3200m strategy?

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Negative split the 2nd mile. Your last 800m should be your fastest splits.

dam son wrote:

What's a good strategy for a 3200m/2 mile? There's so many laps its a little harder to make a good strategy compared to the mile.

In the mile I do the best when I relax the first lap and try not to go out too fast, maintain the 2nd lap, surge hard the 3rd lap, and kick it home the 4th lap.

Should I just do something similar for the 3200 but every 800 instead of every 400?

I'm trying to run somewhere in the 11:10ish range if that's important

It's probably best to find someone who is slightly better than you or of the same ability. Stick close to that guy the entire race unless he is the type that likes to take off too fast.

In a longer race you can "build it up," by starting slow and passing runners in a gradual fashion all the way to the finish. In high school almost all the runners will start too fast, so this will work well. Run even time. 5:30-5:30 = 11:00.

In the 2 mile the running really does not start until 3 laps to go, however it is possible to get caught going too slow at the beginning. This never happened to me though!!! However I can probably name 100s of times when going out hurt me.

As a coach I found race strategy hard to teach. You will have to experiment somewhat. Some coaches will be very opposed to what I have said and believe that faster times will result from starting fast. Perhaps you are among the very, very rare people this will be true of.

I meant going out too fast hurt me 100s of times!!!!!!!! Going out slow never hurt me in a race longer than a mile. In a 800 or mile starting slow is a bit trickier.

It does help if you know roughly what you are capable of running going in, so you can get the pacing correct. Unless you are not in shape or pace it really bad, you'll find the first mile isn't too hard and the last 600m or so takes care of itself.

So, the big issue in this race is from the mile mark until about a lap and a half to go.

Here is a strategy I suggest. Get to the mile at exactly your goal pace but do it as efficiently as possible. Listen to your splits and adjust, don't be moving all over a pack of runners, and adjust subtly. Don't go out to fast - it is better to be a few seconds slow if necessary. (90% of high school runners blow it right here and go out to fast and do a slow fade from there.)

Then, at the mile mark, you have to consciously try to pick it up for the next 2 and a half laps. You will likely slow a bit, even though you are consciously picking up the effort. This will be the most painful part of the race and it is where you are most likely to fall off pace. Just keep telling yourself it is only a few minutes and know this is where you have to be mentally as strong as you can be.

I have found that if you are where you want to be, the last 600m will be fine. You should be all out at that point, and going hard and timing that final push to the line.

I can say every time I've had an athlete really succeed at the 3200m they've hit those laps right after the mile correctly. But, what you do the first mile is what positions you to do that.

I am assuming you are a HS runner based on your times and the fact it is a 3200m.

First of all, know your limits and don't be afraid to push them a bit (within reason). For example, if you are confident that you are in 11:10 shape, don't be afraid to go out with a pack running 10:50 pace but I would of course avoid going out with a pack running 10:00 pace. With that being said, here is a basic strategy for the 3200m:

First 1200 (Laps 1-3): make sure to position your self with a pack running a pace reasonable to your skill level. I would recommend going out in the 10:50 to 11:20 pace range if i were you. Be sure to get out hard enough in the first 50-100m so you don't get caught up in the pack. For these first 3 laps, focus on staying with the pack you are with while trying to use as little energy as possible. Anyone can run the first 1200.

200-2400 (Laps 4-6): This is where it will start to hurt a bit. Force yourself to get through these 3 laps. tell yourself the race is over once you complete these laps. Focus on holding your pace. It will feel like you are speeding up a bit to hold your pace due to fatigue. Be sure to pass people who are falling off the pace.

2400-2800 (Lap 7): Once you get to 800 to go, pick up the pace considerably but don't kick yet as there is still 2 laps to go. Just keep telling yourself "a little faster." Pass people who are slowing down.

2800- 3200 (Lap 8): Give it everything you got! Make your you finish this race saying you gave it your all and you could not have ran any faster this lap. Once you get to the distance you are comfortable kicking from, kick as hard as possible. Be sure to use you arms for an arm pumping, adrenaline filled kick. Once you think you are at max speed, tell yourself you have 1 more gear and dig deep to find it. Focus on running as many people down as possible.

