Outdoor Winter Speed Workout

Today's Run: 4.75 miles through Bath
Type of run:  Speed Interval - 4 sets of 800-meter runs with 400 meter recovery
Interval Times:  3:05, 3:07, 3:05, 3:08
Miles this week: 27.27

The weekly speed workouts I've started doing are 800-meter runs done at a "goal pace."  What this means is that my goal is to aim for a certain target time for this distance, trying not to go too fast (tire myself out too early) or too slow (not maximizing the workout).  This particular weekly session was recommended to me by RK in an attempt to not only better our 5K race times but also to improve on Marathon times.

As many long-distance runners know, the biggest factor to how well one runs a Marathon is determined by the amount of miles put in per week.  This creates the foundation of endurance that's absolutely crucial to making it through 26.2 miles of running.  If you're not running enough miles per week, chances are you're not going to get through a Marathon with the time you want, and that's if you make it through one.

Aside from this, there are many other 'workouts' that can be done to improve on those times.  At this point it's hard to say what works best.  What do I do?  I experiment a little.

You may have seen the word "Yasso" thrown around a few times - at least by me anyway.  It's a technique that's popular around the Marathoners.  (The word "Yasso" comes from Bart Yasso, a Runner's World member that apparently started this.)  The idea behind it is that you start your first week of training running 4 sets of 800-meter intervals, running each one at the minute equivalent of your goal Marathon time (3 minutes, for a 3 hour Marathon, 4 minutes for a 4-hour Marathon, etc.).  Each successive week, you add an interval until you reach 10.  Since my target right now is 3 hours, 5 minutes, I will perform the intervals at 3 minutes, 5 seconds.  Sounds simple enough to remember at least.

Last week I started these and only made it through three at a 3 minute, 5 second pace.  Whether it was the stifling heat of the exercise room at my apartment complex, recovery from sickness and injury, or just being out of the speed workout loop for so long, the intervals kicked my butt soundly.  I decided that I was going to commit to doing them outdoors next week to see if I could fare better.

What a difference a week makes - this speed workout was a major improvement over the last one.  Not only did I complete 4 but I did so close to my goal time and I still felt like I had some energy leftover.   It was sunny but 35 degrees, pleasant enough for winter and just right for the natural A/C.  The stretch of road I marked was flat and pretty clear of snow, which gave me one less thing to be distracted by.  The traffic was tough in a couple of spots but it worked out overall.  Next week I'll be adding a 5th interval and I hope to do that one outdoors as well.

I don't know if these will pay off on 2/28 - it may be too early to tell even then.  I'm hoping, however, that it will help me for my third trip to Sugarloaf on 5/16.  I can tell you that I'm already in better shape right now than I was in 2008 or 2009, it's just a matter of maintaining discipline and focusing on the goal.