Yasso 800s

Time: 84:30
Distance: 12.5 mi.

Target: 8 x 800m in 2:35 down to 2:25 with 320m jogging rest (one lap on Georgetown's Ellington Track)
Workout: 2:22.5 (96 sec), 2:26.3 (92), 2:23.4 (93), 2:25.1 (93), 2:24.1 (102), 2:25.0 (97), 2:24.4 (105), 2:23.4 (110); average: 2:24.2


The Ellington Track, next to Georgetown University (photo from 1960)

I headed out to do a medium-length track workout without even thinking about the "Yasso 800" workout, a marathon preparation workout that Bart Yasso developed and running experts like Amby Burfoot and Greg McMillan tout as a great predictor of marathon time. McMillan describes how the workout should be run:

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.

As it turned out, my workout was fairly close to this (without planning on it) though with shorter rest and only 8 intervals. When I felt so good running way too fast on the first interval, I decided to just stick with 2:25s throughout the workout, trying to keep the rest between 90 and 100 seconds for one lap of Georgetown's Ellington Track, which is 320 meters (or 7:30 to 8:20 pace). My legs got tired (I'm still running in beat-up Elites), but aerobically I felt great. McMillan thinks this workout over-predicts by 5 minutes, but I tend to think that I race better than I workout, so I'm fairly happy with today's effort.

800s

Time: 60:45
Distance: 9 mi.

Target: 4 x 800m near 5k race pace (2:25 down to 2:20), 3-4 min jogging rest (~600m)
Workout: 2:24.0, 2:20.1, 2:21.4, 2:15.9

I was thinking of doing 6 x 400 in 68 here, but Tom suggested that I do some more "race pace" work to try to turn the legs over and feel comfortable there. The ARHS track was nearly deserted when I got there and empty by the time I left. After being all over the place and feeling unsettled on the first one (38, 76, 68) I decided to forget the watch (meaning no splits) and just concentrate on running this relatively easy pace smoothly. I hit it right on and didn't look at my watch for the rest of the workout. I figured the last one would be a little bit fast, but I was feeling very good covering ground.


Downtown Amherst at night

The sun was almost completely down as I started my first interval, and by the last one I could barely see the start and finish lines. I warmed up in Wildwood Cemetery and cooled down through town and Amherst College.

Two Miles

Time: 68:44
Distance: 10 mi.

Target: 2 mile time trial, 9:20-30
Workout: 9:20.7 (2:18, 2:22, 2:21, 2:19)

I drove up to Hanover, NH early in the morning to bang out one last really solid race-prep effort for next weekend's CVS Downtown 5k. We were both planning to come up to watch the Dartmouth Invitational XC race so working together for a good hard effort made sense. After warming up from Dartmouth's track, where we were planning to run, football practice was just beginning so with some quick navigating we made it over to the Hanover High School track down the street. Without much time before the race started, we got going after a few strides... I had no patience for Ari's "warmup drills" or "stretching."

I suggested that we alternate 800s as long as we could run together. After sassing me about my ability to run 2:20s, Ari agreed. He then promptly fell off in the first 200 meters (which was a little fast) and didn't help me with the pace the entire way. I felt surprisingly good and was relatively comfortable through the first 1.5 miles. Ari trailed me by 5 seconds for the entire thing, and finished in 9:25. I think I'll probably smoke him next weekend.

We made it over to the Hanover Country Club for the start of the race and ran around on the golf course and the trails to see the guys run. Brown held out most of the top guys, giving the new freshmen a first go at 8k and it looked like it was a positive experience across the board. BrownBears.com has a recap. Also, check out the end of the results to note the efforts of the Dartmouth Alumni Team, who, if scored correctly, would have beaten Central Connecticut State.

600s, 200s

Time: 81:30
Distance: 12 mi.

Target: 6-8 x 600m at 70 pace (1:45) w/200m rest (60-70 sec); 4 x 200m in 32 or faster w/200m rest
Workout: 1:45.7 (67), 1:42.9 (71), 1:44.7 (69), 1:44.5 (70), 1:45.8 (75), 1:43.5 (83), 1:43.9 (80), 1:44.2; 31.4, 32.0, 31.7, 31.2


The Amherst College track is nearly a rectangle, in order to accommodate the football field and stands.

It's time to start feeling comfortable under 5:00 pace. I decided that 600s would be a good way of getting at this, and overall I'm happy with how this workout over at the Amherst College track went. The first couple were actually the hardest, as I was fairly stiff this morning and have no concept of this pace right now. Once I settled in it wasn't too bad, and after convincing myself that I was just shooting for 6 of the 600s, I did all 8 just taking the last few one at a time. The rest got a little slower than I would have liked, but I was more focused on hitting the splits. I anticipated the 200s feeling all-out, but after getting loose doing the 600s they weren't as hard as I expected. On the cooldown my calves got very tight. An ice bath would have been nice after this.

Half Miles

Time: 77:00
Distance: 12 mi.

