Week 13 Yasso 800 speed work

This workout hurt...and I'm wondering if this workout gave me an indicator of where I'm at fitness and speed-wise or it could clue me in on other factors like pre-race meal, energy levels, warm-up, etc. Plus there were a lot of environmental factors that affected me prior to starting this workout.

First off, there was the Boston Marathon tragedy, and seeing the carnage on live TV and watching the late night news really affected me because I know in the future I will be running down Bolyston to that same finish line. I also haven't been sleeping well and I've been taking 1 full lunesta tablet to help me sleep through the night. The after-effects of getting that nights sleep is a very bitter taste stays with me throughout the day, making everything I eat and drink just bitterly awful.

No need to get into the specifics of my day after work, because there are many out there that have it worse than me, but after getting home, I'm taxiing my daughters to their practices. And by the time I pick up my oldest from her dance, its the only time I'm able to start my speed workout. And by then, I'm pretty exhausted.

Anyways, the Yasso 800 speed work. This I gathered from McMillan Running on what the workout is:

The theory behind Yasso 800s is that your time in minutes and seconds for a workout of 10 times 800 meters (two laps of the track) with equal recovery time is the same as the hours and minutes of your marathon time. For example, if you can run 10 times 800 meters in three minutes and 20 seconds with three minutes and 20 seconds recovery, then this predicts that you can run three hours and 20 minutes for your marathon. Run 2:40 for the 800s and you can run 2:40 for the marathon.

Today's workout was set for 6X800 with 400 meter recovery jog after each interval. You will run each 800 at the following pace:

Marathon Goal Time	Half Marathon	Pace
3:30	1:30	800m in 3:30
3:45	1:40	800m in 3:45
4:00	1:50	800m in 4:00
4:30	2:00	800m in 4:30
4:45	2:10	800m in 4:45
5:00	2:20	800m in 5:00
5:15 +	2:30	800m in 5:15

I didn't run this at a track...because it's still covered in ice and snow at the local high school, so I took this to Kildonan Park which also does not have flat surface and this winter will not release it's grip. And according to the pace I set it didn't happen for me, at least according to my Avg Pace (seen below). I did my pre-run warm-up and stretch routine and ran 1.5km slow easy jog around the park once to warm up. According to the Time column, I'm within the pace range I set except for the last split. My Garmin kept telling me to speed up so it was constantly beeping throughout my intervals, including my recovery. I just ignored the beeping and ran at a threshold pace I let my body do, although there were moments I was red-lining and gasping for air.

I set my interval for 800m at 3:45 - 4:00 min:sec/km with a recovery at 6:10 - 6:30 min:sec/km. I checked the McMillan running calculator and I do have the correct 800m interval pace set for a 1:50:00 1/2 marathon. I was unsure of the recovery pace because McMillan says the recovery time should be equal to the hours and minutes of your marathon time and by the time I completed my first 800...I was pretty much gassed, and gasping for air.

My splits were:

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	39:40.4	7.20	5:31
1	3:43.5	0.80	4:39
2	2:36.7	0.40	6:32
3	3:41.8	0.80	4:37
4	2:38.7	0.40	6:37
5	3:45.6	0.80	4:42
6	2:44.3	0.40	6:51
7	3:52.4	0.80	4:50
8	2:52.9	0.40	7:12
9	3:55.8	0.80	4:55
10	2:50.8	0.40	7:07
11	4:09.8	0.80	5:12
12	2:48.1	0.40	7:00

I also think I ran too many intervals for my first time. According to Runners World where Bart Yasso is one of the editors of the magazine. In the column he writes:

Bart begins running his Yasso 800s a couple of months before his goal marathon. The first week he does four. On each subsequent week, he adds one more until he reaches 10. The last workout of Yasso 800s should be completed at least 10 days before your marathon, and 14 to 17 days would probably be better.

I'm running my 2nd 1/2 marathon in 2 weeks and I'm in taper mode, so I think I over did the workout and might not be a true indicator of where I'm at (still struggling with this). I'm not sure how many intervals I'll do next week, I'll discuss this with Osty (he didn't get a chance to do this workout yet). But I will add this to my next training cycle for sure in the summer.

My goal marathon is not for another 6 months and I still have to set up another training cycle for that. But that is still aways into the future. Oh well, I can at least take some assurance that I at least completed the workout. Next up is Tempo run for Thursday and an LSD for the weekend. Since it is taper, I'm only going 20km for my LSD.

Boston Marathon 4.15.2013

Week 12 LSD - Start of the Taper

I'm very happy with this run. Despite starting the run late in the day, I felt I could've run another 5k but the temperature was dropping and my hands were cold and feet wet, good thing I wore gloves this time. By the time I got to the 22km it was -2C so I decided to call it quits and head for home, even though I did have gloves, I wasn't wearing a warm baselayer thinking the weather would hold, plus I wasn't wearing my warm compression socks, as I was experimenting with wearing these ankle cut ninja tabi socks that my cousin got me from the Daiso Japan store. The purpose of this run was to keep it to a consistent pace, I listened to my body and brain and let my legs run pace in the 6:30 range. My cadence was a consistent 90spm. I also experimented with gels, I took my first gel at the 14km mark which helped me greatly. No stomach problems.

