Planned:
8 Yasso 800s @ 2:55
Actual:
1 mile w/u
12 Yasso 800s all faster than target
1 mile c/d
Total: 8 miles
Domination might be a strong descriptor, but the infamous Yasso 800 workout was way too easy yesterday. The idea behind Yasso 800s? You take your goal marathon time in hours and minutes (mine: 2 hours 55 minutes) and convert that to minutes and seconds (mine: 2 minutes 55 seconds). The workout is then to rotate intervals and rest jogs in this time. Pioneered by Bart Yasso who has run marathons on all 7 continents, the Yasso 800 workout is supposed to determine your readiness to run your goal time in the marathon. Run 10-12 of these intervals and you're ready for the marathon - or MIGHT be ready. Problem is it's one of those workouts that if you can't do it, you're not ready, but if you can, it doesn't really mean much as most people are better prepared for shorter faster events than the longer marathons...
My pacing wasn't particularly impressive as I was typically 4-5 seconds fast on the first 200 and then just cruised the rest of the interval. All my intervals were fast (2:52, 2:49, 2:50, 2:52, 2:51, 2:52, 2:53, 2:52, 2:51, 2:49, 2:51, 2:50) but none felt like I was pushing for time. The biggest struggle was going out slow enough to be on pace - only my 10th interval did I go through the first 200 in 44 seconds, only to complete the back side too fast. I started the workout targeting 8 intervals, got there and decided to keep going. I probably could have kept going all day as my legs still felt as strong at the end as I did at the beginning, but I was running out of water and needed to get ready for work and so headed home after 12 figuring that was sufficient domination of the workout.
Though I'm pretty happy I was able to cruise through this workout so easily, I have to say it probably wasn't as hard of a workout as I needed to do. The pace was too slow, the interval too short and the rest was too long. It feels good killing a planned workout every once in a while, but the remaining 2 Yasso workouts on the schedule are getting changed out for something a bit longer and a bit more challenging.
Showing posts with label Track Workout. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Track Workout. Show all posts
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
1600s let down
Planned:
5 x 1600 Starting at 6:00 and dropping 4 seconds per interval. 3 min rests.
Actual:
83F, HUMID, slight drizzle for the start of the workout, puddles on track.
1 mile w/u
4 x 1600 - 6:00, 5:56, 5:52, 5:52
800 - 2:44
.5 mile barefoot c/d
Sort of broke on this workout - finally had a track workout push my limits... I really need to start bringing water and ice to these afternoon workouts because the heat and humidity killed me on this one. Between each interval I jogged over to the water fountain to splash cold water on my face and neck, but I was quickly overheating during the intervals.
The goal of the workout was to really focus on split times. I've been pretty bad about judging pace lately, so I needed to focus on hitting good, even splits instead of just making up time to hit the overall split. Also, by getting progressively faster I would work on the negative split side of my racing. The intervals would start at my Cruise Interval pace for my half mile time and work towards my paces from my 5k time since I've been finding that the half marathon pace workouts seem too easy. Last time I did a 1600 workout I managed to run 4 at 5:53 or faster, so I figured this workout would be no problem. Different day, different temperatures, whatever it was, this workout got the best of me - I just hope it's not a sign of possible over training already...
First 3 intervals went alright. 1st interval the splits were dead on, 2nd interval the splits were off and I made up 6 seconds in the final lap, 3rd interval the splits were dead on again. For the 4th interval the first 800 was on, but the second 800 was slow. I was hurting as I started the last interval, but went through the first lap right on pace despite feeling slow and decided I would keep going as long as I was hitting the splits. I went through the 800 mark 2 seconds slow, thought I would keep going but 4 strides later decided I was done.
The mental indecision / weakness has me more worried than anything else in the workout. It's easy to sit here and say it was stupid and I should have kept pushing, but in the moment I just let it go. This is a problem with running alone, and something I'll really have to deal with before Marathon time, knowing that pushing through the wall will be the biggest challenge I face in Chicago.
5 x 1600 Starting at 6:00 and dropping 4 seconds per interval. 3 min rests.
Actual:
83F, HUMID, slight drizzle for the start of the workout, puddles on track.
1 mile w/u
4 x 1600 - 6:00, 5:56, 5:52, 5:52
800 - 2:44
.5 mile barefoot c/d
Sort of broke on this workout - finally had a track workout push my limits... I really need to start bringing water and ice to these afternoon workouts because the heat and humidity killed me on this one. Between each interval I jogged over to the water fountain to splash cold water on my face and neck, but I was quickly overheating during the intervals.
The goal of the workout was to really focus on split times. I've been pretty bad about judging pace lately, so I needed to focus on hitting good, even splits instead of just making up time to hit the overall split. Also, by getting progressively faster I would work on the negative split side of my racing. The intervals would start at my Cruise Interval pace for my half mile time and work towards my paces from my 5k time since I've been finding that the half marathon pace workouts seem too easy. Last time I did a 1600 workout I managed to run 4 at 5:53 or faster, so I figured this workout would be no problem. Different day, different temperatures, whatever it was, this workout got the best of me - I just hope it's not a sign of possible over training already...
