8 x 400 education please

[clocker]

Are these supposed to be working my vO2max primarily?

I ran these today for the first time. Managed to bungle the chrono on #2 &#3 but I was able to get a little faster on each.

1:40
****
****
1:41
1:38
1:33
1:32.71
1:32.22

These were unlike any running I've ever done before. It was a real challenge to get through these.

Average HR = 146 / 83% Maximum HR = 169 / 96%

I seemed to recover well, but it became unmistakable that the load was increasing. I was short of breath in the last 50 meters of #6 and then by #8 I was puffing for all I was worth for the last 200 meters.

I just kept the tempo of my legs going and hoped my times would hold up.

I really haven't a clue what I'm doing. Is anyone willing to hazaard a guess whether this is about the level of intensity I'll benefit most from? Should I be spending more time in a deficit? Less time maybe?

Although it was obviously making some serious demands of my legs, the lungs were heaving to capacity in the latter stages as I've described. Is this where the vO2max gets pushed?

This was an incredible run. It required a lot of focus I'm not used to while running. I'm as curious as all get all about what it is I was doing and what I was supposed to be doing. I know it took a lot out of me and that I'll need to rest well tonight.

I'd appreciate any comments you guys might have to offer. I've read what I can on this, but there seems to be quite a bit of room for interpretation. What are other peoples experiences with the benefits of intervals?
Ian

[jacob42.2]

Speed training is tough stuff. Your times are great. Keep it up, and you'll notice it more with your short runs. You'll begin to feel more comfortable running faster. It will come.

Running intervals like you did, takes a lot of mental toughness, the same ingrediate in racing. Welcome to the club.

[clocker]

Thanks for the nod. Sounds as if I'm not too far off the mark. There is so much to learn.
Cheers! Ian.

[wind-hater]

Hey clocker - nice work - I thought you might be interested in this workout that you've probably heard of before.

Personally, I need a 3:15:59 to BQ and last night I did 6 800's at an average of 3:11/ 3:12 - according to this, if I stay at it and increase that to 10 800's at that consistent pace, I can BQ real soon. Anyway, here it is:

Yasso 800s
Yasso 800s are an invention of Runner's World staffer Bart Yasso, who has run more than 50 marathons and ultramarathons. Because of their simplicity, Yasso 800s have proven popular and useful for marathoners worldwide. Basically, Bart says that if you want to run a marathon in 2:45, 3:29 or 4:11, you should train to the point where you can run 10 repeats of 800 meters in the same time?2:45, 3:29 or 4:11. The only difference is that your marathon time is hours:minutes and your 800 time is minutes:seconds. Bart suggests doing Yasso 800s once a week as part of your marathon training. Start with perhaps 4 x 800 and build up to 10 x 800. Between the 800s, take a recovery jog that lasts as long as your 800s. (Additional hint: Yasso 800s are a great workout for any runner. Because they are "strong but controlled," they're basically a form of tempo training.) A good Yasso 800 workout: 6 x 800 at Yasso pace with recovery jogs between the 800s.

[clocker]

Thanks and duly noted WH. That simplicity appeals to me. Although I'm training for my first 10km race just now, I'll no doubt be looking to this to include as I approach longer distances. Thanks a lot for adding this information, it's appreciated. If I had heard this workout before, I'd lost track of it. I really like the sounds of it.
Cheers! Ian.

[Monk]

Yasso 800s are an invention of Runner's World staffer Bart Yasso, who has run more than 50 marathons and ultramarathons. Because of their simplicity, Yasso 800s have proven popular and useful for marathoners worldwide. Basically, Bart says that if you want to run a marathon in 2:45, 3:29 or 4:11, you should train to the point where you can run 10 repeats of 800 meters in the same time?2:45, 3:29 or 4:11. The only difference is that your marathon time is hours:minutes and your 800 time is minutes:seconds. Bart suggests doing Yasso 800s once a week as part of your marathon training. Start with perhaps 4 x 800 and build up to 10 x 800.

thanks for this speed tip! Its nice to see something, just a little different than the stuff that we usually do.
I think that I am going to factor this one into my training plan.

