Crushed the Yasso 800 workout

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. For more information go here.

So while you are supposed to do them about 3 weeks beforehand I was unable to do mine in that time frame given my personal schedule. So today was the day and I could not have been more pleased. I had to do them on a treadmill which was not ideal, but I had no access to a track today with most local schools in session.

I did a one mile warmup and then ran these 4:53, 4:46, 5:01, 4:50, 4;53, 4:46, 4:52, 4:47, 4:52, 4:54 AVG Pace 4:51 with a 2 minute rest between the intervals. Considering my goal for the Wisconsin Marathon has always been 5:15 to 5:30, hitting a 4:51 average pace is very exciting. I am not changing my marathon time goal, but this workout showed me that my goal time and the finish line are within my reach.

So while I have 29 days to go to the marathon, I only have 3 significant runs left, a 15 miler this Sunday, a 20 milers the week after, and a 10 miler the week after that, as I taper my way to the start line all my other runs are less then 10 miles.

Very pleased but while the Yasso 800 says a 4:51 marathon is within reach, I am targeting a 5:15 to 5:30 one. I will leave the sub 5 hour marathon until Chicago this fall.