First 3 intervals went alright. 1st interval the splits were dead on, 2nd interval the splits were off and I made up 6 seconds in the final lap, 3rd interval the splits were dead on again. For the 4th interval the first 800 was on, but the second 800 was slow. I was hurting as I started the last interval, but went through the first lap right on pace despite feeling slow and decided I would keep going as long as I was hitting the splits. I went through the 800 mark 2 seconds slow, thought I would keep going but 4 strides later decided I was done.
The mental indecision / weakness has me more worried than anything else in the workout. It's easy to sit here and say it was stupid and I should have kept pushing, but in the moment I just let it go. This is a problem with running alone, and something I'll really have to deal with before Marathon time, knowing that pushing through the wall will be the biggest challenge I face in Chicago.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Cruise Interval Pyramid
Planned:
400 (90), 800 (3:00), 1200 (4:30), 1600 (6:04), 1200 (4:30), 800 (3:00), 400 (90)
30 second breaks after 400 & 800's, 1 min after 1200 and 2 min after 1600
Actual:
1 mile w/u
87, 2:58, 4:25, 5:55, 4:28, 2:52, 72
1 mile c/d
Total: 6 miles
Another track workout that perhaps felt too easy. I was able to focus on keeping the intervals smooth and easy. Breathing was starting to get a little labored for the 1600 but legs still felt good and pace never felt difficult. Legs started feeling it slightly during second 1200 and after, but wind was picking up as a storm was coming in and the pace was increasing a little.
At this point I have to be pretty happy at how easy this is feeling. According to mcmillanrunning.com these are the training paces I should be hitting if I was running a 2:56 marathon but I may have to start upping the difficulty to make sure I'm getting enough out of these workouts since I have limited speed/threshold work during my marathon training plan.
I was worried at the beginning of the workout that temperature was going to be a problem as it was 83, feels like 94 with 83% humidity (and this was down from 94F earlier in the day) But the thunderstorm that blew in helped keep the temperatures moderate (temps droped 5-10 degrees during workout), though the wind added something to the workout. It would be nice if the weather cooperated all summer!
400 (90), 800 (3:00), 1200 (4:30), 1600 (6:04), 1200 (4:30), 800 (3:00), 400 (90)
30 second breaks after 400 & 800's, 1 min after 1200 and 2 min after 1600
Actual:
1 mile w/u
87, 2:58, 4:25, 5:55, 4:28, 2:52, 72
1 mile c/d
Total: 6 miles
Another track workout that perhaps felt too easy. I was able to focus on keeping the intervals smooth and easy. Breathing was starting to get a little labored for the 1600 but legs still felt good and pace never felt difficult. Legs started feeling it slightly during second 1200 and after, but wind was picking up as a storm was coming in and the pace was increasing a little.
At this point I have to be pretty happy at how easy this is feeling. According to mcmillanrunning.com these are the training paces I should be hitting if I was running a 2:56 marathon but I may have to start upping the difficulty to make sure I'm getting enough out of these workouts since I have limited speed/threshold work during my marathon training plan.
I was worried at the beginning of the workout that temperature was going to be a problem as it was 83, feels like 94 with 83% humidity (and this was down from 94F earlier in the day) But the thunderstorm that blew in helped keep the temperatures moderate (temps droped 5-10 degrees during workout), though the wind added something to the workout. It would be nice if the weather cooperated all summer!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
4x1200 Speed Work
Planned:
4x1200 @ 4:20, 400 jog between each
Actual:
1 mile w/u
4x1200 - 4:13, 4:16, 4:16, 4:15, 400 jogs (~2-2.5 min) between
half mile cool down
Total: 5.25 miles
Last night was the first track workout of my official Chicago Marathon Training (18 weeks!) I pretty much have my training plan finalized, but only have Speed Intervals or Cruise Intervals defined for my weekly track workouts - no individual workouts planned yet... So I was very indecisive leading into yesterdays "3 mile SI" especially having just run a terrible 5k Sunday evening.
I finally opted for 4 x 1200 at 4:20 pace or better (pulled from McMillan's Running Calculator). It was warm (83 +) and humid, but the wind seemed to keep things feeling okay. The pace seemed quick but pretty easy and the workout went by quickly without much mental struggle at all. (I guess I should have expected 5:49 pace to seem very easy after going through the first 1200 of the 5k at 4:50 pace).
I've realized I may need to pay more attention to my speed workouts after this one seemed so easy. Right now my speed fitness is far ahead of my stamina and endurance (not that that's saying much at this point) so basing all my workouts off my half marathon time may not be the best plan, however it should help prevent over training, and if training at these tempos feels easy, my goal marathon time (2:55 - also based on the half time) should be very attainable. It's also early in the training cycle, so the distances are somewhat low but I may have taken too much time between intervals as well. Obvious that more refining will be needed, but not a bad start to the training cycle!
