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!

Taper and Run Strong

To borrow a line from the Phedippidations podcaster, Steve Runner, this is my plan for the upcoming Singapore marathon.

Reflecting on the training over the last 8 weeks, I've put in faster paces but less mileage on average, when compared to the 14 week training schedule I've put in for the KL marathon.

For the KL marathon, I must have made a couple of boo boos, such as cross training the day before, lack of sleep, too many races in the training period, focusing on too much carbs and not enough protein and actually doing the actual distance in training, 4 weeks from the race.

Coming into this 12 weeks program, I was feeling much stronger, with a better base of 'musculoskeletal' structure.

The aches, pains and tendonitis seemed to have also migrated, after I incorporated some elements of 'Chi' running (read the book by Danny Dreyer).

So, instead of going overboard, I only did 4 LSDs 30k and above, with the highest at 36km. For shorter runs, I pushed for at marathon pace minus 5-10 seconds, and this instilled some confidence.

Overall pace was much better, and I managed to finish the last 3 LSDs without any muscle cramps. A big improvement compared to the previous try.

Going into the taper (actually I only scheduled 14 days), I plan to do only 40-45k, with the last long run on Sat at about 15-20k, depending how I feel.

Given that this Friday is a holiday, I was also thinking about heading down to either the Klang stadium or UPM stadium to do the Yasso 800s to see where I am. 4min for 800m x 10 reps with intervals of 400m (MP-1 min).

Next week, I'll be traveling, so it would be a great time to taper :p

By the time I'm lining at the starting line in Esplanade drive next Sunday, I'm hoping to feel refreshed, energized and ready to go for a sub 4, God willing!!

Come 7th December, hopefully I'll be posting the race updates. Until then....Run Strong, and taper!

LS(S)D Run (Long Slow (Short?) Distance Run)

Event : Long Slow Distance Run
Place : Around Bukit Rimau and KK
Distance : 16km
Time : 7:00 to 8:30am, there abouts.
Weather : Good

Had a wonderful Saturday, with weather pretty mild, with scattered showers in the evening.

The family did have a good time at the KK pacers potluck bash near KK Lake, with good food, good company and something for the kids to do. The weather was holding up, although there were intermittent drizzle.

Tried to come up with a good number for this morning's run, and more or less settled on 20 km, depending how I felt. No particular pace in mind. I was more concerned on both my achilles heels and left hamstring.

The last thing I needed was starting off my marathon training for SG with injuries...

As usual, I took some time before I could get out the front door. With a cup of coffee down the chute and some Red Bull diluted with water 1:3, I was off for my run at exactly 7:01am.

The first 5km went smooth, and at a fairly easy pace. The joints were doing ok. After completing the 1st round at KK Lake, the hamstring and knees acted up a bit.

With the sun coming up and temperatures rising, I decided there and then to cut it short to 15k.

Heading towards the 2nd roundabout, I almost got run over by a lady driver, who seemed to either have dysfunctional right signal indicator, or have adopted the high driving standards of Malaysia :-

"RUNNERS BEWARE! MOTORISED VEHICLES HAVE ULTIMATE RIGHT OF WAY, ESPECIALLY MINE!"

What can you do? Anyway, I deftly swerved to dodge the 4 wheel drive and continued on my merry way, and none the worse for the experience. Little does one know what was going through my mind...

Getting back to the neighbourhood, I decided to do a mini loop before finishing at a round 10 miler, good to be considered an LSD but not really long by most standards. Bumped into 1 of our KK pacers. Didn't know she was staying there and vice versa. Strange, huh... Maybe timing issue lah.

Wrapped up the run in good running form and feeling good. No major aches and pains, and at this time of writing, 7 hours after the run, I'm only having some tightness in my right achilles tendon and a wee bit tired. Great, compared to the condition I was in after the Adidas KOTR.

The next race is at end of this month, and a short one at that; the PAR relay event with the KK Pacers sending 5 teams.

I'm thinking about my training program for the SG marathon, hoping to kick it off latest 1 September.

For the KL marathon, I did 900km in 16 weeks, with 700km in the last 12 weeks for a 4:29 finish, and the wall hitting at 35km.

I hope to log at least a total of 1000km within the 16 weeks, with 850km in the last 12 weeks. My target for this round - 4:15 and push out the wall a few more km. However, breaking a leg to go sub 4:00 is something I will have on my mind.

Sunday Running.....

I love my Sunday runs, which normally lasts at least one and a half hours over 15k, at a comfortable pace.

Running out of the normal housing suburb, it helps reacquaint myself with my favorite places and familiar spots around my place. Circling around my childrens' school, and heading towards the lake, I would anticipate a beautiful sunrise which I could take in with the 2 rounds I did around the lake before heading towards the edge of our housing suburb.

Towards the end of my run, I would head down a less traveled road with some traditional kampung houses.

Running pass the golf course makes me reflect on my own golf game in the previous day.

By the time I head towards home, and having accomplished my task for the day, I would feel good for the rest of Sunday.

Anyway, today's run was washed out due to the constant drizzle and my running nose. I may head out on the bike if the weather improves.

For next week's Adidas KOTR, I plan to have an enjoyable run with no specific time in mind.

After registering for the Penang half and Singapore marathon in November and December respectively, I will be going into marathon training mode in early September.

Until then, I would look at more casual goals in my running for next 30 days...