Everyone knows that it's important to get a good warm-up in, but it also matters how you warm-up. Just think, we warm-up before every track workout... but is anyone's first repeat their best? Probably not... in fact, my fastest repeats are usually run mid-workout (save for the last interval) when my legs have loosened up fully (and the icy hot has kicked in), the initial lung burning / gasping sensation has reached a steady state of uncomfortable (but not out-of-control) ness, and the rationale part of my brain finally gets the message from the stubborn side of my brain that I'm not stopping. Most of these reactions have a "real" physiological component to them... your body overshoots oxygen delivery to your muscles (and away from your lungs) by dilating your peripheral blood vessels in response to a sudden increase in demand. Within a few minutes, however, your body settles back down into a more sustainable, steady state of optimal efficiency.
On race day, however, many of us don't incorporate a whole ton of "hard" running before the race. Sure, we might do a few strides, but nothing too intense. As it turns out, this is not the best strategy, and including a few minutes of running at sub-lactate threshold (finishing up 10 minutes out) can actually help. The length and pace of this harder effort differs with race distance, and some suggestions are provided at the end of that article.
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