How Should I Warm up for an 800m Race?

another canuck wrote:

If I had worked with El G I would be selling this training info rather than discussing it on here! I read somewhere that he warmed up with longer intervals rather than standard strides. If I can find it I will post the reference. Its possible I am not remembering correctly, or that it was someone else, but I am pretty sure.

He also did not run the 800m

Apart from the 1:47 in 95

ukathleticscoach wrote:

He probably did, but he didn't do 2 x 200m before a race

OK, you got me curious and I dug out some old training diaries from the attic.

I never warmed up with Seb before a race, but I was in his training group at New River on Sunday mornings in 87 and 88, and paced reps for some VERY hard 1500 and 800 speed endurance sessions when he was trying to get in shape for Seoul.

We started with the usual stuff - 2-3 miles of easy running, stretches and drills - but then usually ran two or three 400m laps at steadily increasing paces with a minute rest. Maybe between 72 and 66 pace (most of us were low 3:50 1500 runners), easy enough for even for us mortals but enough to get the aerobic system fully revved up.

We would then go into a hard ladder session such as 600-500-400-300 @800 pace, or 1200-800-600-400-400 @1500 pace.

No other group I know of did this, but it certainly worked. I think there is at least a good chance he did something similar for races.

- Andy

Clyde Hart warmup:

3 laps, run the straights, walk the curves, progressively faster.

1X200 in 26 (for a 46.0 athletes, i.e., 85-90% race pace), assuming track access to do the final 200--and this is not always the case.

We do a version of this warmup 400/800 guys (with the 200 at ~90% of 800 pace). Distance-oriented 800 guys do better with more volume and less intensity--comparable to training philosophy.

I've seen the Baylor guys do the Clyde Hart warmup for events from 100-800 at meets and race well. And I'll bet their 800 guys would kick you guys' butts 10 times out of 10.

stretching is overatted

3 laps, run the straights, walk the curves, progressively faster.

Someone help me with a practical problem. If you aren't at an Olympic stadium with a spare warmup track, how do you run whole laps when people are putting out and taking away hurdles, getting ready for 100/200/400 races and all the other stuff that goes on during a busy meet ? ;-)

I'm not disputing the principle of the thorough warmup but suspect it would have to be done on grass nearby if you want to run more than 80-150m nonstop.

'but then usually ran two or three 400m laps at steadily increasing paces with a minute rest. '

Andy - Well there is the big difference between this and what I was discussing the and 2 x 200m at a fast pace & the 2 x 40m all out just before a race

Coach D. Just to clarify So your 800m runners do 2 x 200 at 90% before races? That would be 2 x 27.5 for a 1:50 guy. What is the recovery? I've never seen that done over here

Who said he did 2x40 all out?

Push it out wrote:

Take a dump just before the race about 50 meters from the runners - in plain view, but partially in the woods.

this works everytime.

I actually had an xc runner do this under a tree next to the starting line one time. Not surprisingly, that kid was an idiot.

'Then they do 2x200R and a couple of very hard 40s'

Johnny Rotten wrote:

Who said he did 2x40 all out?

Don't bother replying to this you will just be arguing with yourself

UKguy:

I'm not arguing with you. I'm content with what I do, and that's exactly what I'm going to do. You're the one who's arguing.

There's a lot of difference between "very hard 40s" and "all-out 40s".

You're probably very successful with what you do. Keep on keeping on.

Fair enough

You might be interested in the same I posted on Eight Lane

Matt Yates a 1:45 guy has added some comments:

http://www.eightlane.com/indexforum.php?framepage=forum.php%3Freq%3Dthread%26postid%3D68425

That discussion got about as mixed a response as this one did, although with considerably more British lingo. :-)

I agree 100% with Matt Yates' admonishion to do in practice what you will do in preparing for a race. That's the reason we do 200s prior to all of our workouts as well as prior to our races.

That said, I do think that the tempo warmup (which is a series of about 25 form drills, dynamic warmup moves, and light squats and lunges, punctuated by 40m strides, should be enough to prepare a runner to race the 800 without the 200s, especially if the 40s get faster in the latter stages, as our sprinters' do. Maybe next indoor season we'll try that.

Whatever warm up we do, surely for it to be effective, we have to be confident on the start line don't we?

Surely pre-race anxiety is a sign that the runner is insufficiently prepared for the race?

I need speed in a warm up, because I lack real speed naturally, but my speed endurance in a race requires a huge warm up. I recover quickly because I am not really fast in pure speed terms. If your 50 second 400 guys had as good endurance and as good a warm up as me, they would run sub 3.30 for 1500.

Thanks for all the great advice, but I have another question:

When should my last hard workout be for my peak 800 race(s) this Friday 28th (prelims) and Saturday 29th (finals)? FYI Today’s workout (Tuesday) is yet to be completed so it’s open for change

I don’t want to back off from the intensity too much, and become sloppy, but I also want to be fresh for the final race(s). So, when (and what type) should this last hard workout look like for me as a 1:58 guy? Then what kind of other workouts should I do leading right up to the race(s)?

thanks

bump

bump

My 800 runner who has a prelim today and final tomorrow did this on Monday:

tempo warmup (20:00)

2x(200R/200F/200R)

1mi c/d

She did the 200F very fast (although it didn't seem too difficult for her. She went a lot faster than I'd wanted.).

Yesterday she did 2x200R in the middle of a 3m run.

Her last "hard" workout was last week.

I think that you are correct to stay close to your speed.

Sorry I didn't get back to you. Have a good race today. Get a good warm up. Don't worry about wasting energy before the race, the right warm up should leave you feeling confident that you are going to run well before the start. Trying to save energy will leave you feeling too anxious, and the pace will feel hard from the start. The right warm up will eliminate these doubts.

As others have said, we are all different, so you have to find what works for you. I suggest that the most important thing is to do longer and longer strides, faster and faster until you get that confident feeling.

Have a good race.

The 800 is a beast that must be tamed in the first 200m. The impulse to sprint this segment is what ruins otherwise ideal races. Doing two 200m reps at race pace is CRUCIAL, especially for younger, more inexperienced runners. These MUST be run at opening tempo (only slightly faster than even pace, due to quick first 50) to be worth anything at all.

As for "leaving the race in the warmup", think about a workout of 10x400 or 15x200: which rep almost always feels the easiest?