Supposedly, the 800 is ~60% aerobic with 10 prominent studies reporting values of 52-81% aerobic contribution to energy for the event (http://www.coachr.org/energy_system_contribution_in_tr.htm). It is so high above VO2 max though that almost no fat is used for energy, almost purely carbohydrate burning, just like the other ~40% that is anaerobic. This rapid carb burning produces a state of severe acidosis. This "severe aerobic" component is seemingly the biggest part of 800 races.
Question: assuming that to all be true, why wouldn't it work for 800 runners to ONLY do short tempo runs and cruise intervals for their aerobic capacity work, just gradually increasing rep duration and/or intensity and decreasing recovery as buffering capacity increases? Then, just have a VO2 max session weekly to improve oxygen utilization, and 1-2 days a week of pure, basic speed work (20-60m). This, of course in conjunction with weights, plyos, and drills.
The way I look at it, the 800 is an aerobic sprint. This approach would 1) work a lot on power development and sprint biomechanics, 2) increase efficiency and capacity when the lungs are stressed to their peak, and 3) increase buffering capacity, so that maximal efforts could be sustained for longer.
So a sample week might be:
M Max Speed, weights, drills, plyos
T short tempo reps 3-5 minutes each
W Acceleration, weights, drills, plyos
Th longer tempo reps 10-20 minutes each
F speed endurance reps, weights, drills, plyos
Sa VO2 reps
Su Active rest or XT for regeneration and capacity
As needed, you could add in a good bit of volume with wu, cd, and recovery intervals. If I did this much quality, I would start off low volume, with a lot of recovery between reps and long wu/cd until I acclimated.