Yesterday, I took a much needed long walk to catch up with my friend Lee. It had been way too long. It was cool to hear that Lee has been running consistently. We were talking about how most people don't ever know the true joy of running because it takes their bodies so long to warm up that the entire run feels terrible. I've been there. When I first started running, I would do my usual loop, which was about 3 miles. I wouldn't do anything to warm up. Instead, I'd run as fast as I could for about 30 minutes and I was miserable for every second of the run. If I had kept running like this, I'd never enjoy running. When you shock your body into a a full-out run, it never feels good. Having a busy life doesn't help. We all want to make sure we maximize the number of miles for the time we spend running, but taking the time to warm up can actually make you a better runner and it can also prevent injury.
So, what can you do to warm up to make the run more enjoyable? It sounds like the most boring piece of advice, but it's as simple as walking fast for 10-15 minutes before you start running. Walking gives your body warning of what's about to come. The purpose of the warm up is to get your mind/body ready to run and your heart rate up. I usually wait until my heart rate gets up to at least 100 bpm. Walking fast also naturally increases your breathing rate, activates your muscles and helps to lubricate your joints. Pretty much every time I start running, I'll feel a niggle of pain here or there, but once I get moving for a little while, these pains go away. I've learned recently that a run/walk technique can also help with easing into the enjoyable part of a run. I run for 5 mins and walk for 1 minute. This also makes the run go by super quickly because I feel like I can run a little faster on the run portion of the workout. Based on how you're feeling, you can continue to run/walk, or ease into a steady run. I usually find that my first mile is still fairly slow, but once I've really warmed up fully, the run can feel effortless in the later miles and I can speed up gradually as the miles tick by, up to a certain point. Of course, there are many other variables at play- breathing properly and good form that can get you into the flow of running and feeling good while you're running.
Stretching after a run is also key. Think of it as a way to prepare your body for your next run and you're less likely to skip it. Stretching when your muscles are warm and pliable is a much safer bet than trying to stretch when your muscles are still cold. I have a separate post on stretching post-run. Basically, you can do an entire stretch routine in 2-3 minutes. I'm a firm believer that stretching also helps to prevent injuries. So all in all, the extra 10-15 minutes of a walking warm up and 2-3 minutes of stretching has to be built into your workout, but in the long run, it's worth it.
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