Serious replies only: 1,500m - Breaking the 4'00" barrier - T46 Paralympic Athlete.

Depends what type of runner you are... I would get up to ~120 km/week and then do a set of fast 150m's once or twice a week for a few months. That gets you most of the way there.

Plan is to build up to 150/60k per week, including double sessions (am & pm).. Once that base build up is reached, I should be moving onto sharper sessions..

My PBs are:

1,500m - 4'16" (May 2015)

3,000m - 9'40" (May 2014)

5,000m - 16'34" (May 2015)

10,000m - 35'15" (January 2015)

HM - 1:16'40" (February 2015)

Thank you..

You need a bit more speed, nice PBs though. You probably don't need much more mileage, just need to work on improving your 400m/800m times. Do some speed work.

T46: so your legs both work perfectly well, I am assuming. You might be a bit imbalanced from only having 1 full arm. Your training should look like any able-body runner with a 4:15 PR/shape. The Jack Daniels book might help. Are you already qualified for Rio?

Serious reply:

T46 was pretty quick at the London Games so it's not too early to begin preparing. Do you already have the 4:15 standard? Too bad 46's don't get the 800 or 5,000 in Rio so no double unless you go down to 400? Is that an option for you as it may lead to the answers you want. Get with a coach you trust, develop a plan, execute the training and get to the final in Rio!

Googling around I see your country has a Paralympic program- reach out to them. Looks as if there are several clubs that could offer the coaching and workout partners you need. I'm not sure how the selection process works for you so I suggest you become involved as to not be left out.

Some Workouts I did season I ran 3:59 1500

8x400 in 65 sec with 1 min rest.

10 miles in 60 minutes. 5 minute break to change into flats/spikes. 4:40 1600.

4x800 in 2:15. First 600 in 1:45. Last 200 in 30.

I would also recommend some 200-300 repeats at sub 60 quarter pace.

During race season, try to break 2 for 800. Plan on three tries to break 4 for 1500. Go out conservatively, 67 plus, for first race and focus on strong last 700. For second effort, aim for even paced 65s 400s and final time in 4:02 to 4:06 range. If you can manage that, go out in 63 for third effort and just hold on. Repeat and adjust as necessary.

Take days off when needed. Two doubles a week is plenty. Shoot for one race (1500) pace or faster repeat session and one long interval session at 3k to 5kpace per week. Throw in some hills and fartleks when you get bored. Two hard tempos a month is enough strength work. Have fun. Good luck-

good advice...how much rest between the 4x800s?

0987 wrote:

good advice...how much rest between the 4x800s?

Thanks. I don't remember rest exactly. 2-3 minutes sounds about right. Workout was an efficiency/ confidence booster rather than a fitness test.

Many thanks for taking your time to reply.. Some true quality workouts listed here! Very pleased to have received some great and sound advice and support on this thread..

Feel free to keep yourself updated by viewing my Facebook.

www.facebook.com/runningvandit

Since this month the IPC have altered the AQS for the 1,500m from 4'20" to 4'15".. I ran 4'17" last May..

I should be going on a 3 week training camp in Font Romeu first quarter of the year where I will be bumping up both mileage and quality workouts whilst being at an altitude of 2,100m above sea level!

I work full time, and hence am an 'amateur' athlete who loves the sport with all his heart.

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas.

Darren.

Both legs work perfectly fine, but there are many physical aspects that half a limb restricts or limits your full potential whereas with both normal functional limbs mainly;

Power distribution (coming from the legs, with left leg being at a higher stress than the right one)

Body imbalance

Upper body shuffling (shoulders & arms)

Stride cannot be at maximum length due to the above (even though I have been perfecting it week after week)

Torque force differential coming from right arm vs left arm.

So yeah.. I am quite hampered, but not letting this effect me at all and shall continue pursuing my dreams no matter what! :)

I agree with you..

Currently I am running 62" for 400m & 2'10" for 800m..

I guess that shall come later during the season, as we are in 'pre-season' build up mode, strength and high mileage at the mom.. with some brief glimpse of quality speedwork on the track once a week, the other is usually a tempo run or long repeats...

I managed to break 4:00 for the 1500m on about 30 miles (48k) / week at 16 but most of my running was quality focused.. I really don't see the need for you to be running much more than about 60k / week and especially once you come into Spring time. Maybe peak at 90k in the winter but taper right down for the season and get used to running FAST!

Some good suggestions here regarding workouts - 200m / 400m intervals will def help you a lot. I think I used to do 8 x 400m @ ~ 63s and 20 x 200m @ ~ 30s or quicker. Mix up your sessions also - so try 300m, 600m and 1K reps for speed endurance. It's important to keep the body shocked so it doesn't get too comfy with 1 particular session. I would also encourage 100m intervals to get your raw sprinting speed up. I used to do 3 x 8 x 100m intervals at sub 14s with a very light 30-40s recovery.

No one session is king and they all compliment each other. It's amazing how being able to run fast 100m intervals helps you run much quicker 1K reps. It's all connected.

I would also ensure that you are doing 1-2 solid gym workouts / week as you need to be strong to power through the 4:00 barrier.

pretty much all you need.

http://img.runningwarehouse.com/pdf/middle_distance_guide.pdf

spend about a full day reading this, re-reading it, and learning it inside and out. you've just about enough time to implement a good solid cycle here. I followed this and set some nice PR's. here's the catch, when I was peaked, I was peaked....plan on 4-6 weeks of peak racing, then you're headed downhill, time to start the cycle over. good luck.

Do you wear a false arm for counterbalance? It seems many top 1500 guys barely move their arms no matter what speed they are going at. Watch Willis and Centro.

I first broke 4:00 with a 3:57 in a tactical race, I could only run 16 for the 5k at the time but was faster over the 800m.

A workout I found key was something Seb Coe used to do. 20 x 200m with around a minute recovery. The lactic builds up through the session, true speed endurance work where you are holding a decent pace for quite a lot of volume.

When you can easily hold 32s you'll be ready for low 4s.

Many thanks for this great link mate.. will have a thorough look at it later on today.. looking foreward to update you all with my progress within my venture towards Rio 2016. Off for training now :)

Wishing you all the very best for a happy new year 2016!

No I don't wear any artificial limb..

Never tried and quite honestly, I'm not that interested in doing so.. (no idea why..)

Another tip I found useful for my condition is do a lot of strength n conditioning.. it counterbalances my upper body imbalance...

Research Rob Evans, formerly of the Univ of Florida. Set WR for T46 in 1500m and 5000m. Ended up with times like 3:46 and 14:20, multiple Gold medalist. One of the fiercest competitor's I've ever raced, http://www.gettyimages.ae/detail/news-photo/robert-de-friese-evans-of-the-usa-waves-the-american-flag-news-photo/2108010

Hi,

First, I want to say I really wish you can manage this.

Having said that, I think you should acknowledge that you have a fairly big gap in front of you.

I have been aiming at 4'00'' the past 3 years, and once you get below 4'05'', the progress can be incredibly slow. But also maybe you are still at a phase where you are progressing faster than me. Currently I stand at 4'03''80.

I'm also saying that because your PBs in other distance do not seem to indicate current ability for 4.

I do think I'm fairly homogeneous past 1500m distance, but my PBs are 4'03'', 8'58'', 15'25'', 32'57'' (with 3000m that could be improved), so slightly better than you, and I still fail for 4'.

For a 1500 runner, I've always though I lack speed, but I still can do 55'' (unofficial relay leg).

I would work on your base mileage as you are doing currently, with a bit of pure speed once a week, but I would cap at 100km/week. Then start some race specific training something like 2 to 3 months before.

Good luck!