Hello,
I just wanted to ask for advice about training for the 800. My personal best is 1:58. I'm training by myself (not good enough for my school's D1 team). Last summer, I was able to train on my own for that 1:58, but looking back my training was not as structured or focused as it could've/should've been. I think my success partially came from having good indoor and xc seasons despite the training lacking at times.
These are what I think were the main issues with my training:
-no long term planning, and I decided workouts last minute very informally
-I was running easy days too fast (i.e. 6:30-7:00, rarely slower except for warmup/cooldown)
-I have no way to precisely gauge if my workouts were beneficial or merely sufficient
This year, I am starting from a lower point because of some nagging injuries late 2020. After a few months of inconsistent running, I started to focus on training again in early May. I've run 35-40 mpw since then. The past few weeks I have been working in more workouts (tempos, mile pace intervals), but not much 800-specific stuff. I've been smarter about my easy runs. However, I realized that I am yet again falling into the trap of last year, where I am going into each week without a solid plan, and I worry that this approach will not work as it has in the past since my base isn't as good.
There are a few local races coming up all throughout July as well as a couple in August. Ideally, I want to make the best of the next 4-5 weeks to set myself up for a few good times if I can. I have time goals of around 1:56-1:57 if possible, but this is just a general goal and is not strict or geared to any sort of qualifying standard. I understand this goal could be a bit ambitious given that I don't have a ton of training under my belt, but I at least want to set myself up for the best times possible. I just miss racing and want to give it my best shot.
A few things that might be worth mentioning:
-I'm better in the 800 than the 400 or 1500 by a decent amount, but I have more experience with the shorter side of things. I've had some success with 300 hurdles/4x4.
-It's been a long time since I've last raced. Last July to be more specific.
-I tend to keep my mileage on the shorter side (I don't exceed 40-45 mpw most weeks). Also, what should my long runs look like throughout 800 training?
Any workout advice/weekly training suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I've gone through several threads now looking for workouts and I've gotten a bit lost. It's hard to tell which workouts would be most beneficial given my personal bests, current fitness level, my strengths, etc. I'm open to any and all feedback, suggestions, advice, or anything you feel like mentioning, and I have the time and motivation to work towards improvements, whatever that might look like. Thanks.