Another week, another Yasso. I'm at the Brunswick Middle School track for my weekly Yasso interval workout. It's intense and tedious in equal measure. But early on, I remember some coaching advice (given to U.S. Olympians) that I heard a long time ago.
When running a hard workout, give it the full 90%. That's 90% of your total effort. You heard that right: 90, not 100. You should do this for 90% of the distance. Only in the last 10% should you ramp up your speed to 100%. The time, distance, effort percentages, and everything else about this advice is, of course, relative and subjective. For intervals, you can apply the principle to each repeat, and/or to the workout as a whole. It's more of an attitude, a way of thinking, than anything else. Something to tell yourself during the workout. This kind of self-talk is pretty critical.
Whilst giving it that full 90%, you need to keep yourself under control. You need to relax. This is another critical mindset. To go along with the relaxation self-talk (like, 'fast, yet easy-does-it'), you should consciously relax your body, mostly your face. Yes, shoulders, legs, and other parts of your torso, but concentrate on your face. Eyelids at half-mast, and relax your mouth. Maybe even smile a little. Don't make a crazy face like I've been known to do. If you do want to do that, wait until the last 10% of the distance, when you're about to give it 100% effort. Then and only then, go ahead and grimace.
One more thing: when you're relaxing your body and face, pretend you're holding a potato chip in each hand, between your thumb and first two fingers. Hold it gently, and don't crush it. This will help you stay in relaxation mode.
Today, I apply these principles to each repeat 800, and guess what? It works.
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