Bespoke Coaching

This is a tale of two different athletes completing the same workout, each receiving different directions for how to execute the same session.

Each performed to their finest ability, one even admitting unprovoked that if the workout had been written differently for him, he’s not sure he could have completed it.

The session is called a Yassos interval, named for running coach Bart Yasso. His premise is that a track-based 10x800 meters workout with equal rest proportional to the duration of each completed 800 is a largely reliable predictor of a marathon time.

To be clear, it’s not a causal relationship. And, there is no scientific data that proves out this hypothesis. But, it has been uncannily accurate as a predictor in my own races, and that of other running coaches I know.

Depending on the athlete (it’s not a uniform approach I take), I like to sprinkle Yassos interval sessions in every other week for a few weeks in a late-stage build towards an Ironman.

I know from experience both as an athlete and a coach that different athletes respond differently to the challenge of a tough workout like this. For one athlete, I knew he wanted a carrot to bring out the best in himself. So I told him I wanted to see if he had it in him to run 10x 800 in 3:10 for each interval.

He went faster just to show me I should have challenged him even more!

I took a different approach for another athlete. He nursed a calf injury for much of the season, which at times understandably hurt his morale. We’ve had a great build for the last few months though, and his confidence is coming around. The instructions for his Yassos intervals were to simply run comfortably hard for each interval. At a pace he could sustain.

In his performance chart, each 800 meter interval got faster by a few seconds. You could almost feel the confidence build after each interval. His calf was holding up, and by the end, it’s clear he wasn’t even thinking about it. His fastest 800 was his last 800, and his overall run session was probably the best best he’s experienced all season. Very cool to see!

This is why I love coaching so much. Each athlete needs a specific approach that speaks to them, and where they are in their training and life. At least that’s my own opinion and it heavily influences how I coach.

My approach is not scalable. It’s not clean or easily summed up like a Yassos Interval. But I’m not trying to be that either.

One athlete, one approach. One by one.

Over time, it will add up.