800m training

1) Well you 10 400's is good training for you mile (and 5,000m but you would need to build up to longer reps eventually) Don't forget impovements can take time. Sometimes you can keep hammering away at the training and see no improvement for ages, then suddenly your times will drop. It will help your 800m to do the mile and the training for it. Maybe do one session a week 800m and one mile training (just longer reps and bit slower than the training I gave)

2) Now this is a good question and tricky to answer because ideally you want to keep both! Another poster mentioned burn out, with my sessions. Well all training is a balance where you need to keep working on all areas. Find one day maybe Saturday where you can find more time. Do you long run in the morning then you can do one of the sessions on your own in the afternoon

Don't go from doing all steady runs/ tempos to all speed work - you need to maintain a mix of both

Are you training with a group? Because you don't really want to split off on you own

3) Its a good sign that you feel the 150's are a bit short - that shows you are not a sprinter and have the middle distance mentality. I prefer 200m's but again better 150's in a group than 200's on your own. If you have the chance add some hill reps - steep hill reps not too long - this will help build you speed by adding leg strengh (circuit training also helps here)

I think you need to concentrate on improving your speed endurance for the 800m rather than just pure speed - doing 150's and longer runs you were missing the bit in the middle but have built an ideal base to work on

I see the word(s) "think", "feel", etc. in your comments.

What does your on-site, face-to-face coach "think" or "feel"?

I've coached a few years (49)and coached on a long-term basis several world-class distance runners and Olympians.

I don't feel comfortable "coaching" via telephone, e-mail, or snail mail, so I never give specific training programs unless it's face-to-face. I believe that I need to see the athlete's response to the training.

Get a "coach" that you can consult with at the training site a few times a week, everyday if possible.

I'm actually training on my own. A couple months ago I was training a few days a week with a group that met up to train for the marathon but I broke from them because I started doing my easy runs under 7:00 min pace and none of them would go that fast.

So I'm more of a mid distance runner? Yeah I didn't think I was really a sprinter.

Well, I don't have a coach. I just started running in July and I'm really into it. Don't get me wrong I've ran before like a mile, 400m, 1.5mile, but as a workout for another sport. I've never actually ran regularly. When I started which was 5months ago I had trouble finishing a 2mile jog, but kept at it every single day. Some weeks I'd test myself and run see if I could run for 40min without stoping when my longest was 25. Eventually the runs got longer and my pace got faster and I saw a big difference in pace and race times Since then I've ran some time trials, races, etc.. But as an individual runner. My first 5k I ran I did an 18:36 and my last one was the last week of November I did 17:22.

To answer your other question, my response to training on the track is that I'll run so hard that I'll literally black out. This happened to me in September when I was doing 400 repeats. I finished up the workout but as I finished I felt dizzy and fell down and there's about 10min that was lost where I don't remember what was going on, but that was prob the heat although I did have water with me. When you say my response I'm just guessing that's what you meant. Everyone tells me that I have a really long stride too. I'm not sure what else you'd need to know.

bryxcrunner wrote:

Everyone tells me that I have a really long stride too.

That usually means you overstride.

I didn't know you could overstride, but whatever I do it seems to work. I did my second time trial today a full 1600m and solo'd 4:40.4, (65,70,72,73) but I still want to make the 800 my main event

ukathleticscoach wrote:

1)Strength endurance Build period:

6 x 400m. 60 seconds recovery. Aim 60/62 seconds

The pace for this workout seems quite fast, even for someone already capable of running sub 2 minutes. Everything I have read before suggests doing this type of session at 1500 pace.

I haven't run this workout however, so would be keen to hear from someone who has on how difficult/achievable it is.

On another note, you may or may not be overstriding. Top-level sprinters have a long stride. You would need to have someone (who knows what to look for) watch you run to find out if you are overstriding.

Also, one thing that helped me plan my 800m training was this guide:

The 6-400s @ 60-62 isn't a workout that would be too fast for me right now and I'm not quite under 2:00 yet for the 800. 60sec is a lot of time to recover. Tomorrow I could go out and run 12-400s and average 66-67 with the same recovery after running a 4:40 1600m time trial today so the 60-62 seems good for just 6.

I don't think I overstride because I tend to get my knees up pretty good when I run as opposed to just draging my legs out, but yeah it would prob be best to have someone watch that knows what to look for although nobody has ever said to me that they think I overstride.

pmg wrote:

[http://web.archive.org/web/20070210141608/http://wls3.com/running/rubio.php

thank you! thank you! thank you!

pmg wrote:

[quote]ukathleticscoach wrote:

1)Strength endurance Build period:

6 x 400m. 60 seconds recovery. Aim 60/62 seconds

The pace for this workout seems quite fast, even for someone already capable of running sub 2 minutes. Everything I have read before suggests doing this type of session at 1500 pace.'

