Go from 2:06 to 1:59 in a year?

At first glance, 2:06 to 1:59 doesn’t seem like a normal progression, but that’s not to say it’s impossible. Plenty of people have had better improvements in shorter time frames.

I don’t have any insight to your past training, but as an older high schooler that is primarily focusing on the 800, the best thing you can do is get stronger and hit some good tempo work over this summer and fall.

If you only care about that 800 time then I wouldn’t sharpen up too much during this cross season and just focus on the training side. Hit some good, long workouts that will get you a good foundation to sharpen up come track season and maybe hop in the gym a little for mobility and force generation.

Also, the 400 time needs a lot of work. You said something about your 5k time not being fast enough to break 2, but the 400 matters a lot more than the 5k when it comes to an 800. If you can get the 400 to 52.5 or below then you’re in good shape to break 2, and I say that with a great deal of confidence.

That’s not to say that you have to run 52.5 in order to break 2, but it definitely helps to have that speed in your legs when you’re trying to run 59s twice back-to-back.

Sub 2 is definitely achievable for you. I ran 2 flat this year as a senior, and last year I ran 54.1 in the 400. I did the 800 last year and ran 2:12 off just 400 training.

Best way to get there:

This summer, put in some miles. Try to get up to 40, but be smart about it. Do injury prevention stuff and recover well. After cross, take a short break, than get back into training. You don't need to do much aerobic work during the winter, just enough to maintain your base from xc, anywhere from 10-30 miles per week works fine. Put a lot of focus on speed development during the winter. The winter months are where you build the raw speed that you need for the 800. Once outdoor starts, mileage will drop a bit more. I think I maxed at 20 miles/week in the early season, and was only doing around 10 at the end. Lots of focus on 400/800 pace, with workouts that will hurt a lot.

One thing that really helped me was polarizing. Basically, easy days easy, hard days hard.

And don't worry too much about your 5k, it doesn't mean much for the 400/800. I know a guy who only ran around an 18/19 minute 5k who ran a 49 open 400.

I should add I started running my sophomore year. My first time running the 800 was last year as a time trial in which I ran 2:30, but I went on to run 5:26 in the 1600m. I didn't touch the 800 again until this year where I ran 2:12 in february, and hit the 2:06 in May. Does this mean I have more room for improvement since I'm relatively new to the event?

During XC I brought my 5k PR down to 19:37. Three weeks ago I ran the following time trials with the start of track:
400m - 53.9
800m - 2:06.4
1600m - 5:03

How are my chances for 1:59 looking now? And if it's possible to say with this information, what should I be working on?

I think you need work all around - better strength and aerobic development and more speed. If you were running 4:45 1600 with 53 speed then you’d have an outside shot at 1:59. Or if you were running 50 and 5:00, again outside shot.

Your endurance sucks. Should be running much better for 1600/5kXC off of a 54sec 400m.

You're gonna need a lot more endurance to break 2:00. I don't think I've ever met a sub-2:00 guy that couldn't run at least 4:40s for the mile. When I broke 2:00 I ran 4:26 a week later.

2:06 to 1:59 has been done 1,000s of times before. Of course it is normal and ordinary.

It's hard to say what your chances are without seeing a couple races - it can be pretty hard to get near a PR in a time trial, especially in longer races, so you might be able to run 4:50 or faster, and 2:03 already. If that's the case, you've got a good shot.

Or maybe you're somebody who can time trial near PRs. If that's the case, it's going to be hard to break 2:00 without a 1600 in the 4:40s as others have said.

Nah it is right in with most sprinters who die hard after 800m.not everyone is a distance runner. His best bed is to work on speed endurance and try to run a 52/1:59..

Your shorter distance times are much better than mile+. Anecdotally speaking I had a teammate who went from 2:08 (junior) to 1:59 his senior year. His big difference in training was he started doing a 12-14 mile long run each week in the offseason (I am from California so we did not have indoor). Even if you cannot go that long you may want to incorporate some longer long runs and that could go a long way in covering your aerobic deficits.

I haven't seen you run, but I think it's strange your coach finds you more aerobic. I was at 4:43 in the mile by the time I could run 2:06. Your times so far favor the speedier events.

Your 5k time needs to come down.

I get the impression you're a 400 guy who's looking to move up to 800. You still need to work on your speed endurance.

Our middle distance guys who are move down, so to speak, to 800, would likely be doing around 16 something for their 5ks. You obviously will have more of an anaerobic engine and raw speed.

Are you dying on the second lap?