Rosswog Running Blog

This morning I ran up to Olympus High School in order to attempt my first Yasso 800 workout.  It sounds like I’m way behind in discovering this workout; however, if you are also new to the Yasso 800s, the following is the background:

I just read Bart Yasso’s (Runner’s World Chief Running Officer) book entitled My Life on the Run last week and there is a chapter on the Yasso 800s in which Runner’s World published an article on in the mid-1990s.  In short, when preparing to run a marathon, Yasso would run track intervals that consisted of a fast 800 followed by a 400 jog.  He would do ten of these intervals then calculate the average of the fast 800s.  Then Yasso realized that the times of 14 out of his last 15 marathons equaled to the exact minute this average 800 minutes-and-seconds pace interpreted as hours-and-minutes.  For example, if Yasso ran an average 800 pace of 2:47 in his pre-marathon interval workout, he would run a 2:47 marathon.  After being impressed by the strong correlation and the simplicity of the prediction, Amby Burfoot (1968 Boston Marathon Champion) made the Yasso 800s famous by publishing an article on them and many runners have since been able to accurately project their total marathon time off of this workout.  Consequently, I figured to give this workout a try; that is, not so much for the marathon time projection, but because it sounds like a heck of an interval workout. 

The Results:  at the OHS track I completed the Yasso 800s with the following times: 2:42, 2:46, 2:45, 2:47, 2:54, 2:52, 2:49, 2:51, 2:51, 2:49.  Trust me, those middle 800s are absolutely brutal; that is, when I finished the fourth interval and realized I still had six more to go, the lazy part of my mind was telling me that maybe I should just take it easy.  In addition, no matter how slow you jog the preceding 400 (my average on the slow laps equates to 2:46 with a range from 2:19 to 3:25), I just tried to grind out those final 800s regardless of the time (i.e., I just wanted it to end).  For what it is worth, my fast 800s calculate to an average pace of 2:48.

I ran back home to complete my running workout, which covered a total of 13.3 miles.

My running workout was relatively short and sweet in that I only did 200 sit-ups and 25 push-ups.

Following a weekend of some tough running, it was absolutely a recovery day for me. During my breaks at work I did some light jogging on the treadmill (i.e., a third of a mile), but saved most my running for the evening. After I got home from work, I went for an easy pace run through Big Cottonwood Park, over to Murray-Holladay, and up to Highland Drive before heading back home. The total distance of this run was 4.2 miles.

In regards to my non-running workout, I completed 200 sit-ups, 25, push-ups, and 100 (40, 30, 16 lbs) curls.

During my breaks and following work, I ran 2.3 miles at an easy pace on the treadmill (most of this distance--2.1 miles--was in my Vibram Five Fingers).  After I got home, I went for second run which consisted of running up to the Brickyard Tower and around the shopping plaza before heading back.  The total distance of this run was 2.0 miles at an easy pace.

Today was my first repeat of day eleven (i.e., week 4, day 2) of the Push-up Challenge since June 14th!  I completed a total of 128 push-ups over the following five sets that consisted of 25, 25, 25, 25, and 28 push-ups.  In addition, I accomplished 200 sit-ups, 25, push-ups, 140 (30, 16 lbs) curls, and 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls.

I sucked it up today and completed another speed workout.  Following work, I accomplished 6 miles of half-mile intervals on the treadmill (i.e., the slow halves at 8.7 miles per hour, while the fast halves at 10.7).  I completed this six miles of speed training in a time of 37:32.  In addition, I ran a 0.1-mile cool-down run at marathon pace.

For my non-running workout, I accomplished 200 sit-ups, 25, push-ups, a 90-second plank on elbows and toes, a 90-second wall sit, and 10 metronomes.

Today, I road my bike to work for the first time since last summer (the roundtrip distance was 33.5 miles).  After the nice and relaxing ride into work, I hit the treadmill for a 0.5 mile warm-up, 1.5 miles at marathon pace, and a 0.1 mile cool down.  This was my first run before checking into work in a long, long time and it felt great.  Following work, I took to the treadmill again.  This time wearing my Vibram Five Fingers, I completed 1.4 miles at an easy pace and 2.8 miles at marathon pace before heading home on my bike.

It was another repeat of day eleven (i.e., week 4, day 2) of the Push-up Challenge.  This time, I completed a total of 130 push-ups over the following five sets that consisted of 25, 25, 25, 25, and 30 push-ups.  Also, I completed 200 sit-ups, 100 (40, 30, 16 lbs) curls, and 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls.

Following another exciting week at work, in order to wind down, I jumped on the treadmill for 2.1 miles (1.6 of distance in my Vibram Five Fingers).  In addition, after I got home I went for an easy pace 4.2-mile run through over Murray-Holladay Road and Highland Drive and back through Big Cottonwood Park.

My daily non-running workout consisted of 200 sit-ups, 26 push-ups, 120 (30, 16 lbs) curls, and 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls. 

Since the Deseret News Marathon is less than two-weeks away, I went on practice run on the non-Emigration Canyon part of the course.  I did 3.2 miles of running to the get up to Hogle Zoo where I ran the D-News course starting at Crestview Drive and ending at the Liberty-Park finish line.  The total distance of this run was 10.6 miles entirely at an easy pace (plus, I added on a half-mile cool-down run after crossing my imaginary finish line).  This part of the course has always been them most difficult for me because of the transition from the downhill of Emigration Canyon to the flats and rolling terrain of Wasatch Drive.  Consequently, the purpose of this run was not only to familiarize myself with this part of the course, but also to become relaxed with it.  In fact, I even gave the dancing Red Robin mascot a high-five as I ran by the restaurant on Foothill Boulevard.  Running is fun and I love it!  We’ll see how I do on the 24th.

Again, I repeated day eleven (i.e., week 4, day 2) of the Push-up Challenge.  This time, I completed a total of 128 push-ups over the following five sets that consisted of 25, 25, 25, 25, and 28 push-ups.  In addition, I was able to get in 200 sit-ups and a 7.2-mile bike ride up to the Salt Lake Running Company and back to pickup some GUs and a new pair of running shoes (Adidas Sequence) in preparation for the 24th.