How did your Yasso go?

For those not familiar with Yasso 800s, this is another approach to gauge whether your target marathon time is attainable.

Basically, it is a type of workout attributed to Bart Yasso, one of the editors of the "Runners World". It comprises of a set of intervals and can be adapted to fit your fitness level and also where you are in your preparation for your target marathon.

The target time in hours and minutes, say 4 hours and 12 minutes, is then converted to minutes and seconds, which would mean 4 min and 12 sec for a distance of 800mtrs. This will then be followed by an interval measured in the same amount of time, in this case 4 min and 12 sec.

Depending on which stage of your training that you are at, the sets are increased from 4 sets, maybe 8 weeks out from the target race, to 10 sets about 3 weeks from the target race.

The typical location for this workout would be a 400m track, or at least a trail/route which the distance is known.

Having a GPS watch for these workouts will help if you are running on unfamiliar territory. My Garmin 405 has settings for lap distance and lap time, so it's ideal if you would want to do some Yasso workouts.

A tip from the net - pick a route that is similar to the terrain of the course you will be running for the marathon. It will be a better gauge.

Point by point, the steps taken would be;

1. Warm up of about 10 minutes
2. 800m at the target pace.
3. Intervals for the target duration. The pace should be "easy".
Repeat 2&3 x 4 times.
4. Warm down for about 10 minutes.
5. Stretch and wind down.

The goal here is to maintain the target pace for at least 10 sets. In my case, I was hoping to do 10 sets of 4 minutes over 800m.

If you can't complete the 10 sets within the target time, it is very unlikely that you will be able to meet your target marathon time.

If you can complete the 10 sets within the time, then there is a chance to meet your target time, although that is no a guarantee. It has to be accompanied with the proper base training. Another tip - if your HRT remains stable throughout the 10 sets, then the chance of achieving your goal time is higher.

For more info, www.runnersworld.com/.../0,7120,s6-238-244-255-624-0,00.html is a great to start some fact finding.

So how did I do?

I was actually supposed to do this on the track at UPM stadium, but unfortunately;
1. It was locked today (Saturday), maybe because there was a public holiday the day before.
2. It started raining.
3. My running partner didn't turn up.

Not a good start...

So, I decided to do it over the UPM route, and my Garmin 405 was instrumental in getting this done.

The results of my first Yasso as below;
1. Warm up - 880mtrs, 5:08min
2. 1st Yasso - 3:37
3. Interval - 490mtrs, 2:49
4. 2nd Yasso - 3:44
5. Interval - 530mtrs, 3:04
6. 3rd Yasso - 3:55
7. Interval - 570mtrs, 3:17
8. 4th Yasso - 3:57
9. Interval - 530mtrs, 2:59
10. 5th Yasso - 3:55
11. Interval - 470mtrs, 2:49
12. 6th Yasso - 4:01
13. Warm down - 198mtrs, 1:07

With a downpour and a tough terrain (UPM Mizuno route), I decided to cut short the workout, and not blow a fuse. The last Yasso included the killer hill, so the time was pretty slow.

Although I wasn't wearing my HRT monitor, I could feel the exertion level climbing steadily throughout the sets. The killer hill packed quite a punch and gave a good climax to the whole workout.

I didn't manage to follow the prescribed pace and intervals, mainly due to inexperience, but all in all, it was a pretty good workout.

Will I manage to do my goal of a sub 4 after 12 weeks of training? Guess I'll find out in 8 days.

Until then....chow.

P/S - Trying new approach - loading up on chicken feet at dim sum stall!