Right out of the gate, after the first mile, after 5 kilometers or at some other point? Do you have an argument for or against either of them?
If it is right out of the gate, what type of warmup if any do you perform? Taking warmup laps for most of us is impractical due to event size/number of participants, but I have seen it done at smaller events.
I don't know what the strategy was, but I checked my log and for my last marathon it took me 3 miles and 1 miles the marathon prior.
I think I'll just set out at a comfortable pace for my next one and let "race day magic" take over whenever it wants to.
I cannot run any pace without a warmup or my asthma pays it back. I run the first 1-4 miles of the race from easy to MP and the body just tell me when it is ready.
Damaris
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I have heard from too many people that you don't need a warm up for the marathon and to just use the first few miles as your warm up. I suppose that's fine if you aren't expecting to race it but if what you want to do is race it at the edge of your ability, that won't work.
If you look at my log, you will see that most of my runs start out somewhere between 8:15-9:00 depending on any number of factors. Then, it takes me about 3 miles to settle into a groove. Now, my goal marathon pace in November is 6:50. Let's make it an even 7:00 just because I suck at math. So, rather than being prepared to run fast from the start, I get to the line with no warm up. So, my first few miles look like this:
Mile 1 - 8:15
Mile 2 - 7:45
Mile 3 - 7:20
Mile 4 - 7:00
I have finally settled in by Mile 4 but in doing so, I have lost 1:15 in the first mile, 0:45 in the second, and 0:20 in the third for a total of 2:20. And I didn't make up any time during Mile 4. Now, I have to run every mile from this point on not at a 7:00 pace but at a 6:54 pace - and that's assuming I don't fade any during the last 10K and that's one hell of an assumption. It's probably an unrealistic assumption so I really need to be running more like a 6:50 pace to account for that fade. Go ahead. Run 16 miles 10 seconds per mile faster than your goal marathon pace and see what happens after Mile 21. Let us know how that works out for you.
But, if you get in a decent warm up, and it won't be a full warm up like you'd use in a 5K, but your first few miles may look something like this:
Mile 1 - 7:30
Mile 2 - 7:10
Mile 3 - 7:00
Now, you've only lost 40 seconds rather than 2:20 and you have an extra mile to play with. To make up that 40 seconds you only need to run something like a 6:58 pace rather than 6:50. Big difference.
Short term goal: 17:59 5K
Mid term goal: 2:54:59 marathon
Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life. (I started running at age 45).
Walk-Jogger
I never do a warm-up for my long runs, and it usually takes me about half a mile before I'm running at MP or faster, if I'm planning to run that fast.
I also didn't do any warm-up at all for my marathon last week, because my biggest concern was running out of carb fuel before the end of the race and I didn't want to burn a single calorie needlessly before the race. I didn't have any way to get splits on the first two miles of the race since we were running through a dark and damp 2.3 mile long train tunnel, but I hit mile three at 21:30, a 7:10 pace, and my goal pace was 7:15 and actual race pace turned out to be 7:12. I ran mile 26 in 6:53, my fastest mile of the race and I was not hungry or out of gas at the finish, so I probably could have gotten away with a short pre-race warm-up, but again, for me it was not needed. If I was planning to run a 6:50 pace for a marathon. I would do a short warm-up, probably a very slow one mile trot and one very short stride.
MTA: On second thought, even if I was planning to run a 6:50 pace for a marathon, I would not need to do any warm-up, since I often run warm-up miles on the track prior to a speed workout at 6:40-6:50 pace. With the adrenaline rush at the start of a marathon I could easily run a 6:50 first mile without any warm-up. I was really holding myself back at the start of my race last week running 7:10's
Retired & Loving It
No more marathons
26.2 miles is plenty - and the first miles feel so easy that's all the warm up I need. Typical for me is to go out too fast - my BQ last year the first 5 miles averaged about 10 seconds per mile faster than the final average.
Checked with DS who does extensive warm-ups for shorter races and he said the only warm-up he did for his marathons was running to the woods to relieve himself. Did some high stepping (that only young kids can get away with) but that was it. His efforts were 2:42 and 2:44 so I'm guessing lack of warm up didn't hurt him much.
And to answer the OP's question - pretty much right from the start.
Boston 2014 - a 33 year journey
Lordy, I hope there are tapes.
He's a leaker!
I recall a post from ExPhysRunner on RWOL about this topic.
If you take off at marathon pace with no warm up, you don't save glycogen. In fact, you expend more than you would be the typical marathon warm up of jogging a mile and doing a few strides. The reason is that marathon pace is a lot faster than a jog. For me, my marathon pace is roughly 1:30 faster than my recovery jog pace and 45-60 seconds faster than my easy pace. That's not jogging. That's not easy. During that really slow jog as you warm up, because it's just a warm up jog, you'll be burning mostly fat with just a bit of glycogen burning. Those strides will burn glycogen almost exclusively but they are short. What both do is prime your body. Then, when you take off at marathon pace, you are burning a mix of fat and glycogen. Conversely, if you do no warm up and suddenly take off at marathon pace, you will be burning glycogen almost exclusively until you have warmed up. The net result is that this 100% glycogen burn at marathon pace will suck up more of your glycogen than if you had done a modest warm up.
