Is it possible to break 2 mins in the 800m in my mid to late 30's if I start training now after no training in 15 years?

I ran 52, 1:58, 4:28 in HS and in my mid 30s picked up track racing again with some masters guys. I only got down to 2:11 after two seasons but the 50+

guy I trained with most got down to 2:05 after 5 years or so. Maybe you can do it.

JMWLP,

Posters have given you great advice so far.

Your weight is not bad at all; you could still stand to lose a bit, but you're in a decent spot right now.

Building aerobic fitness is going to be key and for this you should consider what others like hoppingworm have said; but one thing that should be stressed is the state of your SPEED.

After a few weeks of light running, go to the track, thoroughly warm up, and see what you can rip for a 200m. Once you've built a nice base over a few months, make sure you gently phase in regular speed maintenance like strides, hill sprints, top speed work...etc.

For what it's worth, I think you can definitely do this. Just need to make sure you put in the time, stay very consistent, and avoid injury. I wouldn't be surprised to see you in 2 year's time threatening 2:00.

How much more do you weigh than high school? If you are 20-30 lbs heavier than high school it probably ain’t gonna happen.

SubToo wrote:

I ran 52, 1:58, 4:28 in HS and in my mid 30s picked up track racing again with some masters guys. I only got down to 2:11 after two seasons but the 50+

guy I trained with most got down to 2:05 after 5 years or so. Maybe you can do it.

Damn, solid times. If I ran those, I probably would be content for the rest of my life. lol

The dude was 50+ years old? Holy cow. Now that's raw talent. That gives me a bit of hope. Thank you.

I'm starting to agree, I was never really fast at the 400, but I never did any weight training either. I'm thinking if I do everything I'm supposed to, like absolutely everything to give me the best chance, I may have a shot, but I totally agree. I remember some guys that ran the open 400 in 50 sec and their bread and butter was the 800m, those guys were running in the 1:56-1:58s in the same meet, it was pretty wild.

I'll keep the 200 in mind, but my legs felt really weak running for the first time today in forever. It was a shock to really understand just exactly how out of shape I am. I'll see how I recover these next few weeks/months.

comedyreilef wrote:

How much more do you weigh than high school? If you are 20-30 lbs heavier than high school it probably ain’t gonna happen.

I was 150 lbs at 18 years old. I'm 165 now, same height and all. Hell, if I end up looking close to what I did back then, that's a win for me. My Facebook memories keeps showing me all my old beach photos and I took my body type for granted back then. I didn't think I looked all that great, but now seeing what I used to look like makes me want that again. lol

Here's a sample training plan. You'll get lot of them on this site, but maybe try this and see what happens:

Build up only doing steady distance runs. Aim for at least 5 days a week of 3 miles a day.

If you can do 4 miles even better. Aim for 4. If you can run every day, do it. Take a day off when your body says you need to rest.

Once you can do that and feel that your body is ready for more, try 2x400m followed by 4x200m. Take a full recovery between intervals. 3 minutes between the 400s and 90s-2 min between the 200s. Push yourself in the intervals, but don't go all out. You'd have a hard time doing an all out interval session after years of not doing them. Push yourself so they are comfortably hard. Try and crank the last few 200s and see how close you can get to 30s, or even under.

Continue your daily runs of 3-4 miles and try that session once a week. If you can do it twice, even better.

You can add a few intervals, like 4x400m followed by 6x200m. You probably don't need any more volume than that.

If you can do 2 of these sessions a week (again, listen to your body. If your body isn't feeling it, just do one of these sessions a week) and you are hitting in the mid/low 70s for your 400s and your 200s are 33-35, that means you should good for a time trial in the 2:20s.

That gives you a starting point. If you can hit 2:20, you are still a ways from 2:00 but at least you can see it.

It might be 6 months away or more, but try and get to 2:20 first.

Mix up your training to make it interesting. Once you start these sessions, try them for a few weeks (maybe 2 or 3 weeks as an example) and then one week do a time trial. Then continue them but maybe alternate with 300s and 150s.

Always continue your steady 3-4 mile distance runs throughout the week. Don't stop them. They are giving you your foundation. Maybe once in a while go up to 5 or 6 miles if you can, but that's optional. 3-4 miles is probably enough.

Time trial yourself once every 2-3 weeks at 200, 400, 600 or 800. The time trials will give you a good idea of how you are progressing.

Last but not least focus on your basic sprinting speed once a week. The interval session I gave is somewhat of a speed session, but not purely speed. If you want, alternate it with a session of 5x200m at full effort. Take a full recovery. 3 minutes at least between 200s. If you can do 5x200's with full recovery at 30s and better that's a great sign you are progressing your speed.

That is totally to be expected. I've regularly been dabbling in the mid distances and sprints for 3 years now, and after a training cycle, if I take more than 2 months off, it's like I never even ran before. If you're patient in your build up, and consistently work on your speed, you'll be good to go.

