200's for 800m

How old are you and how many miles do you run a week? If you post a e-mail I can try and help you.

Go for a little more volume at a little lower intensity. A good staple workout for the times you're trying to run in the early/mid-season is 12-16 by 200 at 32 with 90 sec. recovery. Later in the season you can cut the reps down and push up the pace, eventually getting to workouts like 8 by 200 at 28 with 2 minutes recovery.

Go for a little more volume at a little lower intensity. A good staple workout for the times you're trying to run in the early/mid-season is 12-16 by 200 at 32 with 90 sec. recovery. Later in the season you can cut the reps down and push up the pace, eventually getting to workouts like 8 by 200 at 28 with 2 minutes recovery.

suggest a 2hour weekly gym circuit session would help, adds variety to training schedule and builds muscle- vital for 800 runner.Plenty of reps doing Weights and strength work- hard but beneficial!

Yeah, great idea. Start pumping iron until you look like a WWF superstar. That is vital for an 800 runner. Haha

If you like 200's these are 200's with a progression in speed as the season goes on.

You could start now at 3200 pace and work to 400 pace:

20x200 @ 38 Rest 100 meter walk/jog on all

18x200 @ 37

16x200 @ 36

14x200 @ 35

12x200 @ 34

10x200 @ 33

8x200 @ 32

6x200 @ 30

5x200 @ 28

4x200 @ 27

3x200 @ 26

You could do this every other week or every ten days until the May race.

200's are pretty nice for high school kids since it's long enough for an 800 meter runner to gain benefit, but short enough that you're not going to lose form. Just make sure you are running relaxed.

I agree with the people that say that you're fine running 200s, but you might want to bump up the number and slow them down. At this time of year, just touching on sub-800 pace every once in a while should be enough.

Also, even though you're a speed-side 800 guy, when you say you're only doing 3 mile runs a few days a week I think you're lacking a bit on the strength side. An off-season week for a 400/800 guy should include two or three runs of 30-60 minutes. A weekly cycle might look something like this:

M-3-4x1200 @ 3k effort w/ equal time recovery

Tu-30 mins easy, lift

W-2x(6-8x200 @ 800 date pace) w/ slow 200 recovery, slow 800 set break

Th-10 mins easy, 15-20 mins of hills (hill-length doesn't really matter--anywhere from 30s-90s is fine: run up the hill hard--just easier than mile race-pace effort, walk/jog down, repeat for 15 mins total [incl. recovery time]), 10 mins easy

F-45 mins easy, lift

Sa-15 mins easy, 6-10x100 @ date 800--> date 400 pace w/ 90s-2mins recovery, 5 mins easy

Su-45-60 mins easy, lift

One of my favourite sessions of 200s for 800m runners is

200 x 4 x 2 with 2 mins and 15 mins recoveries.

For someone at your level you'd be looking at averaging about 28.5-29.0

Run the first three reps with a fast 100m into relaxed rhythm. The fourth rep of each set kick down the home straight. You should be at least a second quicker than on the other reps.

You may find your second set is faster than the first set.

I find it a good Tuesday session before a weekend race.

I'm 18 and average between 10-20 miles per week.

I already incorporate strength training several times per week. And, judging by the responses, I need to start doing a few more longer runs.

Thanks for all the replies.

Hey Sam are you a Master 400m runner in your 30s?

Running slower than race pace 200's is a waste of time and incredibly BAD advice. If you are going to run repeats at slower than race pace, they should be 600m and up to work on aerobic strength. The idea behind running repeats of 400m and less is to get accustomed to running at race pace and faster.

Nice job copying the workout scheme from Run With the Best btw

High /Sam wrote:

Hey Sam are you a Master 400m runner in your 30s?

No, I'm in high school.

mufafa wrote:

Running slower than race pace 200's is a waste of time and incredibly BAD advice. If you are going to run repeats at slower than race pace, they should be 600m and up to work on aerobic strength. The idea behind running repeats of 400m and less is to get accustomed to running at race pace and faster.

Exactly.

Sam wrote:

What do you feel are some of the best ways to use repeat 200's for a 400-800 runner?

Yesterday I did 6x200 in 28, 29, 30, 31, 28, 30, with a 60 sec. jog back across the infield. I wasn't dead after the workout, but my legs were starting to get a little tight.

My PR in the 800 is 2:09, and right now I'm probably in 2:12 shape, but I'm hoping to get closer to 2:00 by May.

Should I keep doing the 200's like this, or do you have a better suggestion? I'm also doing a few 1200's and 800's on my other days, and a few 3 mile runs through the week.

All help appreciated.

Anyone think that those 200's are fast for a 2:09 guy? I run 1:53 and I run 200's anywhere from 27-28. I never drop below that but my point being your high end aerobic strength sucks.

You need to do some long fast intervals with short recovery in order to get faster. Your speed is fine.

So like more repeat 800's and 1200's then? How fast should I run them?

Do you run with your team in the winter? Why not.

CX run wrote:

Do you run with your team in the winter? Why not.

Our school doesn't start practices until mid or late January, and even at that, those practices aren't much of a workout. Last year coach let me do a lot of the workouts on my own later in the season so I could push myself more. My school doesn't take track as seriously as I do, unfortunately.

mufafa wrote:

Running slower than race pace 200's is a waste of time and incredibly BAD advice. If you are going to run repeats at slower than race pace, they should be 600m and up to work on aerobic strength. The idea behind running repeats of 400m and less is to get accustomed to running at race pace and faster.

Nice job copying the workout scheme from Run With the Best btw

I'm trying not to get defensive (which clearly means this is going to come across as defensive), but I didn't advise slower than race pace 200s--I advised that he slow down his way faster than race pace 800s to race pace, and add a few more of them.

Also, in regards to copying my potential workout plan from somewhere--bullshit. It's based on knowledge I've gained through personal running experience, observing other runners, talking to coaches, and, yes, reading a fair number of books about running (although "Run With the Best" is NOT one of them, although it is on my to-do list).

Also, I would say that there could potentially be a time and a place where slower than race-pace 200s might be a worthwhile workout for a 400/800 guy (something like 10x 200 @ mile pace w/ 200 cruise recovery). I just don't think this runner needs them now.

F***in' letsrun [/vent]

I'm also a high school 800m runner, although I think I will run the 1500 more in college. Running longer intervals is a great idea. Anything between 800's and 1600's will be helpful now, as well as a build up in mileage to help build your strength. As you enter your season I'd do more 600's and 400's, and then as you approach big races 200's to tune up your speed. Are you running much mileage? I found that increasing my mileage helped quite a bit, even though I was still only running about 40 miles a week at my peak.

This worked for me last year. I went from a 2:10 in my first race to a 1:59.5 at state, and from a 4:19 1500 to a 4:08 at districts.