14week Marathon Training Plan: Week 1, Session 2: Yasso 800m

Second Session: Week 1 Session 2: Yasso 800m x 2
Goal: First Marathon (Sundown Singapore 25 March 2017)

Today's set is an "easier" set, as the distance is only 2.4km in total. The set consists of 800m at 3:45 min/km pace (time to complete is 3:00mins) with 400m active recovery/slow jog for another 3:00mins, repeat twice. As I discussed today's workout with my training buddy, we thought it would be best to do an easy slow jog to the Kallang track and then start the quick set. The slow jog was roughly 50mins covering 9km, with a few photo shots along the way.

Singapore City skyline during evening run

Main Set: 800m in 3:00mins with active recovery for 400m in 3:00mins

The 800m in 3:00mins was achievable. And the fact we had to do it twice made it very manageable. To be honest, the 3:45 min/km pace felt easier than the marathon pace (4:09 min/km) we had run around Tiong Bahru. This could be due to the spongy surface of the new Kallang athletics track, or the fact that there's no traffic to avoid or any sharp turns. So we decided to do another set of Yasso 800m but at 4:09 min/km pace, aimimg to complete each 800m in 3:20mins. Like the previous set, during the 800m, the pace this felt easier than the marathon pace we ran at Tiong Bahru in Session 1 this week. I'm including heart rate data as I want to gauge if my fitness is improving, by hopefully seeing my average and max heart rate drop over the coming weeks.

During the 2 x 800m set:

Average Heart Rate: 142bpm (includes recovery)

Max Heart Rate: 162bpm
Recovery Heart Rate (1min after finishing 800m): 1: 125bpm  2: 131bpm
Cadence: 186

Heart Rate and Cadence metrics for 2 x 800m

Session Analysis / Review:

It was good to be able to feel the difference between the pace on the track and road. Hopefully due to the consistent nature of the track sessions, this will provide ample time and opportunity for the body and legs to feel for the pace as we build into the plan. We both walked away from the track without limping and happy for another big green tick in the box, knowing that next week will be just a little bit harder.