last 200 of the 800

watch videos of the best, bro

If you consistently fade near the end of races, I would say your fitness level just isn't as high as you hope. There's no shortcut to being less fatigued in races

I was in a similar situation to you and had a big breakthrough by doing a bunch of 1k-mile paced stuff off of active recovery. Really helps your strength at the end of the race.

Like, 800 @ mile, 400 jog, 600 @ mile, 200 jog, 400 @ mile, 400 jog, 600 @ mile.

with less than a week to go? look at your times and splits. go with whatever pacing strategy made your PR. then empty the tank on that straightaway. it's a little late to ifx it all.

for next year, if your 400 PR is around 60, you need speed work, because you are probably redlining to keep up and have nothing left. if you have a low 50 PR, you need endurance work.

Firstly, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. You are where you are. You’re not going to magically conjure up five seconds, but you can still push for a PR.

Don’t go out slow.

You’re going to attack the first lap, especially 200-300. Run it at about 93%.

When you come through for the bell, a voice in your head will tell you you’ve gone out too fast. Ignore it.

You’re going to glide 400-500. Don’t drop your cadence. Look at the feet of whoever is in front of you. Stay on them.

The back straight was where I struggled the most. Hold your form. Relax your shoulders.

At 600 you’ve got roughly 30 seconds left of pain. It will hurt. Accept it. Push into the pain. You have to train your brain to not tell your legs to stop working. I used to count to myself (1 for every 4 steps). If you have anything that angers you, think of that.

All the way through the line.

You’ll likely PR.

Vomit.

Just train to race faster, a faster 800m. Some elite athletes have a reputation for not so strong final 200m.

This may seem obvious but make sure you are staying relaxed! Lots of longer distance guys feel like they need to tense up like they are sprinting in an 800m when you don’t. Pump the arms hard for like 20-30m when you start, but if you are swinging all of your limbs super hard and tensing up your core you’ll go lactic a lot quicker than you have to.

agreed. older i got the more i worked on stuff like pre-race meditation, shoulders and hands loose, get as fast as possible so the early portions of races can be done at more relaxed pace. my PRs i just felt lively and didn't tie up. smooth is fast.

Try 3 x 400 @ 64 with 4 min rest. If you can run the last one in 62-63 secs you should be able to handle a 62.9/64.9 race for a 2:07.8 PR. Make sure to run the first two 400s as even paced as you can.

Less than a week?

If it's a week out I'd probably do one last session with portions at race pace, but no doubt you have a coach so I don't want to make suggestions or mess with that.

Pacing is so important in the 800m. What's your usual 400/400 split?

Make sure you use your arms in the last 200m. Don't wind yourself up before the race or get too nervous if you can help it. Nerves are fine five minutes beforehand - in fact I'd say they're a good thing, but not for hours before!

Don't make any drastic changes in the week running up to this in the hope of running a massive PB. I think your best bet is keeping a clear head, looking at how you're splitting the race and making sure our tactics are top notch. There's not too much physically that you can do now.

Also, you say you're going with the lead pack. What times are they finishing in?

the lead pack would finish around 2:02 - 2:07 with me being behind (this happened in the 4x800)

On Wednesday during the 4x800 i wend with the lead pack a got a 61 the first 400 and split a 2:09 as the first leg. But a week ago I ran the open 800 and split a 63 the first 400 and finished with a 2:09.76. My Pr in the 400 is also a 55