Yasso 800s and my WR prediction

The White Rock Marathon is only 11 days away.  This will be my 4th consecutive White Rock.  This morning I ran my last Yasso 800s leading up to White Rock.  Yasso 800s are an interval training workout that also serves as a predictor of marathon finish times.  (See my entry on Yasso 800s from this time last year here.)

This morning I averaged a 3:35 800.  The best thing about it is that if I leave out the first interval (I wasn't quite warmed up yet), intervals 2-10 ranged from 3:31 to 3:36.  I am encouraged by this consistency and by the strength of the latter intervals.  My normal pattern on intervals or tempo runs is to taper off with slower times at the end, and to be inconsistent in pace throughout. 

So based on the Yasso 800s philosophy, this should predict a 3:35 finish at White Rock.  This is actually pretty encouraging; my marathon PR is 3:35, set at White Rock 2009.  There are lots of factors, and Yasso 800 times are no guarantee, but I have been putting in more miles more consistently in the months leading up to WR  than I did last year.  (I'm at 87 consecutive days of running, and counting.)  Maybe, just maybe, I have another 3:35 marathon in me.  

Eine Kleine Nachtlaufen

I don't speak German, but since Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik is normally translated "A Little Night Music," and since laufen means run (I think), my title means A Little Night Run.  German speakers, I welcome your corrections.  Actually, now that I google my title, I find that I'm not at all original.  No big surprise.

Anyway, tonight was a night for another frustrating long run.  I feel like I'm on track in my training: I'm close to goal in intervals; I'm making progress on my tempo runs; and my easy runs have been at an acceptable pace.  All three have definite room for improvement, but I'm getting there.

Long runs are another story.  The ultimate goal, per my White Rock training plan, is to run my long runs at a pace of about 9 minutes/mile, with the last 4 or so miles at race pace, about 7:30.  Tonight I started out OK.  The first hour I ran mid-9s.  The second, around 10.  So after 2 hours, I was definitely in the sub-10 range.  The next mile or two were a little slower, and I decided to pick it up on mile 15.  I ran a blazing fast 8:50, aided by the first 1/2 mile being downhill.  The next mile, not so fast: 10:59.  After that, I got a little slower.  The last 2-3 miles were a painful, slow walk home.

This has become my pattern for long runs: strong start, but seemingly not excessively fast, then a few miles of struggling but keeping an OK, if not optimal, pace, followed by a death march to the finish, as my friend Stuart would say.  Now that I think of it, that's pretty much my pattern in races, too.  So what I practice in training runs comes out in races.  I don't know how to get out of that!  I'd settle for even splits in my long runs now, but I'm far from that, much less negative splits!  The good news: I still have 4 months until White Rock.

Nice Place to Run: The Lake at Lakes of River Trails South

Of all the places I run, I am pretty partial to the lake at Lakes of River Trails South, chiefly because it's out my front door.  Convenience is certainly the number one attribute for me, but it's great for a few other reasons, too.  One lap around the lake is right at a mile; it's actually a tad less, so if you want to run your best mile, you can tell yourself it's a full mile around and shave a few seconds off your time instantly.  I like to run intervals here because the surface is predictable--a wide, level sidewalk, with very few cracks, all the way around.

Besides all that, it's just pretty.  One side of the lake is lined with trees, and the side with houses has a nice hill up from the sidewalk to the houses.  The HOA put in some benches along the lake, picnic tables at one end, and recently added a volleyball court, tetherball pole, and a horseshoe pit.

I share the lake with a variety of water foul (you can see the Canada geese at the bottom of the picture above if you look closely).  There are some decent sized fish in the lake (eat them at your own risk), and a few years ago someone caught several ugly gar.  This morning I saw a beaver, and one morning a while back I was chased by a skunk.

So come for a run at our little lake.  Look for the overweight guy wearing Vibram Five Fingers, running really slowly or huffing and puffing through a set of Yasso 800s.

Some encouraging intervals

I didn't have time for a full set of Yasso 800s today (10 800 yd repeats w/ 400 yd rest in between), but I did do 6 800s, with an average pace of 3:20.  That encouraged me, because at the height of my training for White Rock, I was doing Yassos in 3:15-3:20.  Granted, the last few repeats today were getting gradually slower; had I done all 10, my average may have been closer to 3:25 or 3:30.  Once the 50 Slam is behind me, I'll take more time for speed work.  Maybe I haven't lost too much speed.  Total distance today: 5.6 miles.