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Should I change my warmup and cooldown in colder weather?

When it’s cold out, your ligaments, tendons, and muscles take longer to loosen up, so it’s good to extend your warmup. I usually recommend walking for three minutes, followed by five minutes of alternating walking and jogging before you ease into your training pace. During the winter, extend your initial walk to five minutes, then alternate walking and jogging for another six to 10 minutes. When it’s below freezing, try part of your warmup indoors. If you have a treadmill or you start your run at a health club or near a mall, do as much as you can inside, then head out once your legs feel ready but before you start sweating.

To avoid getting too chilled after a run, keep your cooldown brief: Slow your pace for three to four minutes, then go inside. Take extra layers off and keep moving (walking on a treadmill, through a mall, or just around your house) for another five to 10 minutes before hitting the shower.

From runnersworld.com

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It didn’t all happen in Eastern Connecticut. A look at some of the finest 2006 achievements:

U.S. runners of the Year

Male: Mebratom Keflezighi, California:Meb remained in top form and posted a number of strong performances in 2006, including a win at the Gate River Run 15K (43:43) and runner-up finishes at both the USA 10,000 meter championships (28:18) and the New York City Half Marathon (1:01:28). Keflezighi’s big race of 2006 was a third-place overall finish in the Boston Marathon in April (2:09:56) to lead the American resurgence.

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Female: Katie McGregor, Minnesota:McGregor, a former two-time NCAA champion at Michigan, followed up a strong 2005 season with another impressive year of racing, capped by a win at the Tufts 10K in Boston in October (32:37). McGregor was also third at the Gate River Run 15K (50:20), 10th at the Peachtree 10K (32:44), and finished fifth at the USA 8K cross country championships.

World runners

Male: Martin Lel, Kenya:No surprise to see a Kenyan athlete again at the top of the world list. Lel, 28, didn’t race often, but when he did step to the starting line, he made it count, posting his personal best marathon time of 2:06:41 in a runner-up effort at London in April (two seconds back of countryman Felix Limo).

Women: Lornah Kiplagat, Netherlands: Kiplagat, last year’s co-nominee, passed on a spring marathon to concentrate on road racing and world championship events. The strategy didn’t disappoint, as the 32 year-old Kiplagat notched wins at the World’s best 10K in Puerto Rico, The Peachtree 10K, and the Steamboat Classic. Her biggest win was at the IAAF World 20K Championships in Hungary, were she fended off Romania’s Constantina Tomescu by two seconds to win in a world record time of 1:03:21 (a pace of 5:06 per mile).

Read the rest at the Norwich Bulletin - www.norwichbulletin.com

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