200m Dash pr

By the way, I am a junior in high school. I only got into track last year.

Any insight would be much appreciated!

Jared Waterhouse wrote:

I am pretty skinny for my height.

run the 800

I have in practice before and I've only gotten around 2:08

Naturally you would have a chance just during regular season to knock off a second or just because you are a runner and thats what runners do, but chances are high for you too get it down, you should get in the weight room, weight room training and having a strong core are key components for Track. Make sure your nutrition is healthy, I assume you might have some knowledge on running a curve? If not you should look that up. Whats your 400m time?

run the 800. 2:08 is WAY better than 26.2 for 200m. and if you are undertrained on the endurance side, the 800 time will drop way faster than your 200 time. that 200 says you can run 1:56 or better for 800 if properly trained. that's way more competitive in HS than anything you could achieve in the 200, even if you dropped 2-3 seconds and were running 24s-23s. i am also gonna guess the big improvement in the 200 you saw was from 1) just getting better coordination-wise, and 2) getting in better overall shape. this is how distance runners improve speed. a natural born sprinter wouldn't start at 31s for 200, they'd be able to drop a 26 with no training and have the potential to get down to 21-22s.

Jared Waterhouse wrote:

I have in practice before and I've only gotten around 2:08

Had a 22 flat junior year 220 guy on my HS team - pretty much off the shelf and moments after he finished his cigarette. Rarely at practice and when there not very engaged. Yeah at 15-16 you have to be much quicker that 26 point to think about sprints- I'd spend the new two seasons working out with the 3000-5,000&XC squad if I were you.

I was about the same speed as you in the 200 when I trained for the 800. Spent an entire year specifically training for the 200 and barely improved. With that being said, you might as well train for the distance you enjoy the most. If you are trying for a college scholarship, your best bet would probably be running the 800 or going up in distance.

Seconded about 800.

Forget the 800. If you were age 25 running 26's then yes...focus on the 800. But, you're young enough to get stronger, do some plyos, focus on block starts and probably break 23.

My 400m time is 56

Thanks for everyones insight!

Jared Waterhouse wrote:

My 400m time is 56

If you can run 56 with a 26 pr, that shows you have good speed endurance. I think eventually the 800 might be your best event. You would really need to drop your 200 time to improve your 400 time.

However, since you haven't been running for very long it is hard to say what distance you may end up being the best at. I think you should decide what distance you enjoy training for the most and then do that. You will probably get better at the 200, 400 and 800 by just training more.

Great advice! Would interval workouts help? Like doing a 200 then a 400, 600, 800