<p>I really paid attention to this a few years ago. On my normal runs I would get up to speed after about 3 miles. If I ran a tempo or speedwork the first part would still be a little slower than the rest. When first beginning a run, I found that at the same effort, I increased my pace 20 seconds per mile until leveling off when I got warmed up. I used this info to warm up for races where I would do 5 miles before any race up to 10k. The first couple miles would be easy jogging. I would wait 10 or 15 minutes and do a 3 mile warmup running the first mile 1 minute slower than I wanted to run the first mile of the race. The second mile would be 20 seconds faster and the 3rd would be another 20 seconds faster putting me at a pace 20 seconds slower than I wanted to run the first mile of the race. My best race this year, I warmed up 4 miles since it was in the evening and a little over 80°. I did cut the warmup to 3 miles a few races this summer it was in the mid to upper 80s.</p>
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<p>A couple years ago after I was off for a few years, I wasn't running near as much and I would try to cheat the warmup before a race. The end result would be my hip flexors going into spasms which would cause all sorts of injuries to the hamstrings, calves, and achilles. Like Ribs, I always like to run the 5k course beforehand, not only as a warmup, but also to know where I am going during the race. The race also seems to go much faster after running it beforehand at a slower pace. </p>
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<p>Lately, I have been doing the eliptical and running on the treadmill at a large incline so the "miles" don't really mean much. I feel I am ready to roll after about 20 minutes.</p>
