QOTD: How much do you warm-up and cool-down? Is it distance based or time based? When you give a time for a run, does it include warm-up or cool-down? If so, are they significantly different from the "performance" part?
ATTQOTD: MY answer is going to be a little long here. In the past for a normal run, my warm up was included in the total amount of miles done that day. For half marathons and shorter distances a warm-up could be anywhere between a half a mile to 3 depending on what the days goal are. A cool down is about .5 mile to 1 mile for races. On the warm up portions I will start of slowly and end the last quarter mile at that days desired race pace goal. Recently I am working on a dynamic stretching routine and finish my runs with a static stretching routine. Tis idea was given to me by the trainer that comes to our office to work people out during lunch. He is a former NFL player and has worked with athletes in track as well as other sports. He basically told me that running has left me very tight and I need to loosen up things to help with my overall performance. Only a week in thus far so I am not sure if it is making a difference yet.
Dynamic stretching, warm-ups, cool-downs, and static stretching are just part of my routine. I do dynamic stretching prior to every run and static stretching after every run. I do warm-ups/cool-downs on any run at marathon pace or faster. My warm-up and cool-down distance minimum is 1.5 miles but as much as 2.5 miles. I choose the distance based on trying to get the total time of the run up to or above 90 minutes. Here is why I view warm-ups and cool-downs as a vital part of the process for anything faster than marathon pace:
Essentially, there are two main pathways for the body to use oxygen to produce energy: the aerobic and anaerobic pathways. The two pathways work across a spectrum so no one system is always being relied on just more or less depending on the pace. The aerobic pathway is mostly used in slower running. The closer you get to the point where it becomes harder to breathe (Ventilatory Threshold) the more you use the anaerobic pathway. The aerobic pathway is more efficient and faster at creating energy, whereas the body uses anaerobic when the aerobic can't keep up (because you're going too fast).
The most interesting part between the aerobic and anaerobic pathway is that even though the aerobic is used mostly during slow running it takes about 6 minutes of running before it can be used. This means for the first 6 minutes we're stuck with the slow, inefficient anaerobic pathway. So if you don't do a warm-up, and you're running faster than "long run" pace you push the anaerobic pathway too hard. This creates a deficit in energy within the first 6 minutes that becomes harder to overcome. As this deficit starts to catch up with you in later miles, it causes our running form to suffer.
The cool-downs are important because it teaches you to run on tired legs. You've just finished a tough workout and now you have to go another 1.5-2.5 miles, albeit at an easy pace. I like to judge my workouts partially on the difference between my warm-up and cool-down pacing. I run them at the same effort but sometimes the paces don't match based on how fatigued I am from the "performance" part of the workout.
Race wise: 5K/10Ks have 3 miles with a few surges to race pace. A Half has 1-2 miles with a few surges to race pace. A full has 1 mile all easy.
All of my reported mileage includes warm-ups and cool-downs because I view it as part of my workout. In the end, the warm-ups and cool-downs are used to balance the "performance" part for a weekly training load of 80% easy and 20% hard.
