Need Help!...break 2:00 800m

Well you say you've run your time off of speed, so I'm assuming you got natural 400 speed. If I were you I'd log some miles and do longer intervals or take shorter rest in between your 200s and 300s to get some endurance for that last 200m when things start to tighten up. Most people say it's best to go out hard and try and come back. When I ran 1:57, I went out in 56 and came back in 61. However, I know a few guys that try and run even splits.

Everyone is different too, your body needs to get use to going sub 57. like its a walk in the park. that 1st 400m needs to be smooth as ice! So I would recommend 600m's at 1:25 tring to come through @ 55.5 This needs to be done after good base training

Agree about the base training. I was a middle distance guy and I always, I mean always, had better track seasons after consistent cross country training in summer and fall.

thanks for the input

but how much mileage should i do in teh fall and winter

cuz im running by myself

i need to know some specifics

thanks

Try running as many miles in the fall and winter as you can safely handle. Try this at one run per day then when you feel you've reached your limit, try two runs per day. It sounds like you are still in high school so I would suggest base training anywhere between 50 and 60 miles per week. Run most of the miles at a comfortable pace, but making sure you are working a little bit. Probably a couple times a week go for 5-6 mile runs at a lactic acid threshold pace. Up this number as you see fit. This may mean lowering your miles. One of my good friends in college only ran 45-50 per week throughout his college career but did most of his training runs right under 6 minute pace. The result: 1:49. Granted he was naturally talented but he also always ran a complete xc season in the fall. During the winter, incorporate some sort of plyometric training, for this is key to speed development.

im only gonna be racing once or twice during the fall, and maybe once in teh winter and once in teh spring..the spring is when i want to break that goal

should i maintain my mileage in the winter also?

when should i start doing speed workouts? and what speed workouts are good to begin with? because i dont want to do the wrong workouts at teh beginning

Maintain that mileage for as long as you can until spring time. I was under the impression you were going to run at least a few track races in the spring. In order for you to achieve this goal, a few more races shold be incorporated as tune-ups and/or speed sessions in themselves. This is all part of the training process. If you are referring to speed workouts as track workouts, well those should only be started a couple of months before your "championship" race. You should definately run some 800/400 doubles before that race as well as a 1500 or mile in your case. Don't worry about dropping your mileage until about a month before your important race. Remember, ever mile counts toward base building up to that point. I sorry to hear you won't compete in a full xc season but if that is the case, just train throug those races and star incorporating weights/plyometrics sooner than later. Ask a sprint or football coach for some specifics if your mid distance coach isn't knowledgeable about this. (Most highschool distances coaches, are distance first, mid-distance second, and spend little time developing plyometric programs) Some basic lifts drills you can start doing come late fall are: power cleans (proper form is crucial), box jumps (careful, this can cause achilles/foot problems if done in excess), parachute/resistance running (if supplies are available). The 800 is an endurance sprint and proper fast twitch development is needed.

just wondering

how long should my long runs be,...and how fast should they be??

should i do any tempo runs once in a while

A tempo run has many meanings but what I referred to as lactic threshold running is pretty much a tempo run. Contrary to alot of what's been said about solid base training, it seems more beneficial for you right now to focus on as many miles as you safely can at a "relatively" quick pace. Try 2-3 miles easier pace in the morning, running with a heartrate around 140-150 bpm. In the afternoons trying running around 5-6 miles with your heartrate no lower than 155 and not too much higher than the low 160s. This is a typical M-F during base building. On Saturday go for an even quicker 4-5 miles with a serious afternoon session in plyometrics. On Sunday go for an easy 8-10 miles with your target heartrate around 140. Throw in one more session of plyometrics in during the week. Also take every other Monday off if you need the rest. (Note: a long plyo-session should last at least 30 minutes, a short one 15-20. Also, some basic core lifting should be added after these sessions, such as chin-ups, dips, pushups, and as always some form of ab exercise, EVERY DAY.) Sounds tough well no one said breaking 2 was easy, unless you popped like a 49 on your first attempt at a 400 or something. Anyway, Good luck!

Do not over work!

True it seems like over working a tad, but given his current PR, he has a lot of work to do. You don't shave 6 seconds off your 800 PR by jogging at 8 minute mile pace everyday, even if you are logging 70/week. That is why I said to bring down the mileage and up the intensity. Granted he probably shouldn't run near 160 bpm everyday but at least 3-4 times a week not including saturday.

instead of using heart beat monitors as a guide..how fast should i be doing those runs ? 6 minutes/mile?? 7 minutes/ mile?

That's the whole idea behind heartrate training, your pace is determined by your heartrate. Some people can run 6 minute mile pace and maintain a 150 bpm, whlie others run 8 minute per mile and have the same heartrate. The point is to go as close to 160 as you can, at whatever pace that may be. By doing this you greatly reduce the risk of overtraining and burning out. I could say to you, "run 6 minute per mile pace" but that may mean running at a heartrate of 180 for you. Thus by doing this you will quickly burn yourself out. You also do not need a monitor, simply a stop watch and a heartbeat.

Very simple answer: join the cross-country team. Really, I've been there.

Who is that running XC last fall???

Oh yeah, its Nicole Teter.

nuff said.

i guess XC is good

but there are also a lot of runners who do good without XC...david krummaker?...and some runners in teh past did awesome in teh 800 without XC (trinity gray in high school)

so i shouldnt do any speedworkouts until a month or two before my key races?

I think they're wrong there. You should be doing *some* speed all year, but don't emphasize speed until a few months before the "big race". If you leave out speed for 6 months, and then jump into it, you're asking for injury.

Basically, here's the idea (as I see it):

Run base for 4-5 months

During the base period, do a speed workout each week, start with pretty high volume/low intensity speed, and work your way slowly. Also, try and do strides 2-3 times per week, preferably in spikes, to get used to them.

Do your base running as described above, but make SURE to get 2-3 VERY EASY days (slow running, maybe strides) each week. If you don't alternate easy/hard, you WILL get hurt.

Other than that, the advice here is pretty good. Don't worry too much about hitting "specific" mileage numbers, just try to the most that lets you still recover easily.