Warm up

Can you guys let me know what sort of warm ups you do before going out a run?

I usually use the first mile of my run as the warm up, going at a nice, slow pace. Then I'll do some dynamic stretches to get my muscles warmed up and working properly, and then start running

Here's some dynamic stretches: http://www.runnersworld.com/stretching/dynamic-routine

Shona - I run pretty slow (i think) at the moment too, 10.44 being my best 1mile run so far.  I'd like to try some warm ups though as i've recently pulled my hamstring, and thought it might help

Xine - thanks for that link, i'll be using that until my mileage increases!

Cougie - Ah, i run first thing in the morning, around 6am, and up my way recently it's been ridiculously cold!

Thanks for the replies

my first mile of any run is always a slow plod, and i usually find that after that i'm suitably warm, regardless of the weather.

This is on my mind a bit atm after reading more about stretching cold muscles being bad for you. I now jog for 5mins, then stretch, then start with the main running. But haven't been sure what the best thing to do with LSR's is as obviously thats all pretty slow. So atm just not 'warming up' before them.

Emmy,  warm ups,

easy paced run, no warm up needed.

Quality session/  (track/tempo) or race, progressive 3 1/2mile warm up, starting at easy pace, going through steady, and ending with 5 or 6 strides.

Then you're ready to hit the top paces.

Clearly it's all relative though. If you're running 15-20miles a week, you're not going to be needing to do a 3.5mile warm up for anything!

I put my shoes on!

Similar to Stevie - for a quality session it's a 2-3 mile warm up run, cycling up through the paces towards the end, with a few strides.

I do 100 squats without weights which takes about 3 mins. Then some stretches. My idea with the squats is to give the front of my legs a little extra strengh as I've read runners often have a muscle imbalance. Not sure if it's the best idea but it makes sense in my mind.