14week Marathon Training: Week 4, Session 2: Yasso 800m

Eleventh Session: Week 4 Session 2: Yasso 800m x 5
Goal: First Marathon (Sundown Singapore 25 March 2017)

Instead of the usual easy 10km jog to the Kallang track, a few of us decided to ride. As the mileage is starting to pile on, I thought it would be wise to give the legs a break from the constant pounding on the road (note: the extra 10km warm up to the track is not part of the training plan) in the hope it'll pay off in leg freshness for Thursday's long run. It was also a good opportunity to take my silver fixie bike out for a cruise after a long hiatus.

Main Set: 800m in 3:00mins with active recovery for 400m in 3:00mins  x 5
"Comfortably hard", and straightforward are probably the words that describe this session. I'm always confident that I'll come away with the tick in the box for these sets, and that gives me a little spring in the step each time. Training as a group, we're hitting the targets spot on, then having a chat and laugh during the 400m recovery. Mind you, I'm not saying this speed session was easy; for 30mins of work, as one of my training mates rightly pointed out, my running top was completely drenched in sweat.

During the 5 x 800m set:

Average Heart Rate: 146bpm (includes recovery)

Max Heart Rate: 167bpm
Recovery Heart Rate (1min after finishing 800m): 1: 127bpm, 2: 132bpm, 3: 130bpm,  4: 136bpm, 5: 135bpm
Cadence: 180

Session Analysis / Review: (11 / 42 sessions completed): 26%

This session's average and recovery heart rate data is slightly lower than last week's session, and this is definitely due to the even 3:45min/km pace throughout the 800m blocks (no negative splits and friendly competition). The easy 25min bike ride home was a welcome change to sitting in a car straight after a speed session. No injuries, and no soreness at this point. These sessions are a great confidence booster before Thursday's long run with the MP kick. It also needs to be said that the confidence I have going into these sessions (mental preparation) is definitely helping. I'm going to work on that same mental preparation and try to apply that same level of confidence before Thursday's set and see how what happens.