ORN: 7.5 miles; 10x800m @ 4:08 average
For several years, I’ve read about Yasso 800s, a training tool whereby the time at which one can run 10 800m intervals (in minutes and seconds) is the same time (in hours and minutes) that one can supposedly run a marathon. Some hold strictly to this; here’s a long discussion of the topic from Cool Running. Like ‘em or loathe ‘em, I did do 800m intervals today, as it was on the schedule. I actually enjoyed the workout a lot. For my target sub 2 half marathon, Galloway said I should do these at 4:15 each…I simply couldn’t. I felt like I was holding back the whole way. I even did the last interval at 3:58. It was a step-back week on the schedule, so it felt good. Next Saturday is 17 miles, then taper to the Sunburst half marathon.
I got home and to a wonderful surprise. Our son Nathan flew in from Portland to surprise Gretchen by showing up for Mother’s Day. She was wonderfully amazed and it was worth the effort. She had already planned out her idea of a perfect weekend. She had 8 cubic yards of hardwood mulch delivered on Friday and wanted to spread it all. So, after greeting Nathan, the three of us jumped
in and started shoveling mulch. In four hours, we had it all spread. The garden looks great, Gretchen was thrilled and it was a great day. Two funny things. After about 30 minutes of shoveling, Nathan said “Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve felt warmth.” Oh my. He’s lived in Portland for 5 years and has fully forgotten Midwestern weather as he enjoys marvelous Oregon weather. It was actually a beautiful day, by our standards; temps in the mid 70s, with (what we call) low humidity of about 40%.
Then, while I was pushing the wheelbarrow back and forth to the back yard, the process excellence geek in me wondered what our cycle time was. Since I still had my watch on from running the Yassos an hour or so earlier, I tried to unobtrusively hit my “lap” button each time I started another run to the backyard. After about 3 trips, Nathan noticed and said “Dad, please, tell me you aren’t trying to time this thing.” Well, he had me.
To all you Moms, have a happy Mother’s Day. It may not mean spreading mulch for you, but I hope you do do something you enjoy.
Persevere.
9 comments:
What a sweet son! I bet Gretchen was thrilled.
I will be doing something I enjoy...running another marathon!
What a wonderful mother's day surprise! : )
Nice job on the intervals. I've always wanted to try the yasso's, but track work always seems to take a back burner in my schedule....
Whew, way to go with the 800's. I am thoroughly impressed you did all 10 (I've never made it that far) and you "enjoyed" it(definitely can't say that).
As crazy as it sounds, hauling mulch sounds like much fun. The garden must look fantastic. Very funny that Nathan busted you. So where's the graph?
What a wonderful suprise for your wife. Happy mother's day to her.
Great job on the Yasso's. I have some speed work on my new training schedule. Hope I do half as well as you! You will smash the 2 hour mark!
8 cubic yards would have put Gretchen flat out on her back if you guys hadn't pitched in. That's a good load of mulch.
So what was the time on the wheelbarrow lap? Did you have negative splits?
I'm glad that Gretchen got to have her Mother's Day wish come true! And what a great suprise! Well done, guys! LOL about the watch thing! A little OCD are we? :-)
joe.
joe...
joe. you really scare me.
you are SUCH a manufacturing geek. did you start analysing your throughput and which work centers were your bottlenecks?
i love it!
Sounds like a perfect mother's day surprise! Nice job on the Yasso's!
Yes, that is cracking me up with the timing thing.
I would have also appreciated a backyard full of fresh mulch for mother's day. I did get a hanging basket and a pretty clean house while I was out running the Tacoma City Marathon. So it was a great day for me too.
I'll be looking into this Yasso plan. I used to be an avid 800m competitor. Who knows if I could last 10 though today.
Have a great week.
Jenny
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