If you follow this, you should be fine. the most important part of this plan is laps 4-6. The better these laps are, the chances of you running as fast as you can increase dramatically. These laps is where your PR is made rather than the last 2 laps.

Let us know how the race goes!

I ended up running like 11:30. I think I may have overestimated my ability because I think 11:10 is out of reach.

The first lap was stupid. we went out in 79. I ran like 85-88s for the rest. I was hurting bad the last 3 laps but I kept pushing. Actually still a PR but I can do better.

I remembered to push the 3rd 800 which I think helped. Put me hella in the pain zone but thats when I passed a few people.

Trackbot! Vdot 10:20 3200m

VDOT for 10:20 3.2km: 61.4

Equivalent race times based on VDOT:

Marathon: 02:40:10

Half marathon: 01:16:35

15K: 00:53:13

10K: 00:34:39

5K: 00:16:42

3Mi: 00:16:05

2Mi: 00:10:24

3200m: 00:10:20

3K: 00:09:38

1Mi: 00:04:51

1600m: 00:04:50

1500m: 00:04:30

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dam son wrote:

I ended up running like 11:30. I think I may have overestimated my ability because I think 11:10 is out of reach.

The first lap was stupid. we went out in 79. I ran like 85-88s for the rest. I was hurting bad the last 3 laps but I kept pushing. Actually still a PR but I can do better.

I remembered to push the 3rd 800 which I think helped. Put me hella in the pain zone but thats when I passed a few people.

It is easy to go out too fast even if you are a veteran racer and know what kind of shape you are in! In a 2 mile you can let them pass and tell yourself you will pass them later when they slow down...BUT yes it's far better not to start so fast.

You might actually be in shape to run under 11:00 but race strategy makes all the difference in the world. I always wanted to have guys to pass so it's better to start way too slow in long races. You use laps 1-5 to move up GRADUALLY. The race begins with 3 laps to go. It's not that it will begin to hurt then...it will hurt the whole way. I just meant that you do not want to be gassed with 3 laps to go!

It is true that the first 40-50 meters can be fairly fast (not 100 meters like the BB player said!). However if you go very fast you can get caught up running 79 like you did.

Listen to "Stairway to Heaven." Your effort should increase like that song!

Effort not speed. I will write one more post to explain what I mean.

I learned by accident how to do it.

One day I arrived at practice and there was a note on the wall it read:

2400 meter time trial

Having already ran at least 5 miles that morning I figured I was toast. So I hung around the back of the pack for the first lap or so. Magically the other runners start to come back to me! Yes it was as if they were running backwards to get to me. I was shocked! I wound up finishing 2nd by only a few yards in that time trial. Please realize I was only the #7 guy on that team up to that day!!!

See the next one...

Proper training, including a long run of at least 10-12 miles once a week for weeks, is more important than any race strategy.

So from then on I always started slow. Please also realize that I was not speedy.

There is an old saying that the man sprinting at the end of a race is not necessarily the fastest man but the strongest.

However I was big into miles so had plenty of that! Even so most athletes find that running smart works best.

Please write back to us here and tell us how it is going. *** Be careful what you say out loud. Say what you want to happen. (You do not have to say this in front of other people...but say it to yourself when alone.)

"I am healthy and strong." ETC. "My race strategy is getting better every race,"

Flagpole wrote:

Proper training, including a long run of at least 10-12 miles once a week for weeks, is more important than any race strategy.

Been doing that for months bro. I'm hitting 40-45 mpw rn and I peaked at like 53 over the winter.

Yeah I think I really need to focus hard on not going out fast. The first lap just always feel so easy.

Last 1600 I ran I went out like 3 seconds slower than normal (78 vs 74-75) and I dropped like 7 seconds off my PR. (ran a 5:13)

TrackBot! Optimize 3200m 79 88 86 87 86 89 89 86

Optimized time for 11:30.0 3200.0m based on even pacing:

11:20.80

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TrackBot wrote:

Optimized time for 11:30.0 3200.0m based on even pacing:

11:20.80

I am a bot. Info: habs.sdf.org/trackbot

Guess I really can run 11:20 lol

Trackbot! Vdot 10:59 3200m