Good news - you're already at a normal BMI. In your early 30s, all you need to do is eat sensibly and get some exercise, and your body will probably drop some weight on its own. Maybe that's 5 pounds, maybe it's 15.

Two things you need to do: DON'T run tomorrow. Three miles is a big jump from zero. Start shorter and slower. Spend a month jog-walking if you need to. It doesn't matter how ridiculous it feels. What torpedoed all my attempts to get back to running in my 30s was injury. You gain cardiovascular fitness faster than your joints and ligaments can handle, and the result (for me) is runner's knee so bad I could barely walk after about 3 weeks. Try jog-walking every other day this week and make sure your joints are still cooperating. Be patient for now and stay healthy, and before long you'll be running more like normal.

Second: go talk to someone knowledgeable about running shoes. If you have a good local running store or competent people at a sporting goods store, they should be able to guide you to a shoe that's right for your feet and stride. Expect the shoes to last 250-400 miles, or more if you're lucky. One nice thing about running as an adult is you can drop $150 on a pair of shoes just out of curiosity.

Thank you. I'll keep that in mind. I forgot mental fortitude was another thing I need to exercise.

My dude, you didn't have to write all that for someone anonymous. I really appreciate it, I'm going to find a way to organize this.

I know you've written a lot. Out of fear to ask you to write more, do you know any weight training regimens that's specific for what I'm trying to do?

Sound advice. The way I felt yesterday was a huge wake-up call, so this makes sense. I'll work on being kind to myself both physically and mentally.

I broke 2 at 38 and only started running at 35. I had played a lot of rugby and lifted weights for most of my life prior to this.

Key for me was consistent training. Upping the miles in the winter and hard sessions, often by myself in the summer, I also employed an online coach who was fantastic and coached a number of mid distance masters athletes. Good luck !

More than positive vibes wrote:

You have the natural ability. It doesn't go away unless you have had some serious debilitating Incurable illness.

It takes a while to build fitness though, several years and several thousand miles, so you need a workable plan to build gradually.

Age is an incurable, debilitating illness.

colder and wiser wrote:

Second: go talk to someone knowledgeable about running shoes. If you have a good local running store or competent people at a sporting goods store, they should be able to guide you to a shoe that's right for your feet and stride. Expect the shoes to last 250-400 miles, or more if you're lucky. One nice thing about running as an adult is you can drop $150 on a pair of shoes just out of curiosity.

All this good for your stride stuff is mostly bs. What matters is what sort of shoe gives you good results. For example: I'm on the big side for a runner and they always steer me to over-cushioned, too heavy shoes. I get best results in terms of durability (of my body) and injuries by wearing the smallest, lightest shoes I can find, not whatever pronating cushioned nonsense the shoe store tries to sell me.

Should you try, just be careful about easing back into speed workouts. With age it's not so much you may have lost speed, but that blowing something out in a sprint or hard repeat becomes easier.

JMWLP wrote:

My dude, you didn't have to write all that for someone anonymous. I really appreciate it, I'm going to find a way to organize this.

I know you've written a lot. Out of fear to ask you to write more, do you know any weight training regimens that's specific for what I'm trying to do?

Just basic core stuff is good for an overall balanced body.

Bench press, curl, shoulder press for your upper body

Bent over row for your back. Squat and deadlift for your legs.

I only do the upper body stuff. Found my knees were bothered by the other ones.

Not gonna happen

I read about your times, how you ran for a bit and it hurt, and the competitive fire that built up when you spoke to your former teammates.

I am also in my 30s and ran similar times as you in high school and was a 400m/800m specialist. Prior to the COVID pandemic in 2019, I lost 50 pounds going from 230 to 180 doing dieting, strength training, and elliptical HIIT.

When the pandemic started and the gyms closed in March 2020, I started running again and in the beginning I remember it hurting and and being confused on how easy it was to run 5-8 miles a day before. The first time I ran back to back 6 miles, I had to take a week off of running. The first time I ran 10 miles, I had to take 10 days off from all exercise.

After that, I hit the restart button and slowly built my mileage up and got books about running and listened to coaching blogs. I got the competitive fire back that you described; but instead I channeled it to running marathons.

After a slow ramp up, I ran my first marathon in Dec 2020 in 3:14 and my second marathon in March 2020 in 3:00 and am training for Berlin in September to go 2:50. I rotate between marathon training segment and 10k training segment and travel to race destinations. I am also learning how to swim and ride a bike this summer to explore adventure triathlons as well. I got to this level with 1.5 years of run specific training; running everyday; fueling and resting right, making sure life stress management is good, and following a coach/training plan.

I'm sharing this to give you an example of a different way that could channel that competitive fire than returning to the 800m where we are past our prime (not saying there is not merit in master athletics in shorter distances). You could also do 5Ks/10Ks like others suggested.

There is a big athletics world out there for you to explore, compete, and adventure with; expect to train consistently for six months before running starts feeling natural and easy again.