How to Train for a Race

12 Running Rules You Can Break

Think you know how you’re supposed to train? Six legendary coaches dispute some of running’s most controversial wisdom
By Alex Hutchinson runnersworld
 

The Rule: Do Prerace Strides

For generations, runners have followed the same rituals to warm up before races or workouts: Start with some jogging, move on to a little bit of stretching, then perform a series of "strides"—short sprints lasting about 10 seconds that get your heart pumping and kick-start the delivery of oxygen to your running muscles. But do these timeworn rituals really help us perform better? Jack Daniels, PhD, isn't convinced. "What I most often see at races is a bunch of runners striding up and down at a speed that is clearly faster than the coming race pace," he says. Since these strides are the last thing runners do before starting the event, that inappropriate pace is fresh in their minds. "And when the gun finally sounds, they 'stride' or sprint right out." The result: a way-too-fast start followed by an inevitable crash.

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How to Break It: For shorter events like 5-K and 10-K races, jogging just long enough to get a good sweat going is all you need to do, says Daniels. (For longer races, you can get away with even less: Run the first mile of a half or full marathon as your warmup.) To get the oxygen-boosting benefits of strides without skewing your pace judgment—and screwing up your race result—try a sustained two-to three-minute effort 10 minutes before starting the race or workout. Run it slightly faster than your half-marathon pace, or at a speed that feels moderately hard. You should not be sprinting.

More: Workouts to Help Improve Your Stride

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