800m training

bump

you should do cross country. it will definitely help you

Just get the mileage in and do 4-8x100 strides 2-3 times a week during the summer. After a few weeks you can start doing a couple progression runs a week with an easy day between them. Don't forget about strength training, weights, core, etc.

You could work up to something like this:

Mon: 8 mile progression run

Tues: 6 easy+strides

Wed: 8 mile progression run

Thur: 6 easy+strides

Fri: 4 easy

Sat: 10 mile progression run

Sun: OFF

tot-42 mpw

what is the difference between easy and progression runs? are progression runs at faster paces or what? Does anyone else have any other ideas?

In progression runs you start out at say your normal easy pace and run faster each mile so that by the last mile you are running at around marathon pace. So if you normally run 7:30/mile for easy runs you could work down to 6:30/mile. You do these runs by feel so some days maybe slower then others.

You can cross train but im sure other people on here have more exact training programs than i do.

Cross Country is a good idea, however you should forget about planning it in detail until after you've finished your track season. For your upcoming races you want to be mentally "in the moment" rather than already thinking ahead to your preparations for next season.

If you want to break 2 mins for the 800m you'll have to get the mix of distance runs, mileage, speed endurance and speed correct. It is a big goal and needs careful planning. I'd include step goals such as 2.04.0 and 2.02.0 to help along the way.

I'd add two components for you. Firstly, you need to get used to running at your target pace and get the feel for the "rhythm" of that pace. For me, 200m reps are one way of doing that.

Run each rep like the start of an 800m race - go off fast for 90-110m and then settle into your race rhythm. Concentrate on running through the 200m line (as if you were carrying on with an 800m race). Your target for these 200s should be around 28.5s - the speed you would run the first 200m of a 1.59.9 800m. (the fast start makes the rep faster than the average pace for 1.59.9)

You then need to decide how to put these into a session. There are many different ways - eg

two sets of 4 with 2mins/10 mins recovery

one set of 6 or 8 with 2mins or 2m30s recovery.

In some ways the format of the session is not the key thing. However you organise it if you repeat it the same way you can compare progress.

You want a reasonable recovery so you are not starting each rep too tired to get the right feel for the rep.

You can add a final touch by kicking the last 100m of the final rep - to see what you might have at the end of an 800m race.

The second component is getting in enough races before your "big" race. It has been said that it takes 5 or 6 races at your chosen distnace to reach your best. Add in a few 400s for speed and 1500s for endurance and you are covering more bases.

Hope it goes well.

BUMP

if i were to put that into a weekly session how many times a week should i do that? Once? Also, if i run 5-6x a week during the summer how many of them should be just running for mileage (with strides after) and what would i do on the other days of summer base training for an 800m runner?

bump

josh wrote:

if i were to put that into a weekly session how many times a week should i do that? Once? Also, if i run 5-6x a week during the summer how many of them should be just running for mileage (with strides after) and what would i do on the other days of summer base training for an 800m runner?

I'd go with the following basic plan:

 Sunday Longer distance at good pace or race

 Monday/Wednesday/Friday Recovery runs, including short strides and stretches

 Tuesday Shorter distance repetitions (typically 200m-600m)

 Thursday Longer repetitions (1km, mile) or fast single runs (2km, 3km, 2.5m)in the winter. In the summer you can still do some of these (particularly if there isn't a race at the weekend) but I'd work on 100s/150s/200s in easy multiples. Thursday training can be conducted at 80-90% effort if racing at the weekend