Yasso's, are they the best use of my time? (Read 935 times)

Interesting ... So its a worthless workout and many thing a poor predictor - ie running a good 10k would be a good workout and a good predictor. Why do people do it? The way I did it - Ie 10x800 with 90 second jogs between was both a good workout and actually a decent predictor - Avg 3:02 ran 2:56 Did I at least get the idea of "rest" right? Or does he advocate that you should stand around during your rest? If he ran it correctly ? It would predict a screaming fast marathon - What do you think Nobby415?

PS Nobby415 I know you have studied running theories by many times more than I have ... It was a serious question ... What do you think of it as a predictor and from his actual results of running yasso's 800s - What are your thoughts?

Does recovery mean (jogging) or (standing around, stretching and a little light jogging)?

Yasso's can really only predict what you can't do. Yasso, as originally done were 10x800 @ X:YZ with X:YZ recovery. with X:YZ in minutes:seconds being the same number as you marathon time in hours:minutes (a 2h50m marathon goal runs his 800s in 2m50s). If you can do the workout, it doesn't guarantee you can run the marathon time. (i.e. What if you're fast, but don't have much base?) But if you can't do the workout, there's almost no way you'll be able to run the corresponding marathon time.

So if I understand: Doing this test 1x or 2x as a predictor (Has little workout value) and will yield how fast you can't run the marathon, but not how fast you can? As funny as that sounds to me ... if that has been tested true through many data points, it has some predictive value - "OH I though I could run a 2:30 marathon, but my best Yassos were 2:40), but not a lot. It takes we 3-4 times to do a running workout (1x per week - 3-4 weeks in a row) before I run it well.

If you run DoppleBock's 800s then it would be a predictor?

For DoppleBock's 800s you would have to add about 5 seconds to the 800. Marathon time 2:30; DoppleBocks in 2:35. For HMhopeful's 5 miler I would use this calculator: http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/Running%20University/Article%201/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm *All of these predictor workouts assume that you have done all the prerequisite training for a marathon - consistent volume of running, long runs, etc.

In other words WFT??

Amen

FWIW, here's the original article on this subject. It's nothing magic, just a workout that this Yasso cat does that seems to be a good indicator of his marathon training. http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244-255-624-0,00.html Mikey's disclaimer is critical. I mean, shit, in high school I could've done a Yasso workout in under 2:30, but that didn't mean I was ready to run a sub-2:30 marathon. We were only doing about 40-some mpw, with a bunch of interval workouts and track meets. I would've struggled to break 3:30. MTA: Some great stuff about Yasso's on Jim2's site:

You might know from previous threads that I view Yasso’s as primarily a test of one’s VO2max readiness to run a specific marathon time. However, they reveal little or nothing about one’s endurance base, LT or running economy, all of which affect marathon performance to a greater degree than VO2max. Using Yasso’s alone as a marathon predictor is a mistake. It’s better to set a goal based on other criteria, such as performance in a shorter race coupled with training mileage, then use a set of Yasso 10x800’s to “confirm” one’s VO2max ability to support it. (See “Yasso’s – Training or Test” and “Predicting A Marathon Time” on the Marathoning section of my Running Page.) There was a thread in November, 2005 on this forum concerning Yassos that Bart Yasso picked up on. In that thread, I referred to my older “Yasso’s – Training or Test” post that is archived on my Running Page. After reading it, Bart emailed some comments to me. The following is his email:

“I saw your post and checked out your running page. Very nice. You have lots of helpful information for runners of all abilities. “On the Yasso 800s, you have it right. It’s a test or a barometer as I call it. You need to do a heavy dose of long runs, hill workouts, and lactic threshold workouts to run a great marathon. I always do mile repeats and one of my favorite workouts is 800, 1200, three repeats. I always go back to 800s to test my fitness level.

I'm on a roll today.

Did you make that roll from "batter predictors"?