Target: 8 x 800m in 2:30 with 200m rest in ~60 - 5 miles total
Workout: 2:30.7 (58), 2:31.3 (62), 2:28.6 (61), 2:30.2 (58), 2:30.8 (65), 2:28.5 (68), 2:28.5 (62), 2:27.2 (56) - 28:06; 2 x 200m untimed

Decent workout for the first time I've been below tempo pace in a long time. I headed down to the Amherst Regional High School track to relive the memories. My legs felt pretty uncomfortable from the beginning which I attribute somewhat to running on dead shoes, but I did recover aerobically fairly quickly. I settled in somewhat, but had to get back in the mindset of doing intervals, focusing through each one, taking one at a time, etc. I threw on two 200s at the end just to try to clean out my legs.

I did finally got a new pair of Nike Elite 4s which I finagled for less than cost a FinishLine.com.

Bike Path, AC Track, Amherst Center

Time: 82:51
Distance: 12.5 mi.

Target: light track work, something like 8 x 200m in ~33s
Workout: 3 x 200m, 2 x 400m, 3 x 200m; 34.0, 33.4, 33.5, 68.0, 67.5, 33.9, 32.6, 31.8

I ran over to the Amherst College track on the bike path with John Tyson who then headed on his run. I did this run more to break up the monotony of my training more than anything else, but it will be good to get used to some faster running again as well. I was just generally shooting for turning my legs over but after three 200s which felt as fast as I could comfortably go but not as far as I could go, I decided to mix it up. My legs were very much not ready for this, but this is how it starts I suppose. Particular tightness in my right hamstring, hip, and lower back.

The "cool down" was through town and past the high school and then to Stanley Street, Wentworth Farm and Old Farm Road. The water in the river near Stanley Street was higher than I have ever seen it, covering all of the beach and getting relatively close to the bridge. I couldn't help but jump in.

Boulevard, Hard Mile, Freeman

Time: 35:00
Distance: 5 mi.

It started as an easy run from the OMAC. Then, for some genius reason, we decided to add in some challenges. After running down the Boulevard and starting back up towards the track, Coste decided he wanted to see if he could run a fast mile. Jordan and I got in for the pacing job and next thing we were running around the track in blazing sub-75 pace. We ended up running 4:47.

Then, as we headed back, Craig decided he wanted to see what he could run a Freeman in, shooting for 68. We charged up it and sneaked in just under... 67.7 or so.

Good times. Maybe we should institute a REAL mile at Brown commencement every year.

5 Mile Tempo, 300s

Time: 82:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.

Target: average of ~5:10 for 5 miles on Jordan's "Tetris" loop; 6 x 300m in 48-49 with 100m quick jog
Workout: 25:48 (avg. 5:09.6); 6 x 300m in 48-50 (7:59 total)

I met Jordan at the OU track to start warming up for the tempo and 300s. He worked out a loop (that looks a bit like a Tetris piece) for his tempo last week, and we used it again. This time it featured the good old 360 degree Oklahoma wind that is at your face at almost every turn. He led through the first half and then I led the rest. The splits are a little weird, but we started in 5:12 and brought it down to 5:06 for the last mile. The blocks are exact distances here, so it was easy to know when we had gone 1/4, 1/2 and 1 mile at different places in the course.

The finishing point gave us just shy of 10 minutes back to the track for 300s. I wasn't feeling too sharp, and it showed. I was between 48 and 49-high on the 300s, Jordan was 48-45. The jog was a little slower than it probably should have been too.

As it turned out, Jordan was being a milage hero and managed to get in a longer warmup and cooldown than I did. Who does that?

2k Buildup, 400s

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13 mi.

Target: 800m (2:00 rest), 1200m (3:00), 1600m (4:00), 2000m (4:00), 3 x 400m (1:00); long intervals at 70 pace, 400s under 65
Workout: 2:20.5, 3:31.0, 4:39.9, 5:53.3, 66.5, 64.5, 64.2

Brian suggested a Barry Harwick workout, as I didn't really know what I wanted to do this week and was just going to run the workout alone (yeah, I need a better plan soon). I was happy with his suggestion and it turned out well.


The Austin High track (since redone with red rubber) right on Town Lake

I decided to head down to the Austin High School track as a change of pace--it was nice to be able to warm up and cool down on Town Lake and I was hoping it would be empty. Instead, however, I had the Hot Middle-Aged Women's Track Club doing repeat miles in 7:00. At first I was annoyed, but it turned out they provided good targets to run down during the workout. It took a little time to settle in--the mile probably felt the best of all the intervals--but it was a good combination of strength and speed. It was good to get in a faster gear to end it. I got in a 25 minute warmup and a 30 minute cooldown to keep the volume up.

I have signed up for the Diploma Dash, a 5k in San Antonio this weekend, but am not planning on tapering for it.

Track 1ks, 200s

Time: 66:00
Distance: 10.5 mi.

