sub 1:55 800m training for outdoor....help?

ukathleticscoach wrote:

If you want to run under 1.55, then you need at least 51.xx 400 speed. And to run that you need at least 23.7 200 speed. .

No you don't 53 will get you 1:54 if properly trained and and and adult[/quote]

correct in theory, but very few high school athletes are aerobically developed enough to beak 1:55 off of 53 speed.

Plus, I think it's better to develop a young athlete's speed first and then gradually train their endurance.

Bonkers wrote:

ukathleticscoach wrote:

If you want to run under 1.55, then you need at least 51.xx 400 speed. And to run that you need at least 23.7 200 speed. .

No you don't 53 will get you 1:54 if properly trained and and and adult

correct in theory, but very few high school athletes are aerobically developed enough to beak 1:55 off of 53 speed.

Plus, I think it's better to develop a young athlete's speed first and then gradually train their endurance.[/quote]

I agree which is why i said adult

You are right on speed as well. If you don't get speed when you are young you never will

ukathleticscoach wrote:

Bonkers wrote:

No you don't 53 will get you 1:54 if properly trained and and and adult

correct in theory, but very few high school athletes are aerobically developed enough to beak 1:55 off of 53 speed.

Plus, I think it's better to develop a young athlete's speed first and then gradually train their endurance.

I agree which is why i said adult

You are right on speed as well. If you don't get speed when you are young you never will[/quote]

Not true in my experience. I went from 59 open 400 speed in hs to 52low (probably sub 52 if I run it fresh) at age 24. I think a lot of that had to do with maturing, as I was a bit of a late bloomer.

Thanks for the replies. I'm racing this Saturday, the open 800m first and then the 800 leg of the DMR, I'll update with what times I get. Realistically looking at my highschool times, what would you say is a reasonable time for me to run in the 800m in college? I guess I'd like to know where my upper limit is.

Majestic Matt said he ran 1:58.0 for the 800 indoors.

The correct answer should have been, "you are already a 1:55 guy outdoors."

The stupidity of most of the responders on Let's Run is amazing!

If you said do more long runs, I think you are one of the few sharp ones.

Majestic also ran 24.1!!! He already has speed. Besides the 800 is 50% aerobic, why do you train him as a 400 guy?

Jed Clampett wrote:

Majestic Matt said he ran 1:58.0 for the 800 indoors.

The correct answer should have been, "you are already a 1:55 guy outdoors."

The stupidity of most of the responders on Let's Run is amazing!

If you said do more long runs, I think you are one of the few sharp ones.

Majestic also ran 24.1!!! He already has speed. Besides the 800 is 50% aerobic, why do you train him as a 400 guy?

If you were right, he wouldn't have run 1:56 high in outdoors. I guess even with being able to read his outdoor time since this thread is a year old, you still couldn't predict right.

Op, you asked what you could realistically run in college. There are so many variables, it is really hard to predict 4 years from now. I'd say there is a 90% chance you'll end up running between 1:50 and 1:55 in college. 5% chance you go faster, 5% chance you fail to improve. Just go with it and the times will take care of themselves.

On word of advice: write off your freshman year. You are adapting to harder workouts, more mileage, and distractions from school and partying, etc. You may very well run some prs as a freshman. But don't get frustrated if they don't come as soon and as dramatically as you think your workouts suggest. I've seen too many athletes struggle with that transition, get frustrated, and either overtrain or quit as a result.

I had very similar high school times as well as freshman year xc times as you. I barely improved my freshman year of college and ended up dropping to the 400. Looking back, I should have at least given myself another year before dropping down and giving up on the 8. I wish somebody has told me to just relax and let the training work over time, I wanted too much too soon. I let a few killer workouts make me think I should have been running 1:53 or 1:54 right away in February and anything slower felt like a failure as I ran 156 to 158 every single meet, each perceived failure resulting in me trying even harder in practice when I was already redlined from the hardest training I had ever done.

Sdf your post makes me feel a lot better about my training. My meet last week was cancelled, and just now I ran 1:59.50. Tactically it was a bad race because I hit the 400 in 60 and had to pass a lot of people on the curve to pick it up the last 300m. I'm running the 400 leg of the DMR in an hour or so. Thanks for all the help guys, it's really appreciated. Hoping to at least be sub 52 for this 400 but I haven't been doing much speed work so we'll see how it goes

53 flat split, went out slow again

No idea why people on here are claiming you have poor speed, 52.5 is plenty to break 1:55.

You need some endurance, specific endurance for the 800/1500 not some long runs thrown in willy-nilly.

Do a session of 20x200m @ 1500m pace with 45s rest or 10x400m @ 3k pace with a minute rest or 6x600m with 1:30 rest

Just ran 1:56.89 indoors... What would you guys convert that to for an outdoor 800m? The track was not banked.

Im no longer attending a university but I want to get back into shape. It's been 6 months since I ran 1:56 and I've ran maybe half a dozen times since then. Any tips on getting back into shape? Looking to break 1:55 still

Hey man I'm a junior this year and was hoping to run a low 1:50 in the 800 this year, and was willing to work for it. I'm running 7 days a week with just distance currently because I run track during the spring, but I thought of a strong workout that helps your speed and mental toughness as well, which the 800 is mainly made of. Do 10-12 300s starting on a straightaway, not a turn, at a time at about 40-45, depending on where you are in the season, and the rest, you should not stop moving, you should jog the 100 turn slowly for about 45-60 seconds, and then start immediately again, no walking or stopping at all. It will build your mental strength to get used to not being able to rest or slow down. That's my plan, thanks for reading :)

agree with need for speedwork. also, 300-500 isn't the best 'speed endurance' workout; unless you meant special endurance 2; would suggest shorter distance work, such as a few 150s with full rest, for speed endurance.

I am OP in this post. I dropped out my freshman year and stopped running. Last month I bet my friend $100 I could beat him in a 400m and I ran a 60. Don’t even want to think about my 800m time

MajesticMatt124 wrote:

I am OP in this post. I dropped out my freshman year and stopped running. Last month I bet my friend $100 I could beat him in a 400m and I ran a 60. Don’t even want to think about my 800m time

damn. im sorry man