Track goals

What is your training going to look like during winter?

First off, I would lower your goals just a tad. I don’t mean to discourage you whatsoever.The 400m is reasonable, but dropping 10 seconds in the 800 requires a lot of work. Aim for sub 2 FIRST, then go for the 1:56 target so you aren’t frustrated. In other words, make and achieve your smaller goals before getting your big one.

Anyways, how many MPW are you used to? During the winter, your goal should be to maintain/carry over endurance from XC (if not bettering it) into track.

Here’s what I would do if I were you:

-Build a good base of mileage, doubles if you can handle them a few times a week.

-tempo/progression runs

-drills focusing on form every other day

-alactic speed day

Lifting

-Core everyday after you run

-stretching!

Once a week, I would do 5x60m standing sprints to develop your speed. Do these before long runs or on their own day. Focus on good form and give yourself max recovery, ~ 3+ minutes! Also, do some short hill sprints for power development, critical for 400/800m runners.

Also, do a tempo/progression run once a week.

Lifting. Twice a week is good. Basic compound body movements. Back Squatting with good form, lunges, hamstring curls, Bulgarian split squats, pushups, etc.

Depending on when your season starts, you could do some intervals as well. I would do some 300s/600s for strength and speed endurance towards the end of the winter.

I was mainly a 200/400 runner, but I did the 800 too.

PR’s: 22.7 49, 1:58(in 4x8) 2:00 in open.

Any tips or advice?

redefine the word Goal to mean something you want to achieve in the long term. "I want to run 52 seconds for 400m," is not a goal. your goal should be something you are going to achieve in five or six years time. "I want to be state champion at the mile" or "I want to qualify for the NCAA Finals," or "I want to go sub-14 for 5000m," those are goals.

then, each year, you have performance targets that are stepping stones on the way to achieving your goal. doing it this way means that your training is seen as a long term progression in a straight line that leads from whatever you can currently do to your ultimate goal, and each incremental improvement in performance is a successful step along a pre-planned route.

the reason you do this is because training induces a series of adaptations that make you better suited to meet your performance goals. once you know what those goals are, you can figure out which adaptations you have to make, and therefore which specific training you have to do to achieve your goal.

the three steps to success are:

1. define a goal.

2. determine the adaptations you have to make to be able to achieve that goal.

3. determine the training you need to do to make those adaptations.

cheers.

Yeah thanks for the advice! I thought I’d set my goals high, as being sub 2 would be a pretty incredible accomplishment for me, but I’m excited to see how I do with a lot more training under my belt. I don’t actually run the open 400, I just figured I need to get my 400 time down to get my 800 time down. I do the 4x400 occasionally to develop speed during the season but that’s about it. During the winter, since I train with the distance team, we have organized tempos and long runs twice a week, so those could be my twice a weekong runs. Other than that, I really appreciate the training tips, that’s exactly what I needed.

Good advice here. I'd add 6x150m every couple of weeks with long (5-7min) recovery. And +1 on the lifting. It will help a lot.

I avoid static stretching and instead do only dynamic stretching... stretching warmed-up muscles by moving through a range of motion. This includes lunges, A skips, scoops, leg swings, karaoke, butt kicks, high knees, striders, and so on. I'll often start and finish with lunges and I'm amazed at how much easier they are after a good dynamic stretching routine.

Although there is some overlap, training for the 800 and 400 are quite different. Choose one as the primary event and train for it.

Yeah, the 800m is my primary event, and the 1600 is my secondary. I only put the 400m there because I believe that’s where i need to be to be sub 2:00 in the 800m. Thanks for the advice!

benschwaller wrote:

I can achieve these goals:

1600m~4:25-30

My current PR’s:

1600m~5:00

That is a huge drop, but based on your 800 you should be able to run AT LEAST sub 4:48. If you can manage to break 2 in the 800 then you are in good shape for at least a 4:30 mid. Your 5K PR is decent, too which says that your aerobic development is in a good place. Is there any reason your 1600 lags so far behind your other PRs?

I see frequent threads like this one on LR. Have you asked your coach for advise? All four of my coaches in HS and college were competent enough for me to want to discuss my off-season training with them.

Yeah, I ran the 800m before my 1600m in most meets, and because of my lack of aerobic training , I was pretty tired after the 800. I did run a few fresh 1600s and I think it’s mostly a mental block.

I will discuss winter training with my coach in a few weeks, but I want to get started as soon as the xc season is over. My plan is to creat a training plan myself, and then run it by my coach and see what he thinks.