Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Getting in shape for getting in shape

I'll freely admit that I am not in great shape right now. Heck, I'm nervous about getting a game of ultimate frisbee going with a bunch of high schoolers. Additionally, I have an alumni track meet coming up in mid-April. I reached out to a number of former teammates, and most of them asked for a brief wait before we start speed workouts. The reasons varied, but I think the most telling was needing to 'get in shape for getting in shape.' I was not alone in believing that I needed to kick my butt into gear (on my own) previous to getting in shape with a handful of guys who knew me back when I could run a sub 16 minute 5k. Alright, I'll be honest; these guys knew me when I could only run a 17 minute 5k.
So let me get this out there (even though I am not posting these blogs, just writing them); before the middle of February, I need to complete a training circuit where I run 6 200 meter repeats at 30 seconds each, with less than 45 seconds rest between. Hopefully, by the end of March, I will be able to do 8 200 repeats at 28 seconds with 40 seconds rest. This will be a fast workout, and it may well cause me to throw up (I HAVE YET TO ACCOMPLISH THIS FEAT), but if it makes me run a sub 2 minute 800, then it will well be worth it.
There are a number of things I am getting ready for, though. Football workouts are starting in March. Track season is starting then as well. Spartan races and Tough Mudders will (hopefully) be prevalent for me this next year. Rugby is always awesome and a hope for me.
So I need to set my sights on some goals. Think these are realistic at all?
Weight: 178. At 5'10'' (yeah, I grew a half inch this past year!), 178 lbs is a little light for contact sports such as football and rugby, but it is also a little heavy for distance events like the mile and 5k. By aiming for 178, I should be able to gain or lose up to 8 lbs depending on the most important event 2 weeks in my future.
40 yard dash: 4.75. I have never run a good 40, and with the Run Rich Run segment coming up during the combine, I would like to run in my work clothes and put on a good showing. This means a lot of power cleans and jump roping and dot drills.
200 meter: 24. I lost a race to fellow distance runner Nathan Heppe in the 200 at Milwaukee Lutheran this past spring. I would like to put that behind me.
800 Meter: 1:59. I would really like to be able to break that 2 minute barrier in the 800.
Mile: 4:25. If I can run a sub 2 800, I should be able to run a sub 4:30 mile.
5 K: 16:30. See the logic from my mile time, and extrapolate.
10 K: 34. See 5 k description.
Ways I can meet these goals are to meet workout goals, so...
Squat: 335
Dead Lift: 425
Power Clean: 225
Vertical: 34''
Dot Drill: 48 seconds
Broad Jump: 9'
Burpees: 40 straight
Pull Ups: 25 straight
200 repeats: 8 x 28 seconds, 40 seconds rest
Mile repeats: 7 x 5 minutes, 1 minute rest, 3 minutes jog recovery, 1 minute rest
Hill Sprints: 28 North Point, hammer on 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 22, 26, 28
A couple lifting workouts, a few running workouts. My squat had never been good before a year ago, so even aiming for north of 315 is a big goal for me. I was doing 365 DL for 3 sets, 6 reps without much trouble in the fall, so aiming for over 400 shouldn't be that tough. My power clean is even worse than my squat when it comes to heavy weight, so even 200 is a big goal. I can't jump, so 34'' vertical and 9' broad is pretty ambitious. The North Point hill is used by a couple different sports teams in the area, so using it as a workout location is fairly common, and hammering means essentially a sprint (90-95% max speed as opposed to workout speeds). My 200 repeat workout is my best barometer for mid distance runs. If I can run multiple 200s at a 28 seconds at the end of a workout, I should be able to do back to back (a 400) at 26 (52 second 400), or back to back to back to back at 29ish (1:56-1:59 800). The math works roughly the same for my 5 k related to my mile repeat as 200s did to my 800.
I may be aiming a bit ambitiously on these goals of mine, but I just need to lift 4x weekly, run 4x weekly, and this should lead to success... maybe.
(Written 1/10/15)

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