3x600..killer workout

Or any workout suggestions to make this a better workout? I know seb coe used to run longer workouts like this. Specific endurance stuff, but I feel like I fell off way to much on the last one.

Not gonna lie, that pacing is utterly abysmal. You clearly have good speed, but if you're falling off that pace with a 5 min recovery then you're gonna have a bad time.

To give you some context, I ran 4 600s as a tuneup session for a 800 indoors. I'd never run indoors and was in the middle of an xc season. I had similar breaks to you, except I was told to do the first 300 in 48 then kick hard for home on each one. On average I ran these in 1:31. With this as my only speedwork for months I broke 2 for the first time.

But what's your endurance background? I'm more of a 3k-10k guy, with some decent speed. If you're a speed guy then your 8s could be dodgy....

I have solid speed. 49 seconds for a 400. But I also can whip out 20x200 in 32 with a 30 second recovery without a problem. I'm just hoping to go sub 1:55 this year.

I'm definitely not an 800m expert, but it seems to me like you have really good speed and pretty abysmal endurance. On a workout like that there shouldn't be any reason to drop off the pace that much, especially with 5 minutes rest. Work on endurance, probably do longer repeats with less rest, for a few weeks. I'd be curious to see how well you'd do in 3x600 trying to stay at 1:30, instead of going out that hard. Right now I'd say you would do fine for the first 650 of the race at your goal pace and then really fall off it.

A while back when I was in sub 4:05 and sub 1:52 shape I ran a workout similar to that but more focused on change of pace and kicking. Go through the 400m in 63-64 and close the last 200m in 25-26. So the times were 1:29ish for three. Your pacing, as stated, is very poor, but the speed is definitely there. More consistent workouts and that speed should be worth sub 1:55.

I have decent endurance in workouts like 12x200 with a min break I ran 27-28 and ended with a 25. I think it may of been just to fast of a pace to begin with. This was my first long workout though and I just started true speed endurance and 800 work. I was running mileage with a little speed for the last 5 months. Running mileage doesn't seem to work for me. Just seems to get me around a 17:00 5k and lose about a second and a half off my 200 speed

Dont run a lot of milage, run some mileage and run tempos and tempo intervals. Theyll give you the right endurance for the 800.

I think that workout shows that you could go 1:57 right now. Your speed endurance is fine. 5 min rest is actually pretty short for a 600 at 800 pace.
I would try to finish as a cut down. So the first repeats have to be slower.
1:30, 1:28, 1:24 is how I would like to see it run. Before the last repeat take 10 min rest if you need it.

I ran 1:57 off of 52 400 speed last year. So it's kinda crazy to think I'd go that speed off of 49 second 400 and a lot better speed endurance this year

As has already been stated, your main problem is that you started the workout way too fast. You said the first two were at 800 pace. 1:24 is not 800 pace if your pr is 1:57. So you ran progressively slower as the workout went on, which is the worst way to run a quality session.

Job One is to learn to run controlled. Start the workout slower. Then you can hopefully get faster as you progress through it. At the least, you'll have a much better chance to maintain consistent pacing as you work through it. This will be much more beneficial as a quality training session, and will also be more rewarding mentally.

Focus on building your strength and speed endurance. And don't say your speed endurance is good because of what you can do some 200s in. 200s prove nothing.

IAAF charts have a 1:24 600 equivalent to a 1:58 800.

You can probably run ~1:57 right now.

I've ran a 600 meter time trial in 1:22 low 2 weeks ago. And I think In the right race I could go 1:21

If you're going to pace them like that you should run 600 500 400 300. Same distance run but the form will be better.

Yeah that's kind of what I've seen from other posts about 600 meter. Honestly I think the workout I did tonight was a little much for a 4/8 guy. Should of just stopped at 2 or did the workout your talking about.

You are in 2:00-2:02 right now. Max 1:57-58 with better workouts. 1:55 isn't out of the question.

But do better and take the advice above.

runfasterr, i appreciate that you feel you're a speed based guy, but the simple fact is, the 800 IS an endurance event, period. therefore, doing 200's is only something to maintain turnover, NOT to BUILD fitness. you can do 200's all day long and you won't get very tired. you try doing something repetitive, such as greater than 1min distances, with only 50-75% recoveries (time wise) and you will truly see what kind of shape you are in.

i know it's unsolicited advice kid, but if you really want to run the 800, you need to be doing stuff like that, and just using short 200's as maintanence workouts, and limiting the kind of long recoveries you talked about in the 600 w/out. that is a fine workout, with only 2-3min recovery, no more. 5min is too much, unless you're going all out, but then it's the kind of workout that you only do once in a blue moon, and still doesn't tell you as much as doing 6x400 w/ 1min rest at 1200m pace (in between 800 & mile pace) or something comparable. best of luck

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unsolicited advice. wrote:

runfasterr, i appreciate that you feel you're a speed based guy, but the simple fact is, the 800 IS an endurance event, period. therefore, doing 200's is only something to maintain turnover, NOT to BUILD fitness. you can do 200's all day long and you won't get very tired. you try doing something repetitive, such as greater than 1min distances, with only 50-75% recoveries (time wise) and you will truly see what kind of shape you are in.

i know it's unsolicited advice kid, but if you really want to run the 800, you need to be doing stuff like that, and just using short 200's as maintanence workouts, and limiting the kind of long recoveries you talked about in the 600 w/out. that is a fine workout, with only 2-3min recovery, no more. 5min is too much, unless you're going all out, but then it's the kind of workout that you only do once in a blue moon, and still doesn't tell you as much as doing 6x400 w/ 1min rest at 1200m pace (in between 800 & mile pace) or something comparable. best of luck

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2.00-2.02? This is non possible. I know people who had ran 1.27/8 in a race and then just a couple of weeks later ran 2.00/2.01. 1.24 TT in training already means AT LEAST 1.58 in my opinion. He ran 1.29 5 minutes after (and this is again sub 2.00 pace)... I'd say he can run AT LEAST 1.55.

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Runfasterrr wrote:

Yeah that's kind of what I've seen from other posts about 600 meter. Honestly I think the workout I did tonight was a little much for a 4/8 guy. Should of just stopped at 2 or did the workout your talking about.

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