Yasso 800s suck

I mean that in the best way possible. I think I just found my interval training go-to workout. It's so damn simple that I just cant f*ck it up. Yasso 800s:

1. run 800 meters at your target marathon pace
2. jog for the same time you ran the 800
3. repeat

Now, I'm not training for a marathon. I'm training for a half. I found this half marathon pace calculator, but (a) it's depressing and (b) I start slow, pick it up in the middle, then tend to slow down as fatigue creeps in. 

The Mercer Island half marathon always, in the words of a friend, a kick in the nutsack. The first time I ran it, 15 years ago, I ran it in 1:45. At mile 10 I had some gastric issues that slowed me significantly. The following year, with significantly less training, but less gas and more pride, I ran the same time. We had kids, etc, and 5 years later  I ran a 1:50something, cramping the last mile. 

This year I want to show up on the start line, but without expectations. I certainly can't fake like I'm 29 anymore. But maybe I can run negative splits. 

Yasso 800's feel real. The effort starts to add up, it starts to take a toll after a while. They're nice on a hilly course because if you're running hills, you get a longer recovery. If you're running flats or downhills, you get a shorter recovery. I ran roughly 7:30 pace for my 800s, which is slooooow. But I've got ~ 1.5 months to go for this first half (thinking about running a couple this year), and if I can get these in on a regular basis, I should start to get some speed going. 

Tomorrow is a 12 miler, just getting out, running it slow at first, then picking it up. I did the yasso 800s, racked up 5.89 miles, and coupled with my 3 mile recovery run, my weekly total is a weakly total of almost 9 miles. I'll work on getting the miles back up next week, starting (hopefully) with a nice skate ski on Sunday!