Whatever time of day you head out for your run, a proper warm up is the key to your success. Maybe you run first thing in the morning: after a long night of sleep your muscles and joints need time to get moving again. Maybe you run in the evening: after a long day, you may be stiff or tired, and a warm up will help your body get ready to rock and roll.

The right warm up depends on the run you're about to do! For an easy weekday run, that might just mean going out at a shuffle and easing in to your normal pace over the course of your first mile. Stepping out the door and trying to get immediately up to speed is a good recipe for an injury!

For a harder workout, or even a race, the warm up be even more intense and involve strides, mobility work, and drills. For a 5K, for example, you might run 3 miles, including some drills and strides, and maybe even short surges at race pace! Because the race is so short, you need your body to be ready to run at a high intensity immediately. At the other end of the spectrum, for a marathon you might just jog half a mile, do some light mobility and drills, and call it good. The pace is less intense and the race is long.

For more tips on warming up, be sure to come out to Wednesday group run. Each week a CERC coach will lead you through a pre-workout warm up, and will be available to answer questions about warm up strategy and give tips.