Really good video, thanks for sharing. Although one minor gripe is the title, suggesting everyone is doing this wrong. I think it’s likely that a lot of runners are already following these suggestions, but some won’t.
I wake up, shave, put on my running outfit, start running, wake up so more, and after a few km I try to hit my max for a few more km. It feels great this way!
Proper warm-up was the biggest lesso I learned when starting with a coach rather than Garmin plans. Activations before, 15 mins jog, drills and strides. I have to hold back the pace at the start of the session following the strides but I'm ready to go. The number of people setting out to do parkrace or PB a 10k who do a little shuffle jog for a minute beforehand and then complain about how hard it was used to surprise me but it's the norm!
I never warm up, but the first kilometre not only usually feels the best, but is also generally the faster, or 2nd fastest kilometre. I do want to start trying to "warm up" though, to see if it helps performance. Really hard to tell though, as every run is different.
I'd almost say I'm the opposite. The first mile feels insanely easy (regardless of warm-up). I feel slow, but realise I'm going like 20 seconds a kilometre faster than the pace I'm trying for, without even trying. Then everything starts to settle into the pace I want and I settle at that pace for a long time before a little (this time intentional) burst at the end.
Same, I have a huge issue slowing down. Start way too fast but it feels great for the first 5km or so and then the pain catches up. This happens regardless of warmup (it even happens during Ironman 70.3 events after spending hours on the bike), I have to keep reminding myself to pump the brakes and curb my enthusiasm
I've been similar. My conclusion is that for my whole life I've been training into zones too high so my body is trained more anaerobically, and I need to slow down and do much more aerobic training. Problem was I never built an aerobic base.
I followed a couple of your videos by now. I like your calm, precise and fundamental way to present information. very valuable for me as an "older" runner with a history of injuries. thank you very much.
Loved how you broke down why that first mile feels like you're running through quicksand! The breathing tip with the 3-step rhythm is super practical! And the idea of just getting your body ready before launching into a run makes so much sense. No more starting like a deer caught in headlights, hehe! Thanks for the solid advice, James!
I think breathing slowly is super important. My easy pace is eight steps in and eight steps out. That's for warming up and going as slow as I can while still running. Zone 2 is 6. Zone 3 is 3-4. And sprinting is 2 or 1. I too have a deviated septum and I thought for decades that my nose just didn't work. But over time the last few years, I have improved my ability to breathe through my nose. It isn't possible all the time, but I can actually breathe at 6 or 8 while running. Less than 6 I need to open my mouth. And I also never thought I needed to warm up, especially for skiing. But now, approaching my 68th birthday, I finally realize how important warming up is necessary for me to perform at any level in any of the sports I still love to do. If I am backcountry skiing, I need to start skinning very slowly or I will go anaerobic right out the gate. I am asthmatic too and warming up gradually makes all the difference in the cold. Sleep has always been a challenge but I am making an effort to get better sleep. Problem is 8 hours in the bed leaves me in too much back pain to perform and getting less than 5 hours also really hurts my performance. I am seriously addicted to coffee and finally quit after drinking 8-10 espressos a day for a long time. I quit for about seven years and now I can limit myself to one a day.
Another great video: getting ready to go jogging at lunchtime (Brazil) and will definitely keep this 3-3 breathing pattern in mind. Thanks for all valuable info once again, mate.
SO true on the warm up. I usually go out around 6am only having been up for 20mins. I found within mins my heart rate was hitting 170 and I had to stop and walk for a few minutes. After this I could start running again nice and steady with heart rate circa 150 yet at the same pace. (I have a high rate generally)
When I first got into running seriously I liked having music not so much to keep cadence but rather to keep me from hearing my breathing. Sounds odd but if you’re a beginner sometimes the actual sound of your breathing and processing the constant fact that you’re breathing hard can make things psychologically more difficult. Even if it’s just white noise, I’d recommend giving it a shot just to drown out the sound of your foot strikes and breaths, so all you’re focusing on is the technique and the nature around you.
From what i’ve heard online, caffeine raises your heart rate but doesnt push your body to different energy system (idk abt sleep deprivation tho), so if you know caffeine will push you those 5/10bpm more, u can just raise your tsrget heart rate zone manually
Often it’s the first 4km for me!!! Years ago I saw one of your videos with a very very quick and easy dynamic warm up and what a HUGE difference it makes!!! My guess is that it significantly reduces injury risk too!!
I prefer 1 in 2 out when pushing it. Started trying it after learning the "out of breath" feeling is often caused by co2 buildup instead of lack of oxygen. Works pretty well at interval pace. It kinda reminds me of breath pattern when swimming (longer exhale with quick inhale)
@@SaltAndGracePoetry it's that feeling when you're out of breath. not due to lack of oxygen, just a high concentration of co2. you just need to breathe more. i focus on a longer exhale with a shorter inhale. it seems to help (to an extent).
