UKC

Whenever I go training or start a race (assuming it's for over an hr), I always find the first 40 or so mins really hard work even on easy flat terrain. As my body warms up I find I can breath easier and I can maintain a steady pace at most angles (I'm talking fell and trail running BTW) but the start always kills me.
I'm reasonably fit, regularly running 10k distance without issue and with average times (based on my positions in races) but I'd like to decrease the time it takes for my body to get going, as it were, especially for the shorter races. It's not so much an issue for the longer ones though I suppose it would benefit my finish times a little.

Any specific training I can do? Is it even possible? does anyone else suffer from the same issue?

thanks in advance.

In reply to higherclimbingwales:


Get fitter. Do your warm-up before the race.

In reply to higherclimbingwales:

Doctor told me I was suffering from excersise reduced asthma, consequently I was always rubbish at the short races and passed loads late on at the long ones. He suggested a puff on the inhaler at the start, which did in fact seem to help.

In reply to higherclimbingwales:

Your body needs to be prepared and run hard, this can be especially pertinent if racing in the morning after sleeping and your heart rate is low. When I was running seriously in the states the team would run two miles at least four hours before a race (just to wake the body up) followed by another two miles warm up and strides before the race.

Whilst this may seem a bit over the top for some the principle is the same! you should have a sweat on before the race starts.

Does the same thing happen during training runs?

In reply to higherclimbingwales:

Get to the start line sweating.. before snowdon race I'd run 3 miles at 8 am.. then have breakfast, then do 10 miles on the bike fairly hard at around 11:30.. then at 13:30 2 miles fairly hard so I'd arrive at the start line already sweating..

The shorter the race the harder/longer the warm up..

In reply to higherclimbingwales: Never quite that long, but always find the first 3k of any event hard. As others have said, it helps to have a good warm up - for anything 5k or less that matters it will be an over-distance steady warm up finishing with a few sets of strides, to just get your legs feeling springy.

Even then to some extent I still suffer it - I can't explode off the line in the same way some friends do, but the difference between the pace ultimately achieved and the initial pace for similar effort is smaller if I'm well warmed up.

In reply to all:

Thanks everyone. I thought it might be the case of a longer warm up but was kind of hoping it would be the case that the time to get going would decrease the fitter I became. how naive of me!

Must try harder to warm up beforehand!

In reply to higherclimbingwales:

Warm up.

In reply to Al Evans:

That might well help to open out your bronchioles and improve oxygen delivery even if you don't have exercise induced asthma!

In reply to IainRUK:

You call that a warm up? f*ckin'ell!

In reply to IainRUK:


what's the reason for the 8 am run ?

In reply to Jim Hamilton:

It gets your body going.