happening, but I'm enjoying the extra time on feet and have been feeling fresh (well, fresh enough) while running more than I ever have before.
I typically do a 1-mile warm up and cool down. BTW, the Hansons call a tempo run what Daniels calls Marathon pace. Slight difference, but May be worth noting considering the multiple tempo run definitions.