I started to wane a bit at the 22km but picked it up at the last 2 to finish strong. I was well within my training pace of 5:50 - 6:39 for an LSD. I was discussing this run with Osty and he told me after his LSD that he was starting his taper for the Winnipeg Police Services run which is slated for May 5, 2013 which is 3 weeks from now. He pointed out this article that gives you the proper steps to tapering for your race. I'm glad I did manage to get in a long run before the taper. I'm also going to pick up some more gels and stinger chews for the race.

Equipment:
Hoorag
Nike pro combat baselayer (made for summer)
Patagonia fleece
Patagonia tights
Ninja tabi socks
Brooks Cadence
Cliff Shot Cranrazz flavor

Summary

Distance:	24.67 km
Time:	2:38:58
Avg Pace:	6:27 min/km
Elevation Gain:	21 m
Calories:	1,840 C

Week 12 Tempo run 10k

I felt good going into the run as I had a late lunch and I ran an earlier 10k in the afternoon with Osty, Kevin and Rob. I didn't feel hungry going into the run and my legs were a little bit tired but today's aim was to run tired and see how much I can push. 

Again, I made the error of starting too fast. The first 5k I was doing well, then suddenly my legs were really tired and I was having a mental lapse at the 6km mark. I suddenly didn't feel or think I could keep going. 

Doesn't help being on-call, as I got a text message regarding work stuff so I stopped a little after the 6km mark (stopped my gps too)to read and reply to the work text. That might've been a blessing in disguise because I was able to rest for 30 seconds and I started back up again. The 7th and 8th split was slow because I had to get my mind and body back into the run. 

What helped was I was crossing paths with the CPR running group, saw the barefoot runner (it was 0C during my run and the ground was very pebbly) and used them to start upping my pace and act as a beacon to get through to the final 2km. I was happy as the last 2 split times were back to the first 5km, pretty good ending. 

This workout helped me psychologically know that I can push through mental lapses and be able to keep a decent pace while on tired legs.

Distance:	10.01 km
Time:	55:03
Avg Pace:	5:30 min/km
Elevation Gain:	4 m
Calories:	578 C

Avg HR:	160 bpm
Max HR:	255 bpm

Avg Run Cadence:	89 spm
Max Run Cadence:	95 spm

Split Time Distance Avg Pace Summary 55:03.4 10.01 5:30 1 5:10.9 1.00 5:11 2 5:15.5 1.00 5:16 3 5:21.7 1.00 5:22 4 5:17.3 1.00 5:17 5 5:20.6 1.00 5:21 6 5:39.0 1.00 5:39 7 6:29.8 1.00 6:30 8 6:02.7 1.00 6:03 9 5:09.9 1.00 5:10 10 5:13.1 1.00 5:13 11 :02.9 0.01 5:47

Week 12 MSD Run with Osty, Rob and Kevin

It was a nice day in the relative sense being +1C, so we decided to head out and run to the tracks. As we neared the tracks I took off for a 200m sprint, then the guys wanted to go a bit further so we could complete a 10km loop. Over all I felt good and the run back down Wellington was really well, I was able to keep up with Osty's pace throughout the run back. Took my Cadence's out so I can practice more with lengthening my stride and breathing while keeping up with Osty's pace as I suggested he too lengthen his stride. He kept it short on the way back because he was waiting for Rob and Kevin, but the stride was bothering him due to injuring his right knee from the sprint we did to the tracks.

Week 12 - Speed 8x90 second Intervals

8x90 Seconds interval Run 90 seconds at 5km pace, followed by 90 seconds of a slow jog. 
Interval pace 4:45 - 4:55 min:sec/km 
Recovery pace 6:09 - 6:15 min:sec/km

You can see from every split my times were even:

1	1:30.0	0.34	4:26
2	1:30.0	0.25	5:57
3	1:30.0	0.32	4:44
4	1:30.0	0.24	6:09
5	1:30.0	0.32	4:40
6	1:30.0	0.26	5:43
7	1:30.0	0.32	4:40
8	1:30.0	0.25	5:59
9	1:30.0	0.31	4:51
10	1:30.0	0.25	6:02
11	1:30.0	0.32	4:43
12	1:30.0	0.24	6:18
13	1:30.0	0.32	4:43
14	1:30.0	0.24	6:12
15	1:30.0	0.32	4:42
16	1:30.0	0.25	5:57

This was actually a challenging workout. As I found myself constantly wanting to go fast and I know I should keep within my prescribed pacing since running at a 5k race pace can be comfortably hard...but what was even more challenging was the recovery jog too. After the first 3 intervals I was able to slow down and speed up more consistently. For it being early April, it does get depressing seeing a foot of snow everywhere, although the road was a lot more clear and dry.