@@kevinhassell4959 That has to be my problem. I feel like I can't get the air out fast enough. I always thought is was feeling like being out of breath because I had way too much air in my lungs that I could't exhale out fast enough. Now hearing you mention this it is confirmed.
SO interesting you’re talking about breathing as one of Brodie Sharpe’s most recent Run Smarter podcasts talks about exactly that with breathing expert, physio, university lecturer, Olympic coach and free-diving instructor James Fletcher!!!!! 👍🏻😄👍🏻
I ran 400+ miles in August and am hitting PR’s while doing mostly easy miles The heart rate spike you’re referring to is definitely true, hit around 155 bpm at mile 0.5 at a 8:40 min pace, and then settled in to high 130s for the next 4 miles while the splits dropped each mile down to low 7’s without pushing it
Wrt breathing, I focus on deep breathing to purge as much. "old" (CO2 rich air) as possible and get in as much "new" (O2 rich air) as possible. The breathing pattern helps, but also have a go at deep breathing as practiced in yoga, or something like aikido.
My days of banging out a sub-40 10k after a night on the p*** are sadly long gone. I got life and death now for the sub-45 and that's *after* a good warm-up.
Any advice for living at the bottom of a hill that is straight up for a mile before it levels out? Unless I drive to run, this is my only option right out the door. It’s crushing my motivation
Skip, walk, sideways step, backwards run, lunge, jump, hop your way to the top for a warm up. Then do your run. Personally, I love starting on an uphill - it’s the best way to get in the zone for me.
@@Frustrated_Traveller that’s what I’ve been doing but I don’t always feel like walking an entire mile. Idk it gets frustrating. It’s more like a mile long steep hike ugh 😩
Wanna swap? I live on the top of a hill and running in any direction, I still end up running back uphill to get home. Learn to love the hill. Yes, every so often I’ll drive somewhere flatter, just for the joy of it. 😊
Lol first mile is the easiest, effortless pushing way my pace, second mile breathing gets harder, heart increases and i start to realize that I have to push to keep the same effort. Totally reverse of what he is saying. I guess if not a runner then the first mile sucks but for actual runners this definitely not the case.
Really good video, thanks for sharing. Although one minor gripe is the title, suggesting everyone is doing this wrong. I think it’s likely that a lot of runners are already following these suggestions, but some won’t.
I wake up, shave, put on my running outfit, start running, wake up so more, and after a few km I try to hit my max for a few more km. It feels great this way!
Proper warm-up was the biggest lesso I learned when starting with a coach rather than Garmin plans. Activations before, 15 mins jog, drills and strides. I have to hold back the pace at the start of the session following the strides but I'm ready to go.
The number of people setting out to do parkrace or PB a 10k who do a little shuffle jog for a minute beforehand and then complain about how hard it was used to surprise me but it's the norm!
I never warm up, but the first kilometre not only usually feels the best, but is also generally the faster, or 2nd fastest kilometre. I do want to start trying to "warm up" though, to see if it helps performance. Really hard to tell though, as every run is different.
I'd almost say I'm the opposite. The first mile feels insanely easy (regardless of warm-up).
I feel slow, but realise I'm going like 20 seconds a kilometre faster than the pace I'm trying for, without even trying. Then everything starts to settle into the pace I want and I settle at that pace for a long time before a little (this time intentional) burst at the end.
Zone 2 session. First km alert from watch. Ooops, too fast. Every. time.
Same, I have a huge issue slowing down. Start way too fast but it feels great for the first 5km or so and then the pain catches up. This happens regardless of warmup (it even happens during Ironman 70.3 events after spending hours on the bike), I have to keep reminding myself to pump the brakes and curb my enthusiasm
I've been similar. My conclusion is that for my whole life I've been training into zones too high so my body is trained more anaerobically, and I need to slow down and do much more aerobic training. Problem was I never built an aerobic base.
I followed a couple of your videos by now. I like your calm, precise and fundamental way to present information. very valuable for me as an "older" runner with a history of injuries. thank you very much.
Loved how you broke down why that first mile feels like you're running through quicksand! The breathing tip with the 3-step rhythm is super practical! And the idea of just getting your body ready before launching into a run makes so much sense. No more starting like a deer caught in headlights, hehe! Thanks for the solid advice, James!
I think breathing slowly is super important. My easy pace is eight steps in and eight steps out. That's for warming up and going as slow as I can while still running. Zone 2 is 6. Zone 3 is 3-4. And sprinting is 2 or 1. I too have a deviated septum and I thought for decades that my nose just didn't work. But over time the last few years, I have improved my ability to breathe through my nose. It isn't possible all the time, but I can actually breathe at 6 or 8 while running. Less than 6 I need to open my mouth.
And I also never thought I needed to warm up, especially for skiing. But now, approaching my 68th birthday, I finally realize how important warming up is necessary for me to perform at any level in any of the sports I still love to do. If I am backcountry skiing, I need to start skinning very slowly or I will go anaerobic right out the gate. I am asthmatic too and warming up gradually makes all the difference in the cold.