Target: 5 x 1k in 3:00 with "full" jogging rest; 4 x 200m in 30-31
Workout: 2:56.9, 2:56.7, 2:59.3, 2:54.5, 2:57.3 (avg. 2:56.9); 29, 31, 32, 30

I really felt like I had to get at least some sort of workout in this week even if it aggravated my knee. Given that I didn't know how the knee (or the rest of my body) would feel getting back on the track, this went well. Some other guys were doing fast 400s and Jake was doing a tempo, so Joe and I did our own workout. I felt totally comfortable in the 1ks and would have with significantly shorter rest, as I felt recovered pretty quickly. Knee was tight on the warmup, but once I started running hard I didn't feel it much at all. I ran the first 3 1ks in flats and then the rest in spikes, which made my calves pretty tight almost immediately. Hopped in the ice bath afterward for the first time since December... hopefully the knee feels okay tomorrow.

4 Mile Tempo, 2 x 1k

Time: 64:00
Distance: 10.5 mi.

Target: 4 mile track tempo, 76 pace down to 72 (19:48 total); 6 min rest, 2 x 1k with the first in at least 2:50 and the second one faster than that, 200m rest.
Workout: 4:53, 4:54, 4:56, 4:52 (19:38); 2:51.0, 2:51.7.

This was a very encouraging workout. I met Erik, Kyle and Leo in the morning because one of them had a class conflict, which I much prefer to afternoon workouts. Their plan was the tempo and then a hard 800 after, so Vig gave me something different that would hopefully be more geared for a longer race. The tempo felt great... Leo took the first mile out about 10 seconds too fast, so it changed from being a progression run to being an even, quick tempo. I felt great the whole way--when the pace slacked a little bit in the last mile, I felt good enough to get up to the front and push it some. This is a complete change from the other workouts I've done in the last few weeks where I've really been hanging on. The 1ks weren't terribly hard, but definitely felt uncomfortable and I didn't really settle at all, probably because I haven't run anything near that pace. So far my training has been tempo pace or 200s in 30ish. Next week I should do a 1k repeat workout, or something similar. The other guys ran fairly well for their 800s (run separately)... Leo went 1:53 easing up a bit at the end. Not too shabby, eh?

It was a beautiful, clear morning. The air was cool, but the sun was warm. The wind picked up some by the intervals, but wasn't too bad for the tempo. This is close to the fastest (maybe the fastest?) that I've run for 4 miles in practice--we were through 5k near 15:10.

4 Mile Tempo, 200s

Time: 65:00
Distance: 10.5 mi.

Target: 19:45 for 4 miles (5:05, 5:00, 4:55, 4:45), try for 2 miles in ~9:30
Workout: 20:18 (5:05, 5:01, 5:08, 5:04), 4 x 200 in 30

Yowza. Welp, I'm not quite there yet. Really unsure how well I would be able to work out because while I have been doing miles (including some steady runs) and the workout tuesday was decent, I haven't done anything at tempo pace. I got dropped by Jake and Birdsong heading into the 3rd mile and it was all downhill from there. I didn't feel terrible but was totally flat. Just had to get it in. Clearly the up tempo 2 miles afterwards didn't make sense, so I jumped in with those guys for 200s just to finish it off. I have to get on some tempos ASAP.

Twenty Twos

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13 mi.

Target: 20 x 200m in 30ish with 60 sec. jogging rest
Workout: hit it right on, 30-low down to 29-mid

Very happy with this workout. I feel like I'm back on the train of getting ready to race, rather than just slogging away some miles (not that there's anything wrong with that). Started with some of the sophomores and freshmen for the first 16, then finished up the last 4 with Jake and Wilson. Jake in particular was rocking out on the last few (27ish) and I got dropped a bit, but was happy to finish close to 29 for the last few. My calves will be sore tomorrow.

Track 1ks

Time: 80:00
Distance: 12.5 mi.

Target: 8 x 1k in 3:00 (average) with 600m (3 min) or 400m (2 min) jogging rest
Workout: 3:04, 3:02, 2:59, 3:00, 3:01, 2:58, 2:57, 2:56 (avg. 2:59.5); 400m rest (except for the 1st)

Back on track. Worked out with Joe and Birdsong (who thought he was doing 4x800m going in... hah!). Legs felt stiff and heavy pretty much the whole way, but not too surprised by that. Had a hard time feeling the pace, too. These are both the result of tapering, a few mediocre weeks and not working out in a while. Calves sore immediately afterward and both hamstrings tight (particularly the right one). The cold misty rain and wind probably didn't help with all of these things, but then again, it's apparently dumping snow in New England, so I'll take what I can get.

Only a few hours until I'm done with the semester... no more procrastinating.

4 Mile Tempo, 300s

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.

Target: 4 miles on Town Lake in 21:00; 5 x 300 in 52, 200 in 50
Workout: 21:20; a few pacing issues, but mostly on it

Pretty good workout despite being a little off on the tempo... Paul and Stan were on it about 30 sec. ahead but Brandon, Darren, and Jake all were back a bit. It was VERY humid which contributed to me being in the tank early (especially stomach-wise). Bounced back pretty well for the track stuff though, and felt pretty comfortable for that.

(Posted from my iPhone... wooo!)