Possible to run sub 1:50 800M on 20mpw???

Run #6, "A healthy runner beats an injured runner"

http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/how-many-miles-a-week-should-i-run

I bet Juantorena might have done volume that low.

Not sure where to find the link to the article but in last week's Athletics Weekly they reported that Andrew Osagie (1:43.77 for 8th in 2012 olympic final) averages 18 - 22 mpw, with an all-time highest mileage of 46 mpw.

But he is/was an absurd talent and is equally injury-prone. Imagine if he could string together a season or two of consistent training without injury, the British record could go down!

20 miles for how long? Mary Decker did pool running for 4 weeks back in the 80's and came out with a PR.

You need to have intensity. What's the injury?

goonsquad wrote:

Who is the fastest 800M runner who runs less than 20 miles per week?

Is this even possible and link some athletes who you believe have done this.

Due to my current injury I am limited to only 20 miles a week but my goal is to still break 1:50.

PLEASE HELP!!!

All depends on your speed. If you can run a 46 400, you may not need miles at all. I had a guy who ran 1:49.3 without running more than 600 in practice, ever.

I have a buddy who ran about 1:51 (maybe a flat track 1:52) last indoor season and is looking to go under 1:50 this year. He is often in the 20 miles a week range. I'm not sure if that's because he is injury prone or just doesn't run sometimes. Personally, I'm a fan of "more is better" but I'm also training for longer events. If you're only running 20 miles a week, you're sacrificing some aerobic and possibly anaerobic ability gained from higher milage and more reps running. Therefore, you need to strengthen yourself in other regards: lifting strength, core, speed drills, pool running/swimming, biking, etc. Generally, remember that whether or not it is possible to do run that fast in those circumstances, you likely won't be able to if you don't work yourself in the ways you still can.

DependsOnSpeed wrote:

goonsquad wrote:

Who is the fastest 800M runner who runs less than 20 miles per week?

Is this even possible and link some athletes who you believe have done this.

Due to my current injury I am limited to only 20 miles a week but my goal is to still break 1:50.

PLEASE HELP!!!

All depends on your speed. If you can run a 46 400, you may not need miles at all. I had a guy who ran 1:49.3 without running more than 600 in practice, ever.

Of course you can do it on 20 miles a week or less. Had a college teammate run sub 1:50 training with the long sprinters and about 16 miles a week. The next three years he trained with the middle distance guys running about 30-40 per week. Never broke 1:50

Again and was often injured.

I ran 1.51.8 off 15 miles a week at 16, it is possible!

Of course it is possible, but why limit yourself? Don't get injured, train properly, listen to your body and you won't get injured.

goonsquad wrote:

Who is the fastest 800M runner who runs less than 20 miles per week?

Is this even possible and link some athletes who you believe have done this.

Due to my current injury I am limited to only 20 miles a week but my goal is to still break 1:50.

PLEASE HELP!!!

/thread

If you do thorough enough warmups and count those in the mileage totals, it's pretty tough to get less than 20 mpw unless you do nothing on the weekends.

But I've known 5 sub-1:50 runners who did less than 20 per week for at least December through June. Of course, they were 400/800 types (all sub-47.5 relay legs, the fastest at 45.4). So yeah, it's doable if you've got a good set of wheels to start with and you can figure out how to optimize your training time.

El Caballo is quoted as having run up to 25k (15.6 miles) in a day (in sand) several days per week during base training, but also probably ran 20 miles per week or less for a good portion of the year, at least during the peak of the racing season. Of course, his 44.26 for Montreal gold was the fastest FAT 400 ever run at low altitude at the time, so that's an outrageously good set of wheels.

Most super-elite 800 guys, even the real speed demons, have had some base training. Coe (admittedly an 800/1,500 guy rather than 400/800) cut his mileage down to 30-ish per week at times to focus on the qualities needed for championship racing, but ran 50-70 per week during the off-season for most of his career and got to 100+ near the end of his career in 1986 (this is also when he ran his lifetime best 1,500 time, but whether he had all the tools necessary to have won a major title at that time is anybody's guess). Borzakovskiy also reported doing 110k (68 miles) per week at times.

So don't blow off base training, even if you're coming at the 800 from the 400 side. Give it a chance. It doesn't have to be in the Peter Snell, 100+ per week mode for every runner. Sometimes it's a steadily accumulated lifetime base rather than those big pre-season base periods that will serve you well. But at least get to the point where you can run a good, hard tempo for 20 minutes and kind of feel like a distance runner would - motoring along while feeling strong and on top of the pace instead of struggling and sensing that you have to slow down in the middle. Chances are if you can't work your way up to that within a few years, you won't be able to handle enough high intensity to reach your full potential anyway. A decent amount of high intensity is better than a paltry amount, and 20 mpw of it is pretty much on the paltry side of things if you really want to see how far you can get in this sport.

A number of guys on my college team ran 1:50-1:52 off of 20-30mpw. Basically hard, hard, intervals 3times/wk with very easy 3-4mi runs inbtw. I wouldn't say it is the best training for 1500/800 oriented runners, but for pure speed guys moving up it seems to work reasonably well. None of them have broken 1:50 (yet) though.

If some of your running is just for aerobic development, substitute pool running, elliptical, etc. Compared to easy aerobic running, those things are probably just as close to the movement pattern that you'd use at 1:50 pace and can build just as much aerobic fitness. There are lots of ways to get general aerobic conditioning without actually jogging (and compared to how you run in a 1:50 800, 7min miles are jogging--very different movement).

My guys' best progress in the 800 was a year when we included simulations against resistance on the hip machine. Sorry, this is the best example I could find in a quick search on Google Image, though it's not exactly the kind we used:

http://www.carleton.edu/curricular/PEAR/IM/FitnessCenter0/Pics/Muti-hip-Adductor.jpg

We did back kicks (which the guy in the photo is sort of doing) and knee raises, with very strict attention to simulating running form and a full range of motion. (I've also seen people do these with bungee-type cords.) You can get good specific conditioning from these, with no "mileage" involved at all! The key for us was to build up to the heaviest weight that could be handled with good form and smooth rhythm--a bunch of reps at low resistance wouldn't have been as productive IMHO.

As other posters have said, some definitely can get to 1:50 off 20mpw running. And you don't even have to have super speed in the 400! The key is to be able to run ~54sec for 400 with an 800m runner's stride (because your splits for a 1:50 will likely be 54.low/55.high), rather than as a semi-sprint