20x200m

you can't compare yourself with kipketer, workouts are based off of performance. to figure out how much rest you need you need to know what the workout's goal is. if it requires little to full recovery.

800 pace is slammin, and short recovery will not do. 20x200 at 800 pace is a LOT of hard running. Are you sure Kip did 20x 25pointsomething? I imagine slower than 800 pace, and it's more of an "endurance" thing than an 800 pace thing.

i think the (potential urban myth, though to me seems reasonable for a 1.41 guy) is 2x20x200 with 10min between sets, and 30 or 60 sec (seen various reports?!), and the reps in 26sec.

When i was heading towards 1.47/1.48 shape, i could do 20x200 in 26mid, but was taking 90sec..

These sessiosn are great - practice race pace until it just comes naturally, and you can relax at it; also i still believe that these sort of sessions resulted in awesome 400m strength.

yes Kipketer ran sessions of 20x200 at RP, but the sessions looked more like this

5x(4x200) p=40 @25.0-26.0 or 4x(5x200) p=40 @25.0-26.0

with a standard set rest say 3-4min.

the session is VERY hard, but is designed to develop efficiency at race speed. It is very beneficial to 800m runners

Best to just try getting 10x200 with 60 sec rec at you 800 goal pace first. My best (with a standing start) was 25.87 when I ran 1:47.4/3:40.6, so maybe it's a little bit quicker than 800m pace. I also did a session with Graham Hood in Palo Alto of 2x10x200 with 45 sec then 4 min in 27.15 ave and this was quite comfortable.

Thats a Louis oliveira workout, the famous brazilian middle distance coach. I do 20x200 @30sec with 30sec recovery, its a kickass workout although i do it early in the season around december and january during indoor track.

143, do you have any more info on WK's training?

I am sure many LetsRun'ers would be interested!!

I ate breakfast twice with Kipketer in Athens - the day after our heat, and the day of the semi-final.

He is very cautious on letting out his training secrets - even in a very casual one on one.

I know he talked about this 200m workout, and another interesting thing was he and his coach went against coventional thinking with regard to running the last 100m. Conventionally speaking, athletes are taught to shorten the stride in the home straight to combat fatigue, they went the other way, doing workouts where his coach would work out the optimal stride length, then put cones along the final 100m where his foot placement should be. They then filmed the final 100's and analysed the result. He practiced reaching these cone markers in the straight of hard efforts. He told me that the key to 800m excellence is efficiency at race speed. He got so efficient at his best he could do 3 x 600 in 1.15-16. Thats about all the figures I could get out of him!!!

Very humble and quiet guy. Was a highlight of my athletic career to get so personal with him

try this workout

3(2x200) 200m @ 800 pace, 100m easy jog and then an all out 200m. 5min break b/w sets

i.e. a 2:00 guy should run the 1st 200m @ 30 seconds and 2nd 200m all out