Another mistake people make is taking in carbs too close to the gun. You end up causing your insulin to spike but I'm damned if I can recall why this is bad. But, the bottom line was that your last carb intake should be about 90 minutes before the start so that your insulin levels are at baseline when the race starts.
Here's a good article from Running Times
What the Elites do for Marathon Warmup
For both my non-blowup races, I've gone out slightly too fast right from the line, with just a bit of easy jogging for warmup. MP for us non-elites is considerably slower than any shorter race pace, and there's a lot of wiggle room over 26 miles, so any particular mile that's not a huge outlier shouldn't make trouble.
Options,Account, Forums
I recall a post from ExPhysRunner on RWOL about this topic. If you take off at marathon pace with no warm up, you don't save glycogen. In fact, you expend more than you would be the typical marathon warm up of jogging a mile and doing a few strides. The reason is that marathon pace is a lot faster than a jog. For me, my marathon pace is roughly 1:30 faster than my recovery jog pace and 45-60 seconds faster than my easy pace. That's not jogging. That's not easy. During that really slow jog as you warm up, because it's just a warm up jog, you'll be burning mostly fat with just a bit of glycogen burning. Those strides will burn glycogen almost exclusively but they are short. What both do is prime your body. Then, when you take off at marathon pace, you are burning a mix of fat and glycogen. Conversely, if you do no warm up and suddenly take off at marathon pace, you will be burning glycogen almost exclusively until you have warmed up. The net result is that this 100% glycogen burn at marathon pace will suck up more of your glycogen than if you had done a modest warm up. Another mistake people make is taking in carbs too close to the gun. You end up causing your insulin to spike but I'm damned if I can recall why this is bad. But, the bottom line was that your last carb intake should be about 90 minutes before the start so that your insulin levels are at baseline when the race starts. Here's a good article from Running Times What the Elites do for Marathon Warmup
Great article - thanks.
It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.
Are we there, yet?
It also depends on what kind of base one has. With a low base like 35 mpw and using something like a Higdon Novice I program, race pace and LR pace aren't going to be that far apart.
To address the OP's question, I start at an appropriate effort for the race distance and note my target pace when I see my 1 mile split. This is true for the marathon down to the 5K. The 800m, mile, and maybe 3000m are the only race distances I will start at a predetermined pace. I will have expectations of what my pace will be at the other distances, but won't know what my actual pace will be until I see what my effort gets in after the first mile.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
It also depends on what kind of base one has. With a low base like 35 mpw and using something like a Higdon Novice I program, race pace and LR pace aren't going to be that far apart. To address the OP's question, I start at an appropriate effort for the race distance and note my target pace when I see my 1 mile split. This is true for the marathon down to the 5K. The 800m, mile, and maybe 3000m are the only race distances I will start at a predetermined pace. I will have expectations of what my pace will be at the other distances, but won't know what my actual pace will be until I see what my effort gets in after the first mile.
Agreed. We all have some distance at which our race pace and our easy pace will cross. I'm not at all sure I could run a 50K, even with proper training, faster than my easy pace. For a very new runner, their 5K race pace and easy pace may be the same. If you plan to run a race at your easy pace, then a warm up isn't necessary. Beyond that, in the mega races, it may be nearly impossible. I can't imagine how one would get in any kind of decent warm up at Boston unless you were in the 1st corral and I'm sure the same is true for New York and other large marathons.
For me, my marathon pace is roughly 1:30 faster than my recovery jog pace and 45-60 seconds faster than my easy pace. That's not jogging. That's not easy.
Ahhh - that must be my "problem". As a phat old man, my marathon pace is slower than most of my regular miles - with the exception of my long runs - and I had to learn (by using a HRM) how to run those slower. I did manage to BQ, so must be doing something right.
It also depends on what kind of base one has. With a low base like 35 45 mpw and using something like a Higdon Novice I Intermediate 1-2 program, race pace and LR pace aren't going to be that far apart.
FYP. For me.
I don't view it as my LR pace being too fast, I just think my race pace is too slow. Of course I am nowhere near BQ, and don't see it in the foreseeable future, so I must be doing something wrong. Actually I think my main "problem" at this point is I have just not been at it (serious marathon-focused training) long enough.
Dave
#artbydmcbride
The first half mile I am getting into a groove and trying to get through the crowded start smoothly and without running around folks. No warmup other than jumps in place through the announcements.
Runners run
Pace Prophet
This has nothing to do with age. You should be running more slowly than your MP - I guess you have learned it, though!
I agree with those saying 26.2 is long enough, and a formal warm-up is counterproductive. I like to walk around a bit, so I'm not starting from total zero, but I don't do any jogging before the race. Looking at my more recent (and best) races, my first mile is a little, but not excessively, slow. By the second mile I'm on pace.
Houston 2012: first mile 8:09, second mile 7:58, next 2 miles (did not hit lap) 16:01, mile 5 8:01. Goal pace 8:00, actual average pace: 7:59.
St. George 2010: first mile 8:26, second mile 8:18, next 3 miles averaged 8:03 (mistake, fortunately not fatal, slowed when I realized it!). Goal pace 8:17, actual average pace: 8:15
(Lest you think I always hit things this nicely: Boston 2010: first mile 8:48, second mile 8:20, goal pace 8:12, averaged 8:05 the rest of the way to the half which obviously was way too fast, then totally fell apart; actual average pace: 8:29.)