No Thank You Yasso Barfo, and Good Riddance!

Earlier today on Facebook, where probably half of my 'friends' are runners, a few of them are gearing up to run Boston in a few weeks.  One of my dearest runner friends posted that his workout for today (speed) was 24x400m and that he need crutches.  I know him well enough to know he did each and every single one of those ballz to the wall.

You know what?  If ever there was any doubt (which there hasn't been), about whether or not I would miss running/marathoning, I sure have my answer now.

The most repeats I have ever had to do was 10 on some 800's and that was stupid enough to me knowing that it truly was not going to be some damn indicator of whether or not I could do the marathon, but for someone, anyone of non-Elite status to even entertain the thought of 24 laps around a 400m track at a speed that is redonkulous is just ludicrious to me.  It was before and its even more so now.

But...I know...different folks, different strokes.  Boggles my mind like so many choices 'people' make but eh...

I will keep my 400's and 800's to 4-5max thank you very much and interspersed with the lifting and gymnastics of CrossFit.  Sure I want to be able to go faster for my WOD time to be better, but thats a far cry from why I use to want to be faster.  ;o)
The best feeling is knowing that I could kick any number of peoples ass up one side and down the other.  Best.  Feeling.  In.  The.  World.

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Short, easy run before heading over to Crossfit:  4 miles


CrossFit:

Warm Up:

10 minute Jump Rope Skill Sets

Med Ball Warm Up (30/20#) (eff that, I'm still using the 14lb'er! Maybe another 2 weeks or so and I can use the 20lb'er for some work i.e. not wall balls!)

WOD: (called a 'ladder')

100 DUs (or 300 singles; which is what I had to do; better to start them as if you tried for DU's and aren't that good at them, it can end up taking you much longer than 300 singles)

20 Burpees

30 Goblet Squats (55/35#)(I used 25lb)

40 Butterfly Situps

50 Push Press (75/55#) (I used a 45lb rack; up from my usual 35!)

40 Butterfly Situps

30 Goblet Squats

20 Burpees

100 DUs (again 300 singles for me! I'm getting really good at them, and avoiding a break in rhythm for at least 50-75 at a time)

For Time! 
23:12!  VERY happy with that time!  
Most of the girls were 25+ except for the ones that have been there for a while.  Amber KILLED it coming in under 15minutes!  ANIMAL!  She Rx'd it too in that time!  Incredible!

Core:

Tabata Plank

Tabata Hollow Rock

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Want to make your chicken or tuna salad not only healthier but also Paleo?
Smash up 1/2 an avocado and use that instead of mayo!
That's what I had for dinner and it was yummy!  Egg, chicken and avocado.  Mmmm Mmmm good!

Faster! Faster! Faster! - Speed Training (Workout Suggestion #1)

Now that Spring training for Kenyan Way has started up again, Wednesdays (or Thursdays) become ‘speed training’ day. 
 
The same holds true in the Fall once marathon training starts up, however the distances and types of speed training during marathon training is different (or can be) than that of someone who is training for shorter distances (5K – 21K). 


Personally I don’t do a lot of the speed workouts when marathon training other than some mile repeats and Yasso’s every now and then, but most of the time I skip them and just run the mileage.  I will do my at GMP mileage in my long runs as directed, but that’s about it and then again, not always.

I actually like the speed workouts in the Spring.  They usually consist of repeats of anywhere from 200m – 1200m, with ‘ladders’ thrown on some days, or what I like to call ‘poles’ etc. 

I thought that I would post an entry each week with what my speed workout was, just to give anyone curious, an idea of the different ones that we do. 

Also you can go to this site and see all kinds of links that will give you so much information on speed work, why it’s important, and how it helps.  

Additionally, speed workouts can be done either on the treadmill, at the track or even on your neighborhood street (if you know the distances/use a Garmin).  Some of the workouts for speed I actually prefer to do on the treadmill, while others I love to do them outside at the track or the park.

Another great product of adding speed work into your workouts/runs is that it is a huge calorie/fat burner!  Even intervals (slow/med/slow/med) in just a normal everyday run can actually burn more calories during and post-run than if you just did a slower mid-long distance run.

Before I get into this weeks speed workout that I had, I would like to mention that you might want to go over to McMillans Calculator to determine what you should be running your sprints/repeats/intervals at. 

I am lucky that with Kenyan Way, I input online what my best 5K time is, what my goal time is for whatever distance (in this case, I am using my goal ½ marathon time that I have), so that when I print out my schedule I know what pace(s) I need to be doing my workouts at on any given Wednesday (and my other runs as well)

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This week’s speed workout is what I call ‘ladders’. 

Basically the idea is to run 1 min/2 min/3 min/4 min/5 min/4 min/3 min/2 min/1 min with a corresponding recovery in there as well.  Example:  1 min at 10K pace (which would be slower)/1 min at 5K pace (which would be faster), then 2/2, 3/3 etc.  Or another example would be to do 1min at marathon pace (even slower than 10K pace)/1 min at 5K pace (which would be faster).  Then once you do the 5/5 you go back down the ‘ladder’ (4/4 3/3 2/2 1/1)

This is definitely one of the speed workouts that I prefer to do on the treadmill.  It’s easier to monitor, and it keeps me on pace for the entire time duration of both speeds.

