800's And So Much More

It has been so long since I have blogged, and I have so much to talk about... I guess I will load up on posts this weekend rather than talk about everything in one long post.

This past Wednesday was my first official week of speed work for my marathon training. I decided to start my speed work with Yasso 800's for a couple of reasons. I am using the 800's more as a measure of improvement throughout the training and then, about three weeks out from the marathon, as a predictor of my finish time.

I did 5x800 with 400 recovery. I am lucky enough to have a high school track within cycling distance that is open to the public during off hours. I used the bike ride there as part of my warm up and felt good.

Here are the times for those five intervals:

4:22
4:27
4:47
4:41
4:33

Before you say anything, I know... I am slow. But I am satisfied with those times for my first time out. I did the first one a bit too fast, and died out later on, but I now have a point of reference to work from.

Along with other speed work, I have three more 800's planned during my marathon training. I will build up to 10x800 and that final workout will tell me how much I have improved and how prepared I am for the marathon. According to the great Bart Yasso, the average time for that 10x800 will be close to my finish time in the marathon.

So if you take those five intervals I did it looks like I should be able to finish the marathon in about 4:34. Hopefully with my training I make some progress to better that time a bit.

So my training is still going good. My mileage is steadily increasing and I feel good. I am getting good results from my quality runs and look forward to all that is ahead. I'll be back this weekend to talk more about everything running, and some that is not.

The Expo

Well you probably already know that I am not running the Philadelphia marathon tomorrow. My brother is running it, and I was more than happy to go to the health and fitness expo with him to pick up his packet.

This was my first time going to one of these and it was fun. Free samples, great deals, and a running atmosphere that could make anyone feel motivated. I happened to pass by Bart Yasso just as he was sitting down to sign books. I got right in there and bought his book and got his autograph. I have been thinking about buying his book from Runners World, but I am glad that I waited.

Tomorrow I will head over early and find my way around the runners and spend the day cheering them on and taking pictures. After walking through the expo I really wish I was running, but I am nowhere near ready to run even a half marathon. Hopefully next year.