This morning I hopped on the track for the first workout this go-round. It's been too long.
Anyway, since it's less than 2.5 weeks until the marathon, I thought it'd be a perfect time for some Yasso 800s. Don't know what those are? Check out this short article on Yasso 800s from Runner's World.
As a general rule, Runner's World sucks. Okay, I shouldn't say that it sucks exactly -- just that it's very much geared toward rec runners instead of the serious runner. If you've read the magazine, you know what I'm talking about: "Shave minutes off your 5k without increasing mileage!", "Finding the right show for your foot!", "Five reasons why speed work will help you run faster!", etc.
But here's the thing about marathon training: no one really knows what they're doing. For pretty much every shorter race, training is basically a science; there are commonly accepted principles that everyone in the field agrees with. Marathon training? Not so much. The race itself is so fickle that no one has really perfected a standard way to approach it. Training is basically a crapshoot: go through it all and cross your fingers that you don't crash after mile 20.
Enter Yasso 800s. I think it might be the one workout (besides the long run, of course) that have a general level of broad acceptance. Not so much as a workout of preparation, exactly, but rather as an indicator of potential fitness. As in, running 10 by 800 in 2:25 won't prepare me to run a 2:25 marathon, but it could indicate that I am in shape to run a 2:25 marathon.
As for today's workout, that was the goal: 2:25. And it went a lot better than expected. My times were:
1) 2:25
2) 2:20
3) 2:23
4) 2:23
5) 2:23
6) 2:22
7) 2:21
8) 2:21
9) 2:20
10) 2:15 (I wanted to see what I had in the tank and dropped a 65 the last quarter)
Damn. If this workout is any indication, I should be able to run the Pig in about 2:22. I'd be psyched out of my mind with a result like that. And these 800s weren't even hard...I felt relaxed the whole time.
That said, this is just an indicator. I averaged 2:18 before Chicago and ended up running...2:39. Oops. With something like the marathon, you just never know. But I am feeling confident going with almost 2 weeks left.
Anyway, since it's less than 2.5 weeks until the marathon, I thought it'd be a perfect time for some Yasso 800s. Don't know what those are? Check out this short article on Yasso 800s from Runner's World.
As a general rule, Runner's World sucks. Okay, I shouldn't say that it sucks exactly -- just that it's very much geared toward rec runners instead of the serious runner. If you've read the magazine, you know what I'm talking about: "Shave minutes off your 5k without increasing mileage!", "Finding the right show for your foot!", "Five reasons why speed work will help you run faster!", etc.
But here's the thing about marathon training: no one really knows what they're doing. For pretty much every shorter race, training is basically a science; there are commonly accepted principles that everyone in the field agrees with. Marathon training? Not so much. The race itself is so fickle that no one has really perfected a standard way to approach it. Training is basically a crapshoot: go through it all and cross your fingers that you don't crash after mile 20.
Enter Yasso 800s. I think it might be the one workout (besides the long run, of course) that have a general level of broad acceptance. Not so much as a workout of preparation, exactly, but rather as an indicator of potential fitness. As in, running 10 by 800 in 2:25 won't prepare me to run a 2:25 marathon, but it could indicate that I am in shape to run a 2:25 marathon.
As for today's workout, that was the goal: 2:25. And it went a lot better than expected. My times were:
1) 2:25
2) 2:20
3) 2:23
4) 2:23
5) 2:23
6) 2:22
7) 2:21
8) 2:21
9) 2:20
10) 2:15 (I wanted to see what I had in the tank and dropped a 65 the last quarter)
Damn. If this workout is any indication, I should be able to run the Pig in about 2:22. I'd be psyched out of my mind with a result like that. And these 800s weren't even hard...I felt relaxed the whole time.
That said, this is just an indicator. I averaged 2:18 before Chicago and ended up running...2:39. Oops. With something like the marathon, you just never know. But I am feeling confident going with almost 2 weeks left.
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