800m questions wrote:
Interested in your experience here.
You said that you are more of a 400/800m type (and not 1500m), so I assume that your 400m and 800m times line up performance-wise but then you drop off from 1500m and then even more at 5k and beyond.
800m is supposed to be 50% aerobic so in theory by increasing your aerobic capacity, that is/was your weakness. So wouldn't really working on your aerobic capacity be important? And the most general ways of doing that are more mileage and tempo runs.
But eventually, after many years, the aerobic capacity is maxed out, or nearly maxed out. (This is the point where a distance runner would benefit from Canova.)
Correct, I perfome much better at the 400 than 1500m. Well, the percentages isn't set in stone, and 800m is a unique distance, I dont think you should worry too much about whatever percentages you can split the 800m into.
Personally I got a huge PR after a year with slow, very controlled treshold running. I say slow because I'm not efficient at threshold-speed. That doesn't mean I did all the intervals at threshold speed, but most of it werent above treshold lactate.
The 3 years after treshold and and aerobic focused training didn't give me anything. I barely improved on treshold speed, and my 800m suffered. Too little speed, too little strength, hard drills and too little in 800m pace. I tried correcting for those last year while including what I'd missed, but it didn't work well. Ive reduced the amount of treshold, the longer intervals are harder, do more sprint and sprint endurance workouts that are long (3hours) and include a lot of drills, hurdle jumping, hurdle drills etc.
Its done wonders.
Also, if you look at the dutch system they advice something along those lines. Though, that depends on the kind of runner you are. I think its very important to figure that out, and then use training that has been proven effective from runners with similar qualities.
I've reduced milage (long slow haven't given me much) but I have one tempo run a week, and the long intervals are areobic, just harder than before.