Runners love the thought of predicting a marathon ending time and therefore the lengthy standing legend of the Yasso 800’s. A easy, but robust, velocity exercise designed by the famend runner and author Bart Yasso. He formulated an idea the place working ten 800-meter intervals may foretell one’s marathon ending time.
This distinctive coaching idea has turn into a cornerstone for a lot of marathon hopefuls trying to increase their velocity and endurance.
The fantastic thing about this train lies in its uncomplicated nature, making it helpful to runners of all ranges. Yasso 800s provide a structured but versatile coaching methodology that you just an use to progress over the course of a coaching cycle.
Let’s discover out extra about this basic exercise and the way folks use it to find out a possible marathon efficiency.
*As a working coach, I’ve to remind you that that is however one in all many instruments and that even Bart himself, a very long time editor at Runner’s World and excessive efficiency athlete, has mentioned it’s not an ideal correlation of race day efficiency.
What Are Yasso 800s?
Coined by famend runner and coach Bart Yasso, Yasso 800s entails working 10 repetitions of 800-meter (or half-mile) intervals at a tempo correlating to your goal marathon time. The thought is should you can hit every 800m repeat at your objective time, then it’s an excellent prediction of your marathon end.
For these unfamiliar with the mechanics, the execution of Yasso 800s entails working repetitions at a tempo that corresponds to the hours and minutes of your objective marathon time.
As an example, should you’re concentrating on a marathon end time of three hours and half-hour, your objective tempo for the 800-meter intervals can be 3 minutes and 30 seconds.
You’re NOT working the laps at your objective tempo, however quite at your threshhold working tempo. Which is what makes this such a tricky exercise and may solely be one piece of a marathon coaching plan. We additionally need miles at objective marathon tempo, tempo run work and extra.
Whereas the exercise shouldn’t be an infallible predictor, it supplies insights into your present health degree and serves as a tangible marker of progress all through your coaching journey. Even Yasso himself says that is however one in all many components, although regardless it’s an amazing velocity exercise to execute throughout coaching.
This customized strategy provides a dynamic ingredient to coaching, permitting every runner to tailor their Yasso 800 exercises to their particular objectives and aspirations.
A key observe earlier than we get in to extra particulars is that you just SHOULD NOT attempt 10 repetitions in your very first try at this exercise! As an alternative, that is one thing that you’re constructing over the course of your coaching plan.
Executing the Yasso 800s Exercise
Step one on this course of shall be figuring out your marathon objective time. This course of goes to contain taking a look at your current race efficiency and the way a lot time you may have for this coaching cycle. Keep in mind that on day one this tempo goes to really feel arduous and can slowly really feel extra doable all through coaching.
In your first Yasso exercise, full solely 2-3 reps relying how a lot different velocity work you’ve been doing. And should you aren’t acquainted, learn up on what number of laps make a mile to be sure you’re working the suitable distance.
Heat Up Previous to the Velocity Session
Earlier than I dive into the Yasso 800s exercise particulars, know that warming up is non-negotiable for priming muscle mass for the exercise forward.
A radical warm-up is essential earlier than high-intensity working exercise. The objective is to steadily enhance your coronary heart fee, heat up your muscle mass, and put together your physique for the calls for of the upcoming exercise.
- Begin with a dynamic heat up (no static stretching) to loosen up and forestall any strains.
- Transfer in to 10 minutes of simple working to heat up the muscle mass and slowly enhance coronary heart fee.
- Contemplate doing 3-5 working strides
- And doing 3 to five minutes of working type drills – A-Skips, quick toes, and many others.
A correct warm-up not solely reduces the chance of harm but additionally enhances your total efficiency throughout Yasso 800s and comparable exercises.
Begin The Exercise
Ideally you’ll carry out this on a observe or different measured space so that you don’t must examine your watch or account for variations in elevation whereas working. This exercise is designed for a selected function of pacing, the place you are able to do different velocity periods on the roads to include hills.
