Since adopting Ollie and starting a new career, my running has definitely taken a backseat. Before March, I was on the street for at least 70 miles a week. . .sometimes closer to 100. While the pup was still a little pup, I could leave him in his cage to sleep and I could still get in a solid 90 minutes of running before needing to get home to get him out. The calendar of half marathons, 15ks, 10ks and 5ks I had almost every other weekend also made sure I kept my game up (what can I say. . .I'm a sucker for medals).
However, the Texas heat, adding 3 hours onto my normal workday and the guilt of locking up a dog again in the evening after caging him the whole day caused my strict running regimen to drop. . .drastically. I trudged through the brutal Too Hot To Handle 15k with a time almost equal to that of my worst half marathon.
That sucks.
So I started working on my cardio in more home-friendly and time condensed ways. Being in an apartment, I have to be mindful of my downstairs neighbors. However, it also means I have a parking garage that is perfect for sprint intervals.
The end result was a 5k time of 21:04 (6:45 mi pace) this past weekend - my second best time ever after the hurt I put on the Dash Down Greenville (19:36) when I was in my best running shape.
Now that the hot streak has broken, I'm going to re-introduce long runs a couple times a week in my routine. For those of you that also suffer from massive time constraints, here are some workouts I've used to keep my running game as tight as it's ever been.
I cannot stress how important it is to warm-up before and after you do any of these. And for the love of all that's holy, keep hydrated.
Sprints, Double-Unders, Lunges
What you need: Jump rope, 100m flat surface, 100m incline surface
Duration: 10 rounds for time
What you do: Sprint the incline, lunge the flat surface out and back, 50 double unders (one jump w/ the rope passing under your feet twice), jog back down incline DO NOT REST and start again. That's one round.
Jumping Burpees, Incline Lunge, Backwards Run
What you need: 100m flat surface, 100m incline surface
Duration 10 rounds for time
What you do: Do jumping burpees (push-up position/push-up/stand-up/leap forward) for 100m, walking lunges up the incline, jog back down, backwards jog 100m DO NOT REST and start again. That's one round.
Crossfit Dumbbell WOD
What you need: Dumbbells (increase by 5lbs with each round if possible - I started at 20 and finished at 40)
Sprint Intervals (oldie but a goodie from middle school track)
What you need: 400m track
Duration: 10 rounds
What you do: Sprint the straightaways, walk the curves - feel the burn.
Double-Unders and Box Jumps
What you need: Jump rope, Box (I used 24in)
Duration 5 rounds:
What you do: 50 double unders, 20 box jumps. That's one round.
Dumbbell Thrusters and Bar-Facing Burpees
Duration: 3 rounds for time
What you do: First round: 21 reps of dumbbell thrusters (I use 30lb) / 10 bar-facing burpees (do burpee as usual, but when you jump, grab the bar and do a pull-up). Second round: 15 reps of dumbbell thrusters / 10 bar-facing burpees. Third round: 9 reps of dumbbell thrusters / 10 bar-facing burpees.
Milestone Workouts:
Do these every 30 days (not together) to see how you're improving!
For time: 100 Double-Unders
For time: Run a mile
For time: Sprint for as long as possible
Any other runners out there with a time crunch? How do you work your runs into the time you have available?
I'm Joe. I really like food, technology and design. I'm a runner, I eat clean, I drink 'neat.' I earn my wage working in corporate PR for a major CPG company. I love music and tacos. My friends and family are the best. The thoughts on this page are mine and mine alone.
I'm Joe.
