Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Pablo Picasso never ran a Yasso

Yasso 800's, there seem to be as many believers as doubters in this particular workout.

We did our second night of these last night on the Fat Boy 5K course which was fun. These are modified Yasso's for the half marathon, so we only do 6. You take your desired half marathon time, double it, and that is the pace that you should run your half mile in. In our case, 1:35 x 2 = 3:10 and there's your target. Of course the company you keep has a profound impact on how these turn out. Last night with Tim, Charles and Scott as my compadres, the pace was swifter than planned.

no 1 - 3:06 rest - 3:02
no 2 - 3:00 rest - 2:59
no 3 - 2:59 rest - 2:51
no 4 - 3:04 rest - 2:57
no 5 - 2:59 rest - 2:59
no 6 - 2:59 cooldown - 15

Don't ask me why our recovery was so whacky, i guess we were chomping at the bit. Three miles gets done in 18:07 with 14:48 of rest in between. I agree that it is a cool workout, only made cooler with a large group of people coming in and departing at separate times.

I think the notion that some sort of mathematical constant exists between your 800 time and your marathon time is intriguing, sort of like America's preoccupation with medical dramas. But I disagree whole-heartedly with the notion that i could ever approach a 3:00 marathon, or a 3:15 or a 3:30 for that matter, so that part doesn't jive with me, but hey, maybe i'm wrong. Maybe if i started sleeping in a hypoxic tent, running 70 a week, yada yada yada...

Congrats to Lance Bo Bance who smoked the Chicago Marathon, while he didn't qualify for Boston, he can take solace in the fact that at least he didn't finish like race winner Robert Cheruiyot. That just looks horrible, but he was released today.

4 comments:

Jeff said...

OK-
I know nothing about running but that was one ugly finish...OUCH!

Hate to be the insensitive type and ask this question...BUT, technically...don't you have to break the tape and "CROSS" the finish line to be the "RACE WINNER". Looks like he was a foot or two short of his 26.2 miles to me????

Unknown said...

DEA:

Thanks for the shout-out. I never made it to BR, opting for a trip to the zoo instead. If it's any consolation, they all asked for you. They even inquired about 'ya.

I like Yassos. I used in my training plan last year for Chicago with success. I do, however, have my doubts about an exact correlation to the marathon time. I guess it's all in the context of your other training.

Jeff: In my second marathon, I literally crawled the last 15 yards and just flung my leg over the chip mat to record my time. (I figured it would be like short-track skating, where you just have to get the skate across the line.) I was considered an official finisher (and pathetic excuse for a runner).

Keep up the training. My brother Leslie will be at BR Beach representing the House of Martin in the 1/2M, and my other brother Lee will be there to cheer. Look for a smaller version of me in rainbow wig with a sign that says "Leslie 3:16".

Did your little man celebrate a birthday recently? I seem to recall he was born around this time last year.

David Alexander said...

Ryan did celebrate a birthday last weekend, photos will be out soon.

I will look for your bro's at the marathon.

As for marathon memories, i hope that my photos have rolled off that site. Yikes the photos capture the pain accurately.

David Alexander said...

Eric you are too kind.

Ironically my problem stems from fat ankles and knees.