Run the First 800-Meter Interval: Hit the observe and canopy 800 meters, timing your self to match the minutes and seconds of your focused marathon time in hours and minutes. As an example, should you’re eyeing a 3-hour marathon, run the 800 meters in 3 minutes.
Restoration Jog: Observe up your arduous effort with an equal-time jog. For the 3-hour marathon objective, you’d jog for 3 minutes. Match your restoration time precisely to the time you ran your 800 intervals to maximise the exercise’s effectiveness.
Repeat the Course of: Alternate between working and restoration till you full your set variety of 800-meter runs. Begin with three intervals and add extra as you progress, however solely once you constantly meet your time objectives.
Bear in mind the objective is to not run sooner, however to run the prescribed time.
And we’ll max out at 10 intervals for this exercise, doubtless within the 3-4 weeks earlier than your marathon.
How Many 800 Repeats Ought to I Do?
As famous, begin with 4, particularly in case you are doing this early within the coaching cycle.
The objective is to max out at 10 repetitions should you’re utilizing this as some form of predictor exercise in your marathon coaching.
What Are the Advantages of 800s?
These exercises present a number of advantages throughout a spread of coaching objectives. Let’s breakdown just a few of them:
- Operating at sooner than marathon tempo will make marathon objective tempo really feel simpler
- It could actually assist with that ending kick since you’ve realized to push arduous on drained legs
- You’ll be bettering your VO2 Max, which suggests extra environment friendly working
- Brief, sharp velocity periods are going to push you to your max rapidly after which assist you to get well
Publish Yasso Exercise
After every session, contemplate your efficiency. Had been you capable of maintain the tempo? Solely enhance the variety of intervals when you may confidently full your present set on the desired tempo.
Moreover, after an intense observe exercise, it’s vital to comply with an excellent put up run cooldown protocol. Keep in mind that we don’t wish to sit down and we completely should make refueling and hydrating a precedence to be prepared for the following exercise.
Start with a sluggish jog, letting your coronary heart fee decline steadily. This mild exercise aids in clearing your muscle mass of lactic acid and decreasing stiffness.
How Typically Ought to You Do Yasso 800s?
Whereas it’s good to repeat exercises all through your coaching cycle to see progress, it’s additionally actually priceless to include different velocity periods.
We wish to do issues at 5K tempo, objective marathon tempo and all the things in between over the 12-16 weeks that you just’ll be coaching.
Since we purpose to maintain our complete depth quantity of coaching to twenty% or much less for any given week, you may solely do Yasso 800s 1 time per thirty days alongside your different exercises.
Utilizing Yasso 800s for Different Races
Should you’re gearing up for a race that’s shorter than a marathon, you may suppose Yasso 800s aren’t for you. I’ll allow you to in on a secret: you may nonetheless use them to spice up your velocity and endurance. Begin with 4 repeats and take note of how your physique responds.
Say your objective is a half-marathon time of1:45 end. Goal to run 5 by 800 meters in 3 minutes and 37 seconds (which might be your equal marathon ending time).
When you nail all of your repeats at this tempo, solely then contemplate including one other.
Coaching for a 10K? Modify your repeats to fit your race tempo, specializing in finishing every 800-meter interval constantly earlier than rising the quantity.
That is about constructing endurance methodically, with out overtaxing your self earlier than you’re prepared. Stick with the core precept of the exercise: sustaining the goal tempo for every interval earlier than progressing. It’s this regular enhance that helps you acquire energy and velocity whereas tailoring the exercise to satisfy your race objectives.
Do I Assign Yasso 800s?
As a very long time working coach and runner myself, I can’t say that this can be a exercise we repeat a ton with most athletes as a result of as famous above there are lots of issues I would like us to work on within the 12-16 weeks of a marathon plan construct up.
Significantly should you construct as much as 10 repeats, this can be a exercise that’s going to require restoration and may take away from among the different issues we wish to accomplish throughout peak marathon coaching.
I do like utilizing 800m repeats in exercises, however often don’t construct as much as the total 10. As an alternative, I’ve runners begin to incorporate objective tempo mileage of their lengthy runs, quick end exercises throughout lengthy runs, and many others.
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