Warming up for a Winter run

With training runs getting longer and temperatures getting cooler I am starting to appreciate the full benefits of a solid warm-up. I have noticed in the past, particularly with Taekwondo training, that I perform a lot better in a session with a substantial gap between the warm up and the proper session start. When I was training 3 times a week I would try to complete a full 10 minute warm-up and a 5 minute rest before the actual session warm up began.

The problem with applying this approach to running is that I am used to running as being the warm up for another activity, working heart and lungs without tiring the muscle groups needed for the actual exercise. I have experimented with using the first two miles of a longer run (over 5 miles) as the warm up, followed by a short walk for approx. quarter of a mile to ease off before the rest of the run.

While this has been fine as prep for a longer run, I have found myself struggling to hold a restrained pace on the first two miles of a short run (5 miles), then hitting a wall where I have to slow down to recover for a few minutes before carrying on at a more controlled, stable pace. This should not be needed for what is effectively a sprint.

To combat this I am looking at warm ups I can do indoors prior to a short run, focused mainly on working my upper body to get my heart and lungs engaged, leaving my legs fresh to push hard in the run.

With BST coming to an end and the lack of street lighting in Princes Risborough I will have to wait until I move house in a week to try this out.