Warming up / Pace during race

by Hans André
(Norway)

How many minutes to warm up for races and pace :

"Hi Marius.

1. How many minutes, and heart rate zone, do you recommend when warming up before a 5k or 10k race? (I suppose 5 min as you do before training is not enough?)

2. When running a 10k race - what's the heart rate (% of max) to stay below during the first 5k to be probably sure of not hitting the wall? (don't want to lose time during the first part, but not hitting the wall either...) "

Answer: Hi Hans André ! And thanks for your questions.

1. For the warmp up, I like to do the following (personal preferance, and it works real well) :

First 5-10 minute jog. Easy. Then 3-5 minutes at Effort 3. Then 5-10 minutes jog. After that rest a few minutes, get ready etc. Finish up with 3-5 easy strides of 50-70 meters before starting the race. That should make you all set !

2. For the heart rate and the 10k it is too hard to do this accurately with heart rate - at least first time trying. It has to do with cardic drift and adrenaline in the race situation. Use your previous 5k/half marathon bests and have this as an "approxiate" figure on how hard to go. Pace yourself evenly according to that. Then monitor it with heart rate that you may use second time around.

I wish you all the best - and hope all is well with you :)

Marius