Can I break 9 in the 3200?

High school junior wrote:

Coachman123 wrote:

Maybe?? If this was indoors and you had competition, probably not. In a lot of ways, a 300m flat track indoors with good humidity is faster than a 400m outdoors. For example, outdoors you have to worry about the weather- whereas indoors you're always going to get zero wind- and if it's a good facility, pretty decent air quality.

56-54 is a big jump, so let's just say you can run 55 in an open 400 with good weather assuming you ran the 56 in a relay. Usually to break 2:00 you have to go through in 57-58 then close in 61-62, so if you're that close to you're going through your 400 in an open 8 in 57- you will definitely be reaching pretty hard the last 150 to break 2:00. But it's definitely possible if you're in the right race.

In relay's (the 4x8 in particular), the time is usually a second or two fast. So let's be a little tough on you and say you ran 2:02 (which is still pretty decent for a distance runner)- 2:02 to 1:59 is a very possible jump. But what worries me is I can't really tell if you have any leg speed. I've coached 4:30 guys who can run 51 for the 400, and 4:25-4:20 guys who can only run 56. It really depends on the athlete. What were your splits when you ran the 2:01?

That's a pretty damn good workout. But two minutes is a little generous on rest. What's your mile PB? Breaking 9:00 is possible for you. I've only coached one sub-9 minute 32 guy- and he did much smaller workouts than you're doing right now.

I'd set the standard as of right now to 9:10 end of season. I worry about your success after HS (or during). If you can only run 56 for the 400, either your leg speed is flat, or you have weird form. If you've ever run over 65 miles per week consistently, you've probably over training.

There was this kid from Michigan who ran pretty fast in MS in the Lansing area. I used to take one of my athletes to the national meet and saw him run a couple times. He had really interesting form (hit the ground hard, his legs hit his butt pretty quickly, and his arms swung funny) - Looks like he ran too much in MS and burned out. Sometimes I check his times, and he's only running about 4:39 and 10:05 for the 3200 (on separate days). Pretty sad for him to see such a plateau at such a young age.

If you like, drop a video of you running.

I’ll answer your main question. The 56 was in a relay split immediately after a 3200 (3200 and 4x400 are back-to-back events in my state), and there were 21 MPH winds that day. So I’m pretty certain that I could run at least a 54. The splits on the 800 were 57/64. I’m not quick but I don’t consider myself slow. I’ve closed a 3200 in 59 before (albeit the pace was slow).

High school Junior wrote:

Next weekend I’m in a great race where there should be a few guys breaking 9. I just did my final hard workout a couple days ago to prepare. It was (1000, 800, 600, 400, 200), (800, 600, 400, 200). I took two minutes between reps and five minutes between the two sets. I wore flats for this, and I hit (2:48, 2:15, 1:40, 65, 30), (2:16, 1:42, 67, 30). First, based off of this workout alone, does it seem plausible to break 9? Assuming perfect conditions.

For further context, my current Pr is 9:20 from this past indoor season with a mask on. I split 4:45-4:35 in that race. I have not ran a hard 3200 since. I am a more aerobic runner. My best 800 this track season was a 2:01 in a relay split, but I’m sure that I could break 2 comfortably in an open race (I haven’t had many chances at the 800). I have only run a 56 400, but I’m sure that I could bust out a 54 in a race. This past xc season I ran 15:19 in a grass 5k. If any more context is needed, I’ll answer anything. This question is mostly to assess my recent workout and what it “predicts.”