Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Yasso 800s

Crap. This is only the second time I've done them and the last time was 6 weeks ago, but let me tell you, they did NOT get any easier.

I was originally planning on shooting for 8 repeats (half mile hard, quarter mile easy), but once I got to the track and felt the weather (HOLY HUMIDITY BATMAN) I knew that probably wasn't going to be a possibility.

LocalTrack
So "my" track isn't the greatest, but it gets the job done.

The premise of Yasso 800s is that the time you can run 10 repeats in, in minutes and seconds, should correlate to the time you can run a full marathon in, in hours and minutes. For example, I am shooting for a 3:30 full marathon (my Boston Qualifying time is 3:35, but figure I should probably add in a bit of a buffer to be safe) so I would need to run my 800s in 3:30.

Let's be honest, after my first two repeats I was DONE. I was on pace (which was AWESOME), but the elements were zapping my energy faster than I could run the repeats. I was feeling a bit defeated, but kept telling myself that only I can push myself... No one else is going to get out here and make me run these...

OvalOffice
Today's oval office

After my first two repeats, though, I couldn't hit my pace again. And it TICKED ME OFF! I know I mentioned in my last post about my Yasso 800s that I couldn't see my pace so I wasn't 100% sure how I was doing... Well, I figured out how to see it now and I don't know if that helped or hindered my running...


By my fourth repeat I could tell that I definitely wasn't going to make it to 8. I told myself if I could finish 6 strong then I would let myself stop at that point and finish up some easy mileage at home. Now I was not "waving the white flag" because of frustration or because I just didn't want to run any more. I was actually listening to my body and knew that if I did any more I was probably risking dehydration.

Yasso800s
This section is the only portion of "somewhat" shade and I didn't even
get to run in it while doing my repeats... STICK A FORK IN ME, I'M DONE!

Even though it bummed me out that I couldn't get in my full 8 repeats and it sucked even more that I didn't hit my pace for the last 4 of them, I am proud that I got out there and started working on my speed again. (And if/when the humidity starts to get its act together, I think I could definitely bust out 8-10 of them, but we will have to wait and see.)

GarminConnectYasso800s
If you AVERAGE the split times, I am right under 3:30 per 800 meters (like 3:29.8333333), but I still don't necessarily see this as a successful set of Yasso 800s... Would you?

And shoot, looking back at my first set of Yasso 800s, I actually finished with a faster average pace (my first time was 8:00/mile and this time was 7:53/mile). That's gotta mean something, right?! And the elements were MUCH harsher today than 6 weeks ago.

GarminYasso800s

And since I didn't get in my full workout, I decided to head home and do a 3 mile cool down. Nothing too fast or crazy (I think I averaged like 9:30/mile pace for that leg), but I wanted to get in a few additional miles and NOT on the track. I mean, legit, I think my eyelids and finger nails were sweating while I was doing my repeats. The humidity was even radiating UP from the soggy track. UM... YUCK! There isn't much shade on the loop by my house, but it felt at least 10 degrees cooler.

#RunHappy

All-in-all I got in 7.5 miles, which isn't too shabby. Although it wasn't exactly what I was shooting for, I know there is room for improvement (and I have to give myself a little credit, I mean I did listen to my body for Pete's sake!). Sure, there were times I wanted to give up on myself, times I wanted to cry and quit, but I BELIEVE IN ME! I CAN DO HARD THINGS!

And then, just in case I forgot that I am promising myself to GIVE IT EVERYTHING I'VE GOT, I returned home from my runs to this message. It is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING to have friends who remind me to follow my dreams and GET IT DONE! (I may have teared up when I saw this on my Twitter page... My friends, we just get each other! #BeyondBlessed)

WeRunSocial

What are your thoughts on speed work? Love it? Hate it? Do it? Skip it?

5 comments:

Ange @ Cowgirl Runs said...

Love/hate speedwork? Yes. That.

Everytime I have Yasso's on my calendar I'm completely freaking terrified of them, but I need to woman up and do them. Even if I might not hit my pace, it's still work.

There's got to be some kind of heat index adjustment for running, right?! :)

Kc said...

This was my first time doing Yasso's and it was terrifying! I didn't understand the pace thing (I just followed my time on my plan and assumed they knew best) so thanks for clarifying.

You, my friend, kicked ass! Many people would have given up and gone home. You pushed yourself and THEN ran 3 miles after.

Seriously.. you rock.

Unknown said...

I hate speedwork, I get in my head so much. I have to take it to the treadmill to get it done or else I end up thinking I can't do it and slow down or stop.

Rick Stiles said...

Two comments:
1) Your averaged split times definitely count! You just went out too fast in the early ones.
2) You failed to account for the weather - Running a 800 meters in 3:36 at 80º is equivalent to 3:30 at 60º, so you beat your goal. See http://runnersconnect.net/training/tools/temperature-calculator/

Sue @ This Mama Runs for Cupcakes said...

I love speedwork. I haven't done Yasso's in a long time though, but those are my favorite!! Humidity is a killer on a workout, I'd say you did pretty freaking awesome with the conditions! Way to get it done!