In Original Post

'Times to aim for are all times which you are going to go for after several weeks or longer of doing these interval sessions (you wll be slower at 1st)'

You are right that a lot of the 'Aim' times show someone who is around the 2 minute mark - the idea being to work down to these over times

With his good 54 speed our guy is going to manage the shorter reps easier, the longer ones like 600m are going to take longer

It's would be good if the op could find a group of middle distance runners to train with.

My 800m schedule right now in base season

M 45´easy

15´easy+25´weights session

T 45´easy

90´steady (at aerob. threshold)

W 45´easy

90´steady

T 45´easy

90´steady

F 45´easy

45´easy

S 30´warm up+30x10´´ hill+30´ cooling down

60´easy

S 90´steady

60´easy

Total amount 100MPW

Thank you, I appreciate the confidence you have in me. I would like to find a group to train with however, the only possibilitys nearby are a high school and a private 4 year university. Now I've been to that college before to workout on their track but I really don't think anybody's allowed to be on the campus property that doesn't either work there or is a student. I just for the timebeing go to a junior high to work out by myself because it's very close and they have a 400m track.

For the shorter reps like 400s, 65 feels comfortable to me and that's what I took out in my 1600m time trial. So yes going 62s for the 6-400s wouldn't be all that hard with a min rest when I can run about 8sec faster all out for a quarter

This person (asfkjd) actually understands how to become a good 800m in the long term. All the other training schedules proposed get you good fast. They are peaking phases. If you are a high school runner, you should be thinking of working from opposite extremes of the 800m instead of being so specific to the 800m now.

Develop your raw speed through hill sprints (full recovery), resistance training, short fast strides, and endurance/stamina through long runs and threshold work. About 4-6 weeks out from the first race you plan to run well at, start the other workouts people proposed.

Additionally, figure out what your max 200m speed is. If it's not faster than 25 seconds, maybe think about the 1500 to 5k (or 10k).

As for a time trial 800m, see what you can run evenly. The world record at 800m was run evenly, not as a huge positive split.

This is coming from a former 800m runner and coach.

Good luck

That 6x400 @ 62 workout looks ridiculous.

I ran 2:00 and I would fall off after the 3rd one on that workout.

Good job wrote:

As for a time trial 800m, see what you can run evenly. The world record at 800m was run evenly, not as a huge positive split.

um...49/52....?

2 of 26 world records set in the 800m have been run very evenly while the other have been only a positive split of around 2 seconds.

The point I want to make is that running 57 seconds for 400m and then a 34 second 200m is far from ideal, so practicing even pacing in time trials will give you the best idea of what to aim for when you want to run your fastest.

I think the current record is 49/52 or possibly closer to 50/51 depending on who does the split. So yes, you are right, call on me. Either way, aiming for a 2 second positive split when the time to run fast comes is ideal, but you have to figure out what you can run evenly to get to get to that point.

Ask the coach at one of these places if you can join their training. It's worth a try. Training in a group will really bring you on.

The 62's will be very tough its the short recoveries which will catch up with you. Don't forget start them off slower, whatever you can manage to do all 6 in evenly then work on lowering you times over the weeks

Try an avoid running too much on roads and get on trails parkland for your steady runs

I am very standoffish about running an 800m time trial. The one I did about 2 months ago was 2:09.9 and I barley made my expectation of 2:10.0. The reason of running it was just to see where I was at without the speed work. I now have only 2 weeks of speed work behind me at one session both weeks. Also yes I am looking more long term. I want to peak in February and then again in May for the end of outdoor depending if I do any summer meets. Right now I feel as if the mile is my best event and not the 800m because I'm already running g a 4:40. With competition I could have went at least 4 seconds faster. By January though I want to be sub 2 for the 800 to keep me somewhat close to competitive by the start of outdoor end of feb, early march

That's very true. It is worth a try and I've got nothing to lose by asking.

Really all I have to run on is roads or pavement trails, and my area is a very hilly area so I don't even bother doing uphill sprints like I was doing a few months ago. I'm not the type to get injured easily though. When I was running the 70+ per week about 95% of it was on the roads in the Nike free 5.0 a lightweight trainer. The goals I want to attain by seasons end are 1:55 for 800m and 4:15 mile, 3:57 for 1500m