Sounds good and thanks. I’ll just plan on running 6-8 miles a day this week and doing strides 2x or something.
how much did you weigh when you cleared 2.05?
what was your PB in the 200, and was your weight about the same as when you went 2.05? i know it's been about 15 years, but using that and your weight difference then and now will give me a pretty good idea of what you're capable of.
in terms of longer distance capacity, i'll assume you're 6-12 weeks away from being back in striking distance of 15:20s.
last year the masters 35-39 800 was won in 2:00.92 run w/a negative split going 61.85-59.08. prob equivalent to 1:58-high sort of fitness.
with 15:30ish 5000 capacity combined with naturally being best around the hj/200/400, i think you've got a chance to win a masters national championship in the 800.
nationals are july 20-23 in greensboro. could be fun.
Hi,
how much did you weigh when you cleared 2.05? Almost exactly the same as I weigh now. Although I am currently a bit heavier than I was a few months ago given I haven't run a ton over the last few weeks.
"what was your PB in the 200, and was your weight about the same as when you went 2.05?"
PB in the sprints were all at about the same weight (~185 or so). I don't remember my 200 PB but I did sneak under 11 FAT in high school in the 100 and would typically split in the 49s for 4x400 legs. My guess is my 200 pb would have been in the mid 22s. I did also run the 800 a few times in 9th/10th grade and ran 1:58 or so if my memory serves me correctly.
"in terms of longer distance capacity, i'll assume you're 6-12 weeks away from being back in striking distance of 15:20s."
Not sure exactly. About 4 weeks ago I ran a Portuguese surge. 3 miles @ M pace (6:00) then 2 miles surge where I hit 5:20 and 4:50 or so and I didn't feel too gassed. My guess is I was in about 15:45 shape at that point but was also doing marathon training.
If you want to get a sense of my recent training here is my Strava.
Carson Pickens is a runner from Belmont, Massachusetts. Join Strava to track your activities, analyze your performance, and follow friends. Strava members can plan routes, participate in motivating challenges, and join clubs....
If you want to take a look at some of my training leading up to my 2nd best 5k time (15:45 on the track). Unfortunately my training leading up to my 5k PR is in final surge.
Training Block 5: 9/14 Block,Day,Increment,Date,Day,Planned Quality,Planned Mileage,Actual Mileage,Notes,Weight Post Run,VDOT,VDOT,R Pace (400),I Pace (400),T Pace (mile),M Pace (mile) 1,Monday,1,9/14/2020,Moderate,8,8,8 @ 7:...
One other thing to note. Pretty much all of my shorter distance PRs are off solo time trials (COVID + I have 3 really young kids). They are track times or on very carefully measured courses though. Needless to say I don't have a ton of experience with actual competition since college.
Fr - 3 up @ 7:05 + 2 LT in 11:30 + jog to hill + 4x35s @ 3k effort + down. 7 overall.
Sa - 7.5 easy @ 7:50 (first 3.5 very slow with some folks I know and a bit quicker on way home)
Su - Planning on 5 easy + 6x100m strides + lifting
Total - 40
I picked up an adjustable weight bench and dumbbells yesterday. Was planning dumbbell snatches, incline dumbbell press, dumbbell squat, renegade row and dumbbell fly.
I liked your idea about potentially targeting the masters national champs in July.
I post this a lot on here, but I found an 800 prediction workout a few years ago that seems to work well. It'll give you an idea of what you can run the 800 in and you can base workouts and race splits off of it.
You can do 2 or 3 sets. My runners did 3 but I usually do 2 and it's within a second either way.
Each set is;
300-200-200-100 (= 800 meters).
Take 1 minute between reps. Stop your watch at the end of each rep but do not reset it.
When the set is complete you'll have a time for 800 meters.
Take full recovery and repeat. Average your times for the sets and that's what you can run an 800 in. It worked for the athletes I coached and it works for me.
Would be way easier and more accurate to just run 1 800m.
Lifted and did 5 harder 100m strides on the track Sunday. Not full throttle but definitely hard. All of them were between 13.3 and 13.7. Not great but encouraging. Super sore after lifting on Sunday but that is to be expected.
Plan for this week is below. Monday is already done.
M - 6 @ 7:21 + core (4x60s plans + 100 sit-ups) T - 3 up + 6x1000 @ LT w/ 75s + 4x200 strides + 1 down W - 6 + Weights Th - 4 up + 6x10s hills + 1 down + core Fr - 3 up + 3x(4x200) w/ 75s between reps and 4' between sets (3000/1500/800 pace) + 1 down Sa - 9 + core Su - 3 + 6x100 hard + 1 down + weights
Hi. I didn't get any bites on this thread really so ended up throwing something together myself based on general internet research. Would love any feedback folks have on this plan. This takes me out to mid-late July so it is quite long.
