3200 training for n00b

Training Advice/Discussion General

3 years ago 06/16/2020 11:20am EDT

I'm tryna work on my 3200 time this summer just for kicks. I Got to 12:56 for 3200 and 6:00 1600 with a couple weeks of running pretty 15 miles per week, but want to try to get it down to around 12 minutes this Summer. I've been doing about 25 mpw for the past couple weeks and have moved into doing this every week:

1 tempo?/progressive run- 2 easy miles and then 3 miles at 7:15-7:20

1 Long Run-7-8 miles at easy pace

I had been doing 800 repeats once a week but got kicked off the track a couple times so started basically racing 4 miles instead of a speed workout, which I realize is stupid, but do you think my goal of 12 minutes is easy enough that I don't need track workouts? (I can run 4 miles in 28:00, and I'm definitely aerobically undertrained.)

The rest have been easy runs at 8:30-9:00 pace.

I have a high school soccer background, am in my early 20s, and at a healthy weight. Does this type of schedule and do these paces make any sense? I don't have any extensive running experience, so wanted to consult y'all cats. Thanks! I know this goal is easy AF for actual runners.

3 years ago 06/16/2020 11:44am EDT

re: RalphEllison35

Your tempo/progressive run sounds fine, just make sure you cool down after the tempo (so maybe do 1 mile easy, then the tempo, then another 1 mile easy). Your long run is good too, and all I would have to say is that it might be helpful to try to tempo the last mile but if you feel like it wouldn't help then it's not necessary.

You don't need track workouts but you need some sort of speed work. If you have a watch that can track distance, 800m is ~0.5 miles, so you could do 5-6x0.5miles instead of 800m repeats. If you don't have a GPS watch you can just do 4-6x3minute tempo on the day you would normally do repeats, just do the tempo at your 800m pace instead of normal tempo pace. Racing 4 miles is a bit much if you're trying to drop your 3200m time, because you're not going to go as fast since it's a longer distance but it's a more stressful workout that could get you hurt/overtrained.

Another speed workout you could do is 12-16x200m (which would be 12-16x0.125miles), or without GPS you could do 12-16x45s tempo (this should be much faster than your normal tempo and also faster than your 800m).

Also, a few times a week you could try doing strides (basically 5-6x100m sprint) after your run. This is best after a couple (but not all) easy days because it helps get some of the lactic acid and stuff out of your system so you recover better.

3 years ago 06/16/2020 12:34pm EDT

re: 3200runner

Thanks yo! I'll start doing some of those workouts. Only reason I had been skipping the speed workouts was because some cross country folks I talked to figured I could probably get to my goal on base training alone (since my aerobic base is basically nil)

3 years ago 06/17/2020 2:04pm EDT

re: RalphEllison35

No problem! Your cross country friends probably aren't wrong, the reason I suggested speed workouts instead is that you can get more speed out of them while having lower total mileage, which makes it a bit harder to overtrain or get hurt. Your long run should be good for building an aerobic base, and the 7-8 you've been doing is pretty much perfect for running a 3200m.

Good luck!

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3200 training for n00b

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