Hey! I'm a sophomore and about to run the 400 and 3200 at a meet in a few days. I'm somewhat experienced with the 400 with a 55-ish leg on a 4x4 after running 800 and 1600. I have absolutely no experience with the 3200 and I was hoping for some hints, tips, and pacing help. My times haven't been up to par this year because I've either been told to cruise a certain event or some mis-pacing and being boxed in. Times: 55, 2:14 (and felt good), 5:07 (not full speed), & 18:54. Thanks!
Also, what type of time should I be going for and I'm a guy.
Well you're obviously better at shorther distances so go out conservatively, just like your political views should be;)
I don't really know what time you should go for, but, when I run the 3200, I tend to have a quick-ish first lap, settle into my goal pace, then start picking up the pace (if I can) with about 600-800 left. Figure out what your goal time is then go find 400 splits with a pacing calculator online. Do not fall asleep on laps 5&6!! These laps always seem to be the hardest to maintain pace on because I lose focus right around here in some races (freaking dual meets mainly).
If you feel like death with about 600 to go, but you still manage to pick it up, then I would say you are doing it right.
As with pretty much every race: FOCUS the 3rd quarter
Of course, the first lap or so will go out a little faster than necessary. Follow, but don't lead. Then things will settle a bit. The key is that it will get hard around the mile. FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS. The 3rd quarter is always the toughest. Get to that final 800.
strider16 wrote:
Also, what type of time should I be going for and I'm gay.
Just take it easy at first and speed up during the second mile. You will pass a lot of people who went out too fast.
*stipe wrote:
As with pretty much every race: FOCUS the 3rd quarter
Of course, the first lap or so will go out a little faster than necessary. Follow, but don't lead. Then things will settle a bit. The key is that it will get hard around the mile. FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS. The 3rd quarter is always the toughest. Get to that final 800.
This
Almost all high school runners tend to slow down during this part of the race- so if you aren't passing people between 1600-2400, you're doing it wrong. Push yourself harder than you think you can in the middle of the race, and the last 800 will take care of itself.
It is a catch 22 thing, but it helps if you have a good idea of the time you can run. So if you can run a 5:07 mile, let's say you are shooting for 10:40, or 80 seconds a lap.
You want to get to the mile in 5:20 or just slightly faster. The KEY is how you feel when you get to that point. If you are dying because you went out to fast, you'll be heading to 11:00 fast. But, if you were smart and got to 1600m evenly paced, what will tend to happen is you'll drop off a little, to say 82's or 83's, and you'll make that back up in the last couple of laps as you kick in.
So ... put your focus early on getting to 1600m in your goal pace and being as comfortable as you can be once you get there.
Mojo Jerkin wrote:
It is a catch 22 thing, but it helps if you have a good idea of the time you can run. So if you can run a 5:07 mile, let's say you are shooting for 10:40, or 80 seconds a lap.
You want to get to the mile in 5:20 or just slightly faster. The KEY is how you feel when you get to that point. If you are dying because you went out to fast, you'll be heading to 11:00 fast. But, if you were smart and got to 1600m evenly paced, what will tend to happen is you'll drop off a little, to say 82's or 83's, and you'll make that back up in the last couple of laps as you kick in.
So ... put your focus early on getting to 1600m in your goal pace and being as comfortable as you can be once you get there.
Based off of his times, I would say that 10:40 is way too fast, and he would probably fall off the pace at the mile; especially considering how slow his 5k time is compared to his 1600 (A 5:07 would normally indicate sub 18ish). I would say aim for something like 10:50 - 11:20. Stay relaxed the first mile. Maybe around 5:30-5:40 then push it the third quarter, and when you have 2 laps left the adrenaline will kick in and so will you. The key is to stay relaxed in the first mile, and push it in the 3rd quarter. I find that it's usually best to negative split by less than 5 seconds or run even splits.