Hi. I didn't get any bites on this thread really so ended up throwing something together myself based on general internet research. Would love any feedback folks have on this plan. This takes me out to mid-late July so it is quite long.
This has 4 races and two TTs. 3 races are local to Boston with the last one the masters national champs in NC. Getting out is a bit tough for me given the age of my kids so would probably have to look for other local options. Do you think that is enough or would you encourage more?
Changing gears and focusing on some shorter stuff and wondering if anyone out there has any interest in supplying weekly training for an older dude (will be 38 in a few weeks) who probably hasn't hit top speed in 15 years. I am not looking for a super serious paid engagement or anything but will definitely put in the work. Perhaps someone who has some experience racing these events and wants to coach eventually but doesn't have a ton of experience would be a good match.
Happy to exchange stuff on this thread or do it elsewhere.
Very quick running history:
* Picked up running about 3 years ago after a decade+ of no real exercise.
* Have focused mainly on longer stuff (5k, marathon etc.) with mixed results.
* Best PR is probably 5k (15:23) from last May. Was run on HM training.
* Definitely more inclined to shorter stuff. I am not small (6'2" and 185-190) and was a jumper when I was younger (not great but decent ... e.g. 2.05m in HJ). Did a lot of sprinting (100/200/400) alongside that in HS and some in college on top of the jumps.
* Was in a marathon cycle but ran into some health issues which sidelined me. Starting back up next week after 2 weeks or so off and 4 weeks or so of pretty sketchy training before that so not starting from the beginning but also not in great shape.
* No real time goals at this point given I am not quite sure how my body will respond to faster work.
The 800 is a speed and speed endurance event.You don't need to total 40-50 miles a week to be successful here.
Once you are confident in your base and if you've been running strides after e-z runs, then you will be ready to work on speed and speed endurance.
Firstly after a 2 mile w/up and a hand full of strides, run 10x40m sprints on your toes w/a 5m rolling start. 3min. recov. 800-1600m c/d run. Run twice a week with 3-4 recov./e-z days in between.
Secondly run 200m x whatever your comfort zone is at your todays best for you, not your goal pace.4 min. recov. Run On Your Toes.
Thirdly increase your 40m rolling sprints by 5-10-15m, basically whatever you can handle. Increase this w/out every week by 5-10-15 m until you get to 150m. This is a slow process but it pays dividends if you stick with it. P.S. Run On Your Toes.
Now you should notice that your 200m x whatever are getting a bit easier and faster. If so then gently increase the pace and ad a few more reps. until you get to 300m. Walk/jog recov. until fully recovered.
You should on your "off e-z days" run them much slower than you you think is to slow. These days are for endurance building only. No need to be in a hurry here. However, the last mile or so during these runs and only if you are feeling it, then air out your legs and let them fly. This will help you get in touch with your lactate clearance system.
When you think you are ready you can run a time trial, 2 x 600m at what you think is your race pace with 15 min. recov. This should give you a good idea of where your fitness is at.
Learned most of this from the British Milers Club archives. I hope it helps.
Hi. I didn't get any bites on this thread really so ended up throwing something together myself based on general internet research. Would love any feedback folks have on this plan. This takes me out to mid-late July so it is quite long.
Looks really good to me. Initially as I was reading through I thought you might be missing the longer 800-pace reps with longer recoveries, but you nail them later on which is actually great periodization. On a couple of them, like 3x500 @ 800 pace w/ 5’ rest, you might tank the last 200 but you should accept that as the nature of hard 800 training.
I would ignore the comment about 40 mpw being unnecessary for 800 training, frankly. There are definitely different ways to skin the cat, but the event is fairly aerobic and considering you’ve averaged 60 mpw for the last year I would capitalize on that strength. The first time I ran 1:57 in high school I was coming off of randomly bumping my mileage to 70 for the week of spring break.
Kind of irrelevant, but I’m impressed that you can run so well at ~185 pounds. I’m a smidgeon over 6’2” and I’m currently getting back into running after getting terribly out of shape, and I’m desperate to get closer to my racing weight of ~160 because at 185-190 I suck.
Good luck with training and please keep us updated.
This has 4 races and two TTs. 3 races are local to Boston with the last one the masters national champs in NC. Getting out is a bit tough for me given the age of my kids so would probably have to look for other local options. Do you think that is enough or would you encourage more?
4 races and 2 TTs is a good program. A big advantage of the 800 (and 400 and 1500 as adjuncts) is that a high race density is possible for best learning of the event as well as both conditioning and sharpening. With your endurance background you can take advantage of that and have a lot of fun and a great learning curve. Even doubling up with relays is a great way to go (I picked up some nice extra medals at Masters nationals that way, plus the added camaraderie factor)