Sleep has always been a challenge but I am making an effort to get better sleep. Problem is 8 hours in the bed leaves me in too much back pain to perform and getting less than 5 hours also really hurts my performance.
I am seriously addicted to coffee and finally quit after drinking 8-10 espressos a day for a long time. I quit for about seven years and now I can limit myself to one a day.
Another great video: getting ready to go jogging at lunchtime (Brazil) and will definitely keep this 3-3 breathing pattern in mind. Thanks for all valuable info once again, mate.
Such great and precious advice and so well explained. As a beginner runner I truly aprecciated this video. Thank you
SO true on the warm up. I usually go out around 6am only having been up for 20mins. I found within mins my heart rate was hitting 170 and I had to stop and walk for a few minutes. After this I could start running again nice and steady with heart rate circa 150 yet at the same pace. (I have a high rate generally)
When I first got into running seriously I liked having music not so much to keep cadence but rather to keep me from hearing my breathing. Sounds odd but if you’re a beginner sometimes the actual sound of your breathing and processing the constant fact that you’re breathing hard can make things psychologically more difficult. Even if it’s just white noise, I’d recommend giving it a shot just to drown out the sound of your foot strikes and breaths, so all you’re focusing on is the technique and the nature around you.
Very helpful video, thank you.
From what i’ve heard online, caffeine raises your heart rate but doesnt push your body to different energy system (idk abt sleep deprivation tho), so if you know caffeine will push you those 5/10bpm more, u can just raise your tsrget heart rate zone manually
Often it’s the first 4km for me!!! Years ago I saw one of your videos with a very very quick and easy dynamic warm up and what a HUGE difference it makes!!! My guess is that it significantly reduces injury risk too!!
All the things you would not necessarily assume are related with running are all here in black and white. top content too channel Thank you
I prefer 1 in 2 out when pushing it. Started trying it after learning the "out of breath" feeling is often caused by co2 buildup instead of lack of oxygen. Works pretty well at interval pace. It kinda reminds me of breath pattern when swimming (longer exhale with quick inhale)
Can you explain Co2 build up? I might have this problem when I run, but never got diagnosed. Is there a video on it?
@@SaltAndGracePoetry it's that feeling when you're out of breath. not due to lack of oxygen, just a high concentration of co2. you just need to breathe more. i focus on a longer exhale with a shorter inhale. it seems to help (to an extent).
@@kevinhassell4959 That has to be my problem. I feel like I can't get the air out fast enough. I always thought is was feeling like being out of breath because I had way too much air in my lungs that I could't exhale out fast enough. Now hearing you mention this it is confirmed.
Great watch again James 👍🏼👍🏼
SO interesting you’re talking about breathing as one of Brodie Sharpe’s most recent Run Smarter podcasts talks about exactly that with breathing expert, physio, university lecturer, Olympic coach and free-diving instructor James Fletcher!!!!! 👍🏻😄👍🏻
I ran 400+ miles in August and am hitting PR’s while doing mostly easy miles
The heart rate spike you’re referring to is definitely true, hit around 155 bpm at mile 0.5 at a 8:40 min pace, and then settled in to high 130s for the next 4 miles while the splits dropped each mile down to low 7’s without pushing it
Surely not 400 miles? That’s a half marathon every day. 😮
Wrt breathing, I focus on deep breathing to purge as much. "old" (CO2 rich air) as possible and get in as much "new" (O2 rich air) as possible. The breathing pattern helps, but also have a go at deep breathing as practiced in yoga, or something like aikido.
I'm a huge caffeine person as in my mind I need energy to perform the. End up our of breath, what would you recommend as a substitute
My days of banging out a sub-40 10k after a night on the p*** are sadly long gone. I got life and death now for the sub-45 and that's *after* a good warm-up.
Found this from the email…great advice!
Any advice for living at the bottom of a hill that is straight up for a mile before it levels out? Unless I drive to run, this is my only option right out the door. It’s crushing my motivation
Skip, walk, sideways step, backwards run, lunge, jump, hop your way to the top for a warm up. Then do your run. Personally, I love starting on an uphill - it’s the best way to get in the zone for me.
Use it as your warm up and walk it?
@@Frustrated_Traveller that’s what I’ve been doing but I don’t always feel like walking an entire mile. Idk it gets frustrating. It’s more like a mile long steep hike ugh 😩
Wanna swap? I live on the top of a hill and running in any direction, I still end up running back uphill to get home. Learn to love the hill.
Yes, every so often I’ll drive somewhere flatter, just for the joy of it. 😊
Walk that first mile
Breathing in cadence with my steps is so confusing and impossible to keep track of while I’m also focusing on running, any tips
Thanks for your videos! I accessed this through the email I was sent.
Lol first mile is the easiest, effortless pushing way my pace, second mile breathing gets harder, heart increases and i start to realize that I have to push to keep the same effort. Totally reverse of what he is saying. I guess if not a runner then the first mile sucks but for actual runners this definitely not the case.