Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Darn You, Aukland Sub15 Clothing Store

When I was young I had a poster in my room that said, "A goal is a dream with a deadline". If I still had that poster I might hang it back up on my wall as motivation for this Sub-15:00 project. Nevermind that my wife doesn't let me hang posters up in my bedroom anymore, or that the poster had a basketball hoop on it. The phrase is particularly salient given the current circumstances.

The goal is a sub-15:00 5k. If this is news to you then I'm guessing you just stumbled across our blog while looking for children's clothes in Aukland (an Aukland clothing store is the #1 hit that comes up in a google-search for Sub15; our blog is #2). The deadline for me is the start of residency. I'm fairly certain that when I start residency training in pediatrics this July, 70mile weeks and 2hr track workouts will be unsustainable. This means I have until July to break the 15 minute barrier. There is no doubt that all of your submitted workouts have moved us closer to a 15:00 5k. But, as the deadline looms nearer I've decided its time to start adding the little things that will put me over the hump.

For the past several months I've been doing crunches and planks in an effort to improve my core strength (and get the perfect beach body for this summer when I never leave the hospital). In talking with several running friends I've also decided to add weekly strides to the routine. This supposedly activates fast twitch muscles and gives you an excuse to run barefoot. Another thing I've recently added is stretching. I've never been a big fan of stretching, but I figure its like praying - it can only help right? Since Sam and I have crowd sourced everything else about this process I figured I would once again turn to the sub-15 viewers out there and ask for your suggestions in this matter.

What other "little things" do you add to make yourself a faster runner? Give up drinking? Eat only black jelly beans? Sleep in an oxygen tent? Sleep in a regular tent and hold your breath? No suggestion is too outlandish for Sub15. If we get enough responses we may do an episode on the topic. If we get no responses we may just stop making the blog entirely. Just kidding. But not really.

-Steve

7 comments:

  1. How about plyometrics or yoga?

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  2. We used to do downhill "sprints." They're best done on a grassy hill to avoid too much impact, but basically sprint downhill for 10-15 seconds. That helps build leg speed without too much effort on your part.

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  3. train on hilly cross country courses , running there will improve your stride and give you leg power.

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  4. I would add proper rest and tapering before important race dates. At least a week out I would stop doing high intensity workouts and only do easy runs and strides. You guys may already be planning this I don't know, but a few days of rest, maybe even a week or more, may help prepare the body for a fast race.

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  5. I've been running with Walsh for the past couple days here in Manitou Springs, CO and he swears that "hot yoga" has been the secret to his running success. Hot yoga once or twice a week. I'm going to give it a whirl before I head back to sea level.

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  6. Thanks everybody. These are some great suggestions! I will give each of them a shot in the coming weeks. CT, congrats on your engagement!

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