If you’re running a spring marathon, a strong core will definitely help you in the latter miles when the going gets tough. According to running bio-mechanics expert Michael Fredericson, Ph.D, roughly 90 percent of runners have weak abs which leads to faulty running patterns and bad form. Having weak abs can easily translate into taking too long or too short of steps, or a pelvis that swings from side to side. So, what are you waiting for?

If you’re not already following the popular 200 Sit-Ups challenge, now would be a great time to jump on board and strengthen those abs. The six-week progressive program will help take you from your current fitness level right up to a couple of hundred consecutive sit-ups in a matter of weeks. You can either follow the plan online or download the hugely popular iPhone App from the iTunes App Store. The App currently costs just $1.99, but word on the street is that the price will soon be reduced to $0.99 for a limited time period to celebrate National Abs Month.

3/4 mile run on grass, 6 soccer goal pull-ups, 15 push-ups, 15 crunches – repeat 10 times.

Totals: 7 mile run, 60 pull-ups, 150 push-ups, 150 crunches.

It was good to feel well-rested after yesterday’s day off and I’m thinking I should probably incorporate more recovery time into my weekly schedule. The run was almost one of my favorite progressives, but a rock in my shoe messed up the 4th mile.

Splits as follows: 8:04 7:50 7:39 7:43 7:28 7:16 7:04

I waited until lunch time, made sure I was well hydrated and went for it. Actually, the whole final test was a bit of an anti-climax. I managed the two hundred sit-ups easier than some of the workouts from the last couple of weeks and didn’t really feel the burn until the final 15-20. Excellent news!

Just one question – what’s next on the list?

Just a couple of workouts remain before I attempt the 200 consecutive sit-ups. Today was the second day of the final week and it went like this:

Required:33 33 45 45 36 36 32 32 at least 90

Actual:33 33 45 45 36 36 32 32 120

No real problems although I do find I need to concentrate on my breathing. Occasionally I find myself holding my breath for a couple of sit-ups and then gasping to take in air. The familiar “burn” started around the second set of 36, but I made it through to the end of the workout and finished with a nice solid 120.

Looking forward to Day 3 on Friday and then an attempt at the 200 on the weekend.

Other news: Sunday and Monday I just ran easy in an attempt to recover from Saturday’s 25k race where I ran a 2 minute PR. Last night I did another 10k Strength Builder treadmill workout which went very well. Looking back through my log at similar workouts I’m now running the 5 x 6 minute repeats at a faster pace, but with the same heart rate. I guess my running efficiency is slowly improving…

I’ve already started to look forward to the second race in the Mud in Your Eye cross country series on Saturday, and am hoping for another solid performance. Currently I’m lying fourth in the overall standings (by just a few seconds) and would love to move up a place to third. We’ll see.

I also realized this morning I’ve run every day this month and logged just over 220 miles to date. Not a bad start to the year and good preparation for the Shamrock Marathon which crazily is just over 7 weeks away. I officially signed up last night, so no going back now. Need to start racking up the long runs….

Required: 30 30 36 36 30 30 40 at least 75

Actual: 30 30 36 36 30 30 40 75

Toughest workout of the plan so far. I struggled a little towards the end and decided to stop at 75 instead of adding a few extras.

I also ran an “easy” four miles in 32 minutes tonight. Actually it wasn’t as easy as the pace suggests so I’m hoping I’m not about to cross the fine line between good fitness and over training. I suspect my slight fatigue was due to yesterday’s tough interval workout, but all will be revealed in tomorrow’s 25k race at Fort Story, Virginia Beach.

Required: 30, 30, 36, 36, 27, 27, 33, at least 70

Actual: 30, 30, 36, 36, 27, 27, 33, 100

A few extra sets thrown in for good measure today which made the workout slightly more challenging. To hurry things through, I also lowered the recovery time to 30 seconds between sets. Good workout and nice to do over 300 sit-ups in a session…

PS Two Hundred Sit-Ups iPhone App now available!

Over the course of the weekend I performed the end-of-week-four exhaustion test to determine which column I’d be following in Week 5. After knocking out a straight 100 in several of the previous workouts, I was sure column 3 would be the one for me. I managed 110 sit-ups during the test before calling it a day – no need to really push it any further.

So, Monday morning soon arrives and it’s time for Week 5, Day 1 – 5 sets of crunches with 60 seconds recovery time between each set.

Required: 54, 60, 45, 36, at least 60

Actual: 54, 60, 45, 36, 100

No problems today, and no real burn until I got to about 65 in the final 100.

Day 2 looks slightly tougher with several extra sets built in to the plan. Wednesday’s workout should be interesting…

PS Two Hundred Sit-Ups iPhone App now available!

Toughest sit-up workout of the week, but still manageable.

Required: 33 42 30 30 at least 45

Actual: 33 42 30 30 50

I could already feel “the burn” on the set of 42, but with 60 seconds recovery between each set I was able to make it through to the end quite comfortably. Correct breathing is very important and crucial to the success of the plan. Inhale on the way down, exhale on the way up.

Two days to rest the core before making a start on Week 4.

PS Forgot to mention, I’m still following the 30-Day Shred DVD and just completed another Level 1 workout. Not ideal to do it first thing in the morning, but it is nice to get it out of the way before work….

No problems with Week 3 Day, although I definitely felt “the burn” in the final 38.

Required: 30 38 23 23 at least 38

Actual: 30 38 23 23 38

Progressing nicely….

Naturally I’m taking the challenge too and therefore did the initial test over the weekend. I made it fairly comfortably to 80 consecutive good-form sit ups before calling it a day and moving on to another day of the Jillian Michaels – 30 Day Shred workout.

Anyway, back to the sit-ups. The initial test of 80 put me right in at Week 3 Day 1 Column 3 (see below) – 5 sets of sit-ups with a 60 second rest period between each set.

Here’s what I needed to do:

Required:21 27 21 21 (at least) 30

Actual:21 27 21 21 30

Towards the end of each set I could definitely feel the burn, but the 60 seconds rest was just long enough to recover and prepare for the next set.

All in all a good workout and a perfect compliment to the Hundred Push Ups challenge which I recently completed for the third time.

Can you do two hundred? Find out more at the Two Hundred Sit-Ups web site…..