Effect of mileage on 800m time?

1:50 bound wrote:

I feel that I'm approaching the limit of how fast I can run the 800 on pure speed

You need to switch to running on pure hate.

Run slower if you have to. You will get faster, but it will take a while to get used to it. You have to run at a pace where your breathing is easy and your legs aren't laboring.

The same applies to your track sessions, and even your races should be mostly controlled speed endurance. Look at Rudisha, is he fighting every step of the last 200? No, he is slowing down, but in a controlled way. His coach emphasises this in training.

Your 400 time is far more impressive then your 800 time. Also from what it sounds like, you weren't made for distance. That's not to say don't run 800s or do long runs (1:57 is a great time). But maybe focus on shorter distances.

The problem is not every 400m runner can translate with equal or better result at 800m. Otherwise, almost every 44 400 guy should try to run the 800m to run 1.40 or around that time. It's possible you are built as a sprinter and can't go beyond 800m in terms of racing and that your body only accepts "sprinter's training" and not mileage. If it hurts that much, in my opinion it won't help. I'd try to get down to 48.x for 400m instead.

Sasuke wrote:

The problem is not every 400m runner can translate with equal or better result at 800m. Otherwise, almost every 44 400 guy should try to run the 800m to run 1.40 or around that time. It's possible you are built as a sprinter and can't go beyond 800m in terms of racing and that your body only accepts "sprinter's training" and not mileage. If it hurts that much, in my opinion it won't help. I'd try to get down to 48.x for 400m instead.

I agree. If you ran 1:57 and did a whole season of XC and only ran about 21min then continuing to bang your head against the wall with long runs probably isn't the ticket.

I would also try to improve your 400, because sub 49 is pretty darn good for high school. but if you want to focus on the 800, you'll probably get more out of longer intervals (600s or something) than distance runs.

and one more thing...try going out in 58 for the first 400 and see what happens. You are sort of dying there with 30/32 for the last 400m.

I know the general consensus is that speed guys should go out fast and hang on, but I was a pretty mediocre/bad XC runner in HS (~18min 5k) with 49 400m speed and ran 1:55 going 58/57 (although also going 55/60), and then in college ran 1:51 running even splits. Maybe I just didn't run to my potential and could have gone faster, but it seemed like I always fell apart the last 120m if I went out much faster than even. Could be worth a shot.

1:50 bound wrote:

Ok, I'm a 400/800 runner who can go 49.XX and 1:57 at the moment. I feel that I'm approaching the limit of how fast I can run the 800 on pure speed ( splits are usually (55-1:25). I'm more than willing to put in the work to run 30-40 mpw but it just seems my bodies not meant for it. I ran XC and barely finished a 21:00 5k. I try every so often to go on long runs with the distance runner but I always get left because they go 7:00 pace for 8 and I blow up terribly if I go faster than 8:00 pace for 5. Should I just fight through it and get the must needed endurance or continue to train as a sprinter.

It takes time to adapt to running more mileage, but if you commit to it you will see a huge positive impact on your 800 times. In college, my teammate ran 1:52 in the 800, but could barely break 28min in the 8k. The following season he put in more mileage, ran 25:50, and then 1:47 indoors.

Distance training builds on itself over the course of weeks, months and years, so be patient. Don't expect to hang with the long distance guys right away.

Bonkers wrote:

It takes time to adapt to running more mileage, but if you commit to it you will see a huge positive impact on your 800 times. In college, my teammate ran 1:52 in the 800, but could barely break 28min in the 8k. The following season he put in more mileage, ran 25:50, and then 1:47 indoors.

Distance training builds on itself over the course of weeks, months and years, so be patient. Don't expect to hang with the long distance guys right away.

+1 on this, the longer stuff takes a long time to show results, multiple seasons.

30 to 40 mpw should be very doable without burning away what is your current strength: speed and speed endurance.

It needs to be a quality 30-40 mpw. A day off each week, a solid speed day each week, a speed endurance day, an endurance day, and a short (20m) tempo day. The remaining day should be a "long" run of 8 or so miles. If you are struggling to make that longer run, force yourself to slow down at the beginning, or run it with a distance teammate who is on an easy run, they'll help you pace and keep it from feeling monotonous.

That is a very rough template, but should be a starting point. Don't pretend to be an 8/15 guy or pure 8 guy, understand and embrace that you are a 4/8 guy and train accordingly. There are examples of elites who are 4/8 guys for you to read about and follow, even if they aren't as common as the pure 800 or 8/15 guys.