Predict my 800 meters

Why do you run "races" as workouts such as your hard runs of 1 or 2 miles? If you are just pushing but not going all out on these maybe 2:05.

I forgot to add, that I have done a couple recent track workouts. I ran 4 100 meter sprints last week all in the 12.0-12.3 range.

Yesterday I went to the track and ran 3 300 meters and just tried to stay relaxed and I came through in 41-42 for each.

I would like to compete indoors and outdoors this upcoming season, so any help would be appreciated.

Well, I think it depends on how much you are willing to put into it. Getting into peak 800 shape after a long lay off definitely takes time, and the type of work needed to perform to one's potential in the 800 is hard to do alone.

So if you're serious about giving the 800 a try, I think you should join a training group of some kind.

Anyway, assuming you're willing to train hard, I definitely think you should be able to break 2:00 (at least if you're no more than 30 years old).

For comparison, I myself had a 7 years long layoff between 20yo and 27yo. Like you, I stayed active with some distance running and other sports, but no track work. When I started training again, I first focused on getting some basic form and speed back and competed in the 400m. Once I stopped getting faster, I focused on the 800m instead. Best of year results:

Year 1 after comeback> 51.5 400

Year 2> 51 flat 400, 2:04 800 (just one race)

Year 3> 1:58 800

Year 4> We'll see in August, but on route towards ~1:56

Hope this helps, and let me know if you have any questions.

P.S. I think the choice of subject title is a bit unfortunate and will cause some people to skip this thread. You should have called it "Training for an 800m comeback" or something instead.

Predictatoranese wrote:

Why do you run "races" as workouts such as your hard runs of 1 or 2 miles? If you are just pushing but not going all out on these maybe 2:05.

I definitely don't run them as "races," I would say they are more like occasional hard runs. So, on my lighter days I'll do an easier 3 miles, and then run harder at these shorter distances a few times per week. I am definitely running all out on these runs.

Sorry...I meant to say I am NOT running all out on these runs.

What kind of 800m workouts are you planning on doing?

generally your 800 time is half of your mile time so i'd say 2:27-2:28

jlopez wrote: What kind of 800m workouts are you planning on doing?

Not sure yet. I still have some of the workout logs from my college team and I am looking to hook up with some training partners. But I would appreciate any suggestions for 800m workouts.

When I was in HS, the main workout for strength during the middle part of the season was 8x400m with 90s rest. Sometimes we split it in two and took 6-8 minutes between sets. The main workout for speed was 4x400m with 6-8 minutes rest. We did variations of stuff like this with longer repeats in the beginning of the season and shorter in the end. Sometimes we'd do ladders going down from 600m. In the beginning we'd do longer stuff like repeats over 600m-1000m.

At the end of the season we'd just do something like 2x300m, 2x200m. On easy days we'd just do 35-45 minute runs and fast but relaxed strides. I'm sort of trying a comeback too but I'm not as speedy as you. What were some of the basic workouts you did? Maybe other people have better ideas than me.

jlopez...thanks for the advice. What kind of times did you hit for the strength 400s and the speed 400s.

I did similar workouts in college, but with not as many intervals. I was more of a shorter sprinter.

The strength 400s were a little over race pace, fast and relaxed in 60-62s. The speed 400s were under but not all out sprinting at 55-56. We weren't really in shape until we ran a few races. I did these in trainers in HS. Now I use spikes or flats for the last few. Occasionally we threw in a pure speed workout like the 2/4 runners might do. I ran 1:57 so not that great.

Now I am 23 and a little faster speedwise but I've sort of lost my strength. For the strength 400m workout, I recently did it in 65-70s for each. Yesterday I did a speed workout and the 100's and 200's were in 12s and 25-26s in racing flats. For a sprinter, you might not need to do as many repeats with the longer distances like 1000m. So maybe you'd just do 2-3. I don't know though. I started as a sprinter in HS and would like to race 200m-400m also in my comeback. I kept a running journal too so I'm just doing the old stuff and changing workouts to what I think needs more work. Watch out for injuries and do good warmups. Good luck.

The indoor season is pretty far away. I don't know how much time you have but I would start to concentrate on getting the mileage up. It's gonna be hard to stay sharp when you're already running pretty fast. More miles will help with durability and you could probably hit a decent 800 just going out for easy/steady aerobic runs.

Towson exile wrote:

The indoor season is pretty far away. I don't know how much time you have but I would start to concentrate on getting the mileage up. It's gonna be hard to stay sharp when you're already running pretty fast. More miles will help with durability and you could probably hit a decent 800 just going out for easy/steady aerobic runs.

That makes sense. I think for the summer I will concentrate on building up my base.

How much mileage should an 800m runner be doing in the offseason, or more specifically, a 400/800 guy?