Three hours and fifty-nine minutes has been my marathon goal time for several years, and it is once again in 2026. It's also the goal pace, in minutes and seconds, that I need to be doing for my Yasso-800 intervals. If you're unfamiliar with Yassos, or even if you are familiar, here's a little more background.
About that marathon goal time: I was fairly successful with it last year, but not this year at Cleveland. But the year ain't over yet. There's Kauai (where the elevation will prevent any fast times), Akron (which is only a few weeks later and which also sports a somewhat difficult course), and possibly Veterans (which I haven't registered for, but probably will, and which will probably be my best chance).
Now, about today's Yasso workout. On a crisp, cool, beautiful late-August Tuesday morning, I'm doing my thing at Claggett Middle School. It's early, yet I can only get about 3/4-mile in before Chadwick Sunday shows up. We begin running together at a fast pace, and I realize that his warm-up pace is the same as my top interval speed. Thus, this counts as repeat numero uno for me, even though the time is somewhat north of four minutes.
The times improve for the subsequent repeats as I follow (that's putting it generously) Chadwick around and around. Debbie Hicks and Shannon Barnes show up. They're surprised that I'm doing a full-Yasso after prescribing a shorter 400s and 800s workout. "When I woke up, the voices in my head told me that I have to do a full Yasso today," I explain. "We know someone who can help you with those voices," retorts Shannon, while Chadwick is nearby.
Chadwick leaves while I still have a few to go. Now it's getting tedious. I somehow manage to keep the times steady, and then I cool down with Shannon and Debbie. My average is... wait for it... 3:59. It would have been nice to have more of a cushion, but the voices say I should be happy with it. I guess they're right.
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