Speed workout day. For anyone that may have read Sasha's indications as to adding miles before doing speed work, with a minimum of 56 miles per week before including speed work, I politely disagree. The theory goes that at a marathon distance endurance is the main limiting factor rather than speed. It is my view that it is always an equation of endurance and speed. 5k and 10k times tend to corrrelate to marathon times for all runners so speed is always going to be in the mix. My PR in the marathon, as humble a time it is, was reached thanks to added speed work to my weekly training and never exceeding 55 miles per week. I am positive that Sasha can talk circles around me regarding this subject but you got to go with what works for you.
So I did my Yasso 800s (really Yasso 804.672s since I was doing half miles):
Mile 1 - warmup at 8:40 pace
Mile 2 to 6.5 - half mile at 6:35 pace with a 2.5 min recovery at roughly 8:45 pace. A total of 7 repeats.
Mile 6.5 to 7.5 - cool down at 8:45 pace.
I felt like I had a couple more repeats in me. I will build up to 10 repeats prior to the St George Marathon.
On the subject of speed it was REALLY INCREDIBLE to watch Usain Bolt demolish the 100 meter world record by 0.11 seconds. We will probably see him break his own record again and again in the coming years. What talent... | 