Work Out

• 2 mile warm up (nice and slow) Note: schedule says: 1-3 miles warm up
• ‘ladders’  Note: schedule says to negate the 5/5 if it makes the work out is too long
• I did:  1/1 2/2 3/3 4/4  (alternating between marathon pace and 10K pace); my legs/body were sore as all get out and I went at it a bit slower than I probably would have otherwise
• At the 5/5 I did a tabata session (4 min of 20sec on/10sec off).  My pace was 8:40 for the tabata.
• Then I went back down 4/4 3/3 2/2 1/1 (Note: after the tabata, I ran the first 4 as slow, then faster on the 2^nd giving me time to recouperate from the tabata
• Cooled down by walking for a couple of minutes

You may be wondering why I strayed from the 5/5 and threw the tabata in there and the answer is quite simple.  As I mentioned I was sore and tired and it was already a stretch for me to do this workout to begin with, so when the 4/4’s were difficult for me to finish/concentrate on I knew the 5/5 was going to be a bust, so I knew that a 4 min tabata at a faster pace would be the same and it seems to go faster so I knew I could power through it.

And I was right.

Afterwards, I hit up the weights for only about a half hour or so, not really concentrating on any particular muscle group in general; just trying to get back into the routine after being sick.  Did some legs, triceps, chest, shoulders and biceps; using machines that would work more than one muscle group at a time for maximum benefits in a minimal amount of time.

May Your Feet Always Be Swift - Speed Training - Yasso 800's

Before we start, Jamoosh wrote a good post on training in the heat yesterday.  I laugh every time I see this chart though:

Temperature	Adjustment	Adjustment for Humidity > 60%
55°F-60°F	+5 sec/mi	+10 sec/mi
60°F-65°F	+15 sec/mi	+25 sec/mi
65°F-70°F	+30 sec/mi	+45 sec/mi
70°F-75°F	+40 sec/mi	+1:05 min/mi
75°F-80°F	+1:10 min/mi	+1:45 min/mi
80°F-85°F	+2:00 min/mi	+3:00 min/mi
85°F+	Not Recommended	Source

I mean really...We wouldnt run from May to September here in Houston if we paid attention to this!  Not run if its over 85deg?  LMFAO!

OK, now that I have that out of the way, let's talk about speed training and inserting it into your race training.

Regardless of what distance of race you are training for, having a speed workout once a week probably should be included.  In the Spring at Kenyan Way, we still do speed training but its more geared towards shorter races like 5k's and 10k's, and in half or full marathon training, its geared more towards that.  I love speed training in the Spring because its a lot of 200's, 400's and 800's.  Longer distances and it becomes 800's, 1200's and mile repeats.  Blech.  In the winter this is not so bad. 

In August it sucks donkey.

And somewhere in that training (probably once or twice) your coach or your training plan might have you do what is called "Yasso 800's".  A lot of folks out there will discredit this workout, but I think the majority lies with 'do it'.

Well guess who had Yasso 800s on her schedule yesterday?

This girl.

Now if I remember correctly I thought generally I only did these last year once, about 2 weeks out from marathon day (which was awesome because it was late September), but I might have had them another time and just ignored them.  Oops.  At least I dont recall seeing it x 10 so early on.

Basically the premise is that whatever your goal marathon time is (e.g. 4:20), then you run your 800m repeats in 4min20sec.  Generally you will see this to be done 800m x 4 early on, then it might go up to 6 x 800m, then ultimately 10 x 800m.  And let me tell you doing that 10 times is HARD.  I dont recall ever having been able to complete it.  Note: in between each 800m, you get anywhere from 1min to 2 min recovery.  1 min is best, but I have taken 2 min before just to get through the next one.

Yesterday morning, before work, I did in fact get up and get 3 miles in, doing what normally might be called 'poles' (more on that in another post), but since I wasnt at the park or at Rice, it was more like 'blocks'.  It was 90deg feels like at 5am.  But at least it was dark.

Then I had my Yasso's to.  5 miles of them.  What?!  Yep 800m x 10 at 4:20 (8:40pace).   And because we are in a severe heat emergency here (heat indexs in excess of 110deg) I knew that I would be doing these on the treadmill.

Or as many as I could.  I am not an idiot.  I knew there was no way I could do 10 of them.

What I did do was 'almost' 5 of them.  My recovery of 1min crept to almost 2min, and I knew I was done.  But I was still going to get my 5 miles of speed work in somehow.

So I did about 4x400 at the same pace (8:40) and did my 30sec - 1min recovery.  Then I got bored with that and finished it up with 2 rounds of Tababa.    As it reads its 20sec of intense/fast followed by 10sec recovery.  This is easy to do on the treadmill.  I cranked the treadmill up to a 7:31pace and got to work.  20sec on, 10sec off x 8 (4min).   For the record on the 10sec off, I just jump my feet to the side of the treadmill then get ready to go again (because 10 sec aint shit when it comes to time). 

In between round 1 and round 2, I ran easy on the treadmill for a couple of songs on the iPod before beginning again.

When I was done with round 2, I ran easy again for a song and called it a day.  The treadmill was about 5.25 miles and I was good with that.  8 miles today for the day.  And yes sometimes I think its ok to split up your long(er) runs and workouts.

And when it was all said and done, I ended up being that person I grimace at:  the one on the treadmill slinging sweat like nobodys business and its all over the base.  What makes me different is that I actually wiped it down when I was finished.

People can be so gross.

Do you do speed workouts?  Have you ever heard of Yasso 800's?  Do you know who Bart Yasso is?  (he follows me on Twitter and has even tweeted me!!)  Will you give them a shot?  Maybe just do 2 to start out!   Are you a sweat slinger?  I sure am.  Even when running on Saturday long runs, I have had friends say 'ew.  you just slung sweat on me'.  :O)

If you dont have a coach or a training program, a good site to use to determine what you should be running your speed workouts at (distances and times) can be found at McMillian Running Calculator.  Scroll down and you can select your distance of race, input some other data re: your current speed (or goal time) and it will return to you the data you can then implement.

Have fun! 

And if you do any speed work, let me know the results and how you felt!  I love hearing about others workouts, especially when trying something new!

Get ready, a giveaway is on the way!