What's The Rest For This 800 Workout...?? My Coach Can't Be Reached.

i'm thinking way more than 3. like, 7 - 10min rest if it's that intensity. i've even seen longer rest for a similar workout. up to full 20min recovery. 600 at 800 pace is a long way to go in a workout, w/ only like 3min recovery this time of year. my two cents is AT LEAST 7 - 10.

probably as much as you need

I agree with the 7-10. I used to do a similar workout when I was concentrating on the 800 and I'd always take full recovery. Running a 600 at race pace is a pretty damn hard effort.

With that kind of workout, I'd imagine he's after quality reps--more emphasis on what happens *within* each repetition, rather than on what happens in the totality (reps + rests) of the workout. You guys are actually the best judges of what kind of rest he would want (to accomplish that), because you have the context of his other workouts.

My guess (and it's only that) might be something like six minutes for the 600 + recovery, five minutes for the 500 + recovery--so that you're substantially recovered from one rep before starting the next. The rest is not really important here; quality within each repetition is key. Be "ready to go" before you start the next rep.

We did a similar workout once before and it was what you guys said, a kind of "take what you need" rest in order to hit the times. I think I was taking about 5 minutes for the first two reps and had to take almost 8 for the last. Although it was slightly different reps, same concept nontheless. If I recall correctly, he was telling me that if I needed a little more rest then I should to take it. Thanks for the advice.

After the 600 walkjog 15 minute and take 10 minute after the 500.

I'd start with 15min and then reduce that to 10 as the season goes on.

A friend of mine did that exact session last night...I'll paste part of his email to me (taking out the athletes names).

Last nights session was 600, 500, 400 with 15 min rest in between:

A: 79.8, 65.2, 49.8

B: 80.5 (2nd best ever), 65.9 (pb), 50.1 (pb)

awww... stop being a little bitch. you only have to do a 600, 500, and 400. 3 minutes seems a reasonable max rest. you don't need to take 15 or 10 minutes on each one like the rest of the idiots are suggesting. maybe if you are doing it in 2 sets or three sets, but anyways... catch ya on the flip side and good luck on your training. p.s. 1:52 is muthafu$$$n fast!

Jackass,after running the 600 at race pace he need rest.You are a 10k jogger, so go walkjog your 5/10k workout.

i think about 12, 10, then 5 or 6 would be fine. i agree with the others about the rest not being the most improtant factor in this workout, but you could still get a nice little burn out of the last 400 if you only take 5 min or so....and if you can run 1:52, a 56 second 400 shouldn't be exceedigly difficult, even at the end of a workout like this.

actually dumbass, i could beat you in running and in a fight. you don't even know me so how can you say i'm a 10k jogger. stop trying to put others in the same place as you....

awww.... wrote:

actually dumbass, i could beat you in running and in a fight. you don't even know me so how can you say i'm a 10k jogger. stop trying to put others in the same place as you....

You could beat him in running and in a fight. But, can you beat him in a dance-off? That is the real test.

Are you guys serious? 15 minutes rest after a 600? At most it should be an equal rest at half the distance of the repeat. You get absolutely no aerobic benefit if you take that much rest. Not to mention the workout is only three repeats and is incredibly short!!!

Bert R wrote:

Are you guys serious? 15 minutes rest after a 600? . . . You get absolutely no aerobic benefit if you take that much rest.

Yes, yes, I know you were just agitatin'--however, all seriousness aside, the point of this workout is not aerobic development.

...which is not to say that there wouldn't be *any* aerobic development, just that it wouldn't be the primary benefit.

Bert R wrote:

Are you guys serious? 15 minutes rest after a 600? At most it should be an equal rest at half the distance of the repeat. You get absolutely no aerobic benefit if you take that much rest. Not to mention the workout is only three repeats and is incredibly short!!!

again, the point of this workout is not aerobic development. of course the workout is only three reps and incredibly short - that's the whole point...it's to develop anaerobic capacity.

I think most people who have no clue on here about the rests are 5k/10k guys who are taught that short rest is better. For a pure speed workout like this take all the time you need to be fully recovered. After a 1:24 600 that will be at least 10 minutes.

The goal of the workout is speed development, so as most of the posters above have said, take adequate recovery. This isn't sprinter recovery, but your heart rate should be fairly low and you shouldn't be out of breath. Your legs will still be tired/heavy - but that is the point of the workout.

Personally I think the 10-15 min recovery times given above are a little excessive. If I were going to do this workout, I think 6-7 mins would be sufficient to let my heart rate and breathing normalize. But you may be different, and need more recovery.

I trained with a 1:45:6 800 runner for ten years.The goal is speed development with this workout.