Bunny day! Or at least I think it was. It looked like a bunny dashing across the road in front of me when I started my run. If it was just a squirrel I don’t want to know.
Now that I’ve set a goal for my marathon, I can use that to calculate my training paces for intervals, tempo runs, and marathon pace runs. To run a 3:28 marathon, I’d have to run each mile at a 7:56 pace. The calculator at Runworks suggests a 7:26 pace for tempo runs, a 6:52 pace for longer intervals, and a 6:28 for short intervals. Then there are Yasso 800’s, named for long-time running guru Bart Yasso. You take your proposed time in hours and minutes and do 800 meter repeats at that pace in minutes and seconds. So for a 3:28 marathon, I’d do 800 meter repeats in 3:28, a 6:56 pace per mile.
That seems like a good place to start. I want to be conservative, to reduce the risk of injury. I can always adjust my pace later, once I see how I’m responding.
Today, I figured I’d stick a couple of 800 meter repeats into my usual 8 mile run. I ran over to the track at Tufts University. The two mile trip from home makes for a decent warmup.
I’m using my Garmin 610 to track my workouts so I can post a link to the data for each day. The way my Garmin is set up, it doesn’t show the running time mid-lap, only the splits. I could probably find some way to change that, but I might be better off learning to run by feel without constant feedback from my watch. I could wear both the Garmin and my Timex, but I always feel silly when I go for a run wearing two watches, so I’ll pass.
My first lap was 1:46, which was a little slow. I pushed slightly harder the second lap, but it turned out only hard enough to keep to the same pace. After a 2:47 recovery lap, I ran a 1:40 before finally hitting my target of 1:44 on the last lap.
I was fine after two 800’s, and that was all I wanted to find out today. It wasn’t very hard, but it wasn’t supposed to be. After all, that was just my 5K race pace. I’m fit enough to do more, but there’s no need to rush into anything. There are almost 17 weeks to go. If I add on the repeats slowly, hopefully I’ll be able to build to a decent load without getting hurt, and toughen up my legs so I’ll be less likely to have calf cramps (again) during the marathon.
When I was finished with the track I had only run about three miles so I took a route through West Medford, where I had to stop for the commuter rail train. That’s just part running in the city. I’m perfectly happy to stand there and take a break. Jogging in place while I wait? Well, that’s like wearing two watches.
I’m actually on the commuter rail as I write this, coming back from Newburyport. Ruth and I are meeting up with our friends Mark and Karen tomorrow in Revere to ride to Newburyport with a group that’s been traveling up the east coast. After my workout, I drove to Newburyport and parked the car at a friend’s house there so we can use it to get our bikes back home tomorrow after the ride.
Today would have been a beautiful day for a bike ride. The forecast says there’s a chance of storms tomorrow. So it goes.
(7.9 mi. run; 149.5#)