4x1200 @ 4:20, 400 jog between each
Actual:
1 mile w/u
4x1200 - 4:13, 4:16, 4:16, 4:15, 400 jogs (~2-2.5 min) between
half mile cool down
Total: 5.25 miles
Last night was the first track workout of my official Chicago Marathon Training (18 weeks!) I pretty much have my training plan finalized, but only have Speed Intervals or Cruise Intervals defined for my weekly track workouts - no individual workouts planned yet... So I was very indecisive leading into yesterdays "3 mile SI" especially having just run a terrible 5k Sunday evening.
I finally opted for 4 x 1200 at 4:20 pace or better (pulled from McMillan's Running Calculator). It was warm (83 +) and humid, but the wind seemed to keep things feeling okay. The pace seemed quick but pretty easy and the workout went by quickly without much mental struggle at all. (I guess I should have expected 5:49 pace to seem very easy after going through the first 1200 of the 5k at 4:50 pace).
I've realized I may need to pay more attention to my speed workouts after this one seemed so easy. Right now my speed fitness is far ahead of my stamina and endurance (not that that's saying much at this point) so basing all my workouts off my half marathon time may not be the best plan, however it should help prevent over training, and if training at these tempos feels easy, my goal marathon time (2:55 - also based on the half time) should be very attainable. It's also early in the training cycle, so the distances are somewhat low but I may have taken too much time between intervals as well. Obvious that more refining will be needed, but not a bad start to the training cycle!
Friday, April 8, 2011
1600 Repeats
The first track work out of the year seems like a good time to start this training blog. I'll try to keep it posted with some of my more serious workouts, especially when I start my ramp up for Chicago in October.
4/7
Goals:
2 mile warm up/cool down
4x1600 @ 5:44 3 min rest
Actual:
Tropical Park
80 degrees, slight wind coming across the track.
1.5 mile warm up / cool down
4x1600 @ 5:52, 5:53, 5:53, 5:41 - 3 min rests
Total: 5.5 miles.
So I may have bitten off more than I could chew for a first track work out of the year. My times were a bit slow but that was partly due to what I was working out as splits... I planned to do this workout at goal 10k pace - which realistically should be about 36:26 (5:52/mile), but I'd love to go sub 36 (5:48/mile). Doesn't seem like a big difference, but it is... So I split the difference for the workout and planned 5:50 miles, and worked out the splits until I realized 1600 is a bit short, so I needed to be running 5:44 1600's to be on pace. Unfortunately I remembered and targeted the wrong splits during the first interval, and then just wanted to keep the pace even...
I recovered well between intervals, but had trouble keeping intensity up after the first 800. For the first 3 I went through the half 5 seconds fast and ended 2 seconds slower than target - a 7 second fade... not good for 1600 intervals. Called off the cool down a little early because the stomach was feeling off and no bathrooms at the track... Still, not going to be too mad about the workout considering I was dodging walkers and little kids on the track and it was my first speed work of the year, and first 1600 intervals in over a year... It's a slow road back, but I've started!
In retrospect a better workout would have been 1000m intervals at 10k pace or slightly faster. The race is just a week away so the goal was more learning the pace than strength training. I think for the race I'll work out the 1k splits and run on those rather than mile splits. It'll be my first 10k in 8 years so I'm pumped to see what I can do!
4/7
Goals:
2 mile warm up/cool down
4x1600 @ 5:44 3 min rest
Actual:
Tropical Park
80 degrees, slight wind coming across the track.
1.5 mile warm up / cool down
4x1600 @ 5:52, 5:53, 5:53, 5:41 - 3 min rests
Total: 5.5 miles.
So I may have bitten off more than I could chew for a first track work out of the year. My times were a bit slow but that was partly due to what I was working out as splits... I planned to do this workout at goal 10k pace - which realistically should be about 36:26 (5:52/mile), but I'd love to go sub 36 (5:48/mile). Doesn't seem like a big difference, but it is... So I split the difference for the workout and planned 5:50 miles, and worked out the splits until I realized 1600 is a bit short, so I needed to be running 5:44 1600's to be on pace. Unfortunately I remembered and targeted the wrong splits during the first interval, and then just wanted to keep the pace even...
I recovered well between intervals, but had trouble keeping intensity up after the first 800. For the first 3 I went through the half 5 seconds fast and ended 2 seconds slower than target - a 7 second fade... not good for 1600 intervals. Called off the cool down a little early because the stomach was feeling off and no bathrooms at the track... Still, not going to be too mad about the workout considering I was dodging walkers and little kids on the track and it was my first speed work of the year, and first 1600 intervals in over a year... It's a slow road back, but I've started!
In retrospect a better workout would have been 1000m intervals at 10k pace or slightly faster. The race is just a week away so the goal was more learning the pace than strength training. I think for the race I'll work out the 1k splits and run on those rather than mile splits. It'll be my first 10k in 8 years so I'm pumped to see what I can do!
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