[Dstew]

Yasso 800s are an invention of Runner's World staffer Bart Yasso, who has run more than 50 marathons and ultramarathons. Because of their simplicity, Yasso 800s have proven popular and useful for marathoners worldwide. Basically, Bart says that if you want to run a marathon in 2:45, 3:29 or 4:11, you should train to the point where you can run 10 repeats of 800 meters in the same time?2:45, 3:29 or 4:11. The only difference is that your marathon time is hours:minutes and your 800 time is minutes:seconds. Bart suggests doing Yasso 800s once a week as part of your marathon training. Start with perhaps 4 x 800 and build up to 10 x 800.

thanks for this speed tip! Its nice to see something, just a little different than the stuff that we usually do.
I think that I am going to factor this one into my training plan.

A word of warning about the Yasso 800s:

A person who can run a 3:15 marathon can easily complete a 3:15 Yasso session but the reverse does not necessarily hold true. It is a tool to see how the training is going, a speed test.

[Dstew]

I really haven't a clue what I'm doing. Is anyone willing to hazaard a guess whether this is about the level of intensity I'll benefit most from? Should I be spending more time in a deficit? Less time maybe?

I'd appreciate any comments you guys might have to offer. I've read what I can on this, but there seems to be quite a bit of room for interpretation. What are other peoples experiences with the benefits of intervals?
Ian

Here are a couple of links that may help:

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/news/prin ... N=1676&v=1

http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/Running% ... lator4.htm

http://www.runningforfitness.org/

I have used the last two.

[clocker]

This place is cooking. More great suggestions. I'm on it, and thanks for offering the links. If I have questions later, I'll no doubt find something to think about by asking here.
Cheers! Ian.

[Monk]

A word of warning about the Yasso 800s:

A person who can run a 3:15 marathon can easily complete a 3:15 Yasso session but the reverse does not necessarily hold true. It is a tool to see how the training is going, a speed test.

But of course! Training is always fluid project, continually changing. Try new things if it gets boring, discard what doesn't work, and stick the stuff that does in bag of tricks (so to speak).

[Dstew]

A word of warning about the Yasso 800s:

A person who can run a 3:15 marathon can easily complete a 3:15 Yasso session but the reverse does not necessarily hold true. It is a tool to see how the training is going, a speed test.

But of course! Training is always fluid project, continually changing. Try new things if it gets boring, discard what doesn't work, and stick the stuff that does in bag of tricks (so to speak).

In my humble opinion the best training quote every is from the Lore of Running:


We are all an experiment of ONE.


But back to the Yasso 800s - I do them but not on a regular basis. The word of warning was merely because some people were using them all of the time and running 10 sets of 3:20 Yasso 800s and then running a 3:40 marathon and they were pissed off at Mr. Yasso. So he had to come out and explain that without proper endurance training, those 800s were not capable of having someone reach their marathon goal.

[Run26.2]

So he had to come out and explain that without proper endurance training, those 800s were not capable of having someone reach their marathon goal.

Right..I had a very nice chat with Bart Yasso after his lecture at the Holiday Inn the day before the Toronto Marathon last October...he's a great guy who is more than willing to share his knowledge of running....when he developed his "Yasso 800's" he was doing over a 100 km's a week in training...in other words he had a superior fitness level which allowed him to equate his 800 time with his marathon time..again, it's an interesting training method that's worth exploring, but I prefer km repeats just cause it's a tougher workout (for me)....

[RayMan]

again, it's an interesting training method that's worth exploring, but I prefer km repeats just cause it's a tougher workout (for me)....

Whew! I just tried some Yasso's tonight, did 5 x 800s and was consistently 3:42...but I felt if I did anymore I was gonna pull something.

How does the longer distance work Run26.2? You set a time for 1k, use 1k as recovery, and repeat?

[Run26.2]

[

How does the longer distance work Run26.2? You set a time for 1k, use 1k as recovery, and repeat?

When I'm in the speed training phase of my marathon program I do km repeats on a track, three the first week and then building up to six over the subsequent weeks....I try and run each km in the 4:00-4:15 range (which is really emptying the tank for me)....after each km, I walk 100m and then slow jog another 100m or so, and then crank it up again...three km warm up run to the track, and then 3km cool down run back to the RR store...

[Monk]

We are all an experiment of ONE.

exactly. love that book.

[RayMan]

after each km, I walk 100m and then slow jog another 100m or so, and then crank it up again...three km warm up run to the track, and then 3km cool down run back to the RR store...

Okay I see. Many thanks! So the recovery jog is just long enough to get control of your breathing again?

[Run26.2]

after each km, I walk 100m and then slow jog another 100m or so, and then crank it up again...three km warm up run to the track, and then 3km cool down run back to the RR store...

Okay I see. Many thanks! So the recovery jog is just long enough to get control of your breathing again?

Right!