Need good improvement in 70 days.

[justins]

I'm in the US Air Force, and we have a physical test every year. We need to finish with a score of 75 or higher to pass. 70-74.9 is marginal and you retest in three months, and below a 70 you retest in three months and they monitor your workouts (this is where I'm at).

I've tested several times and seem to stick at the 60 point mark. My run is hanging around 16 minutes for the 1-1/2 mile run, my pushups vary greatly, from 30-47 (my max is 47 to get the full allowable points), my crunches (modified) vary between 20 and 25 (Max points are awarded at 49), and my waist seems to like it at 37 (40 is the max before you are in deep trouble, and I need a 32 inch waist for full points).

I'm up to running 6 days a week for at least 40 minutes a run (have been for a week now, was running 3 times a week about 2 miles each run). I do crunches before my run and after. I do pushups three times a week with my unit and am debating on adding some wind sprints to my run once a week (not for 40 mintues, I'll have to see how they go before I know how long/much to do).

Is there more I can do? I need to improve all around. I have no doubt my run will improve imensley, but I need it down into the 12 or at the slowest 13 minute range to compinsate for my 37 inch waist.

I'm 6' tall, weigh between 210 and 205. I feel quite a bit of pain in my left calf/shin area the entire run and my right leg goes pretty numb starting with my pinkey toe at around the 25 minute mark. (Today I had to walk for about a 1/8 mile to ease up on my numb leg a little before finishing up the last 1/2 mile).

Any suggestions are appriciated,
Justin

P.S. I re-test at the end of September. Can I make it?

 

[SnapThat]

The easiest way to improve something very specific (i.e. the number of push ups you can do) is to do it over and over... And that's basically all there is to it.

I can give a bit more advice on the running, though. Firstly, you might want to get a new/better pair of shoes, because most running problems can be linked to those shoes. How long have you been using the ones you have now? For the shin pain, if it's shin splints, you may want to do some toe taps before each run (but this won't help if you already have it severely, in which case you ought to do some stretching out). Again, generally, this can be avoided with a good pair of running shoes.

As for your running schedule, doing sprints won't help your distance running. If anything, you should do some tempo runs - basically the same as HIIT, but you are continuously running. During the "rest" portion, jog, and during the "work" portion, go at a tempo pace that is just a little slower than your race pace. Depending on your fitness now, you could try something like 4 x 5min, with one minute of rest in between.

Also, you already sound like you're doing this, but make sure that when you're doing a good distance run, you do well over the 1.5 mi that you will be tested on.