Hello all. As the title says, this is a thread I will be using to track and share my training with everyone and possibly get advice and discuss different aspects of 800m training. This intro post is going to be long, but I want to give as much information about my progression and training as I can so I can be transparent and so discussion of training and such can be accurate.
Some of you may recognize me from the “Can I rub sub 4:24†thread. I moved from that thread to a new one because I no longer care about “4:24†and wish to run as fast as I can for the 800m.
I’ll give some background. I have detailed training of the past couple years and how my goals and PRs progressed on a week to week level that you can find in this thread:
http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=6511501&page=1
I will no longer be posting on that thread and everything will be in here.
Here’s a little progression from when I started running up to now.
9th grade, 5’1 100lbs
800m: 2:37
5k: 19:59
Training: Minimal. Maybe 15-20mpw with less over the winter
10th grade, 5’6 120lbs
800m: 2:27
5k: 19:15
Training: Minimal. Maybe 20-25mpw with less over the winter with some weight lifting here and there
11th grade, 5’8 125-130lbs
400m: 57.X
800m: 2:21 (only ran once)
3200m: 11:11
5k: 18:28
Training: Better but still minimal. Likely 25-30 mpw with more off season running. Lifting in the winter into spring.
12th grade, 5’10 130-135lbs
400m: 55 high (only ran once)
800m: Didn’t run one
1600m: 4:57
3200m: 10:46
5k: 17:28
Training: Much better but still low in the grand scheme of things. 30mpw with a lot of speed work and races in the fall. Much more consistent in the summer and fall, though. Lifted all winter and into spring, but didn’t run for a couple months in January-February because of knee problems. Cross trained a little (mostly rowing machines).
Decided to run in college last minute for fun.
Freshman Year, 5’11 140-145lbs
8k XC: 28:37
200m: 24.7
400m split: 54.9
800m: 2:05 high
1500m: 4:25
Training: Over the summer I probably averaged 30-35mpw but with a lot of tempos and I only ran 4-6 days a week. XC went well but I didn’t finish the season well. Decided to be in the mid distance group for track. Only ran 20-25mpw. Was at a plateau most of the year at around 2:08 for 800m. Felt like I improved top speed and strength well as I lifted most of the year.
Sophomore Year, 5’11 140-150lbs
8k XC: 28:07
400m split: 53.6 (only ran once)
800m: 2:05 low
1500m: 4:19
i3000m: 9:33
5000m: 16:37
3k Steeple: 10:31
Training: Over the summer I don’t think my mileage ever really exceeded 40mpw and was more likely around 30-35 most of the time. I did a lot of speed work like hard 400’s and lots of 200’s faster than Vo2 pace with short rest because my coach wasn’t great back then. Switched to distance for track because I wanted to run steeplechase. Over the winter, I upped my mileage and was pretty consistently in the 50’s for most of indoor and part of outdoor. I continued to lift (mostly) year-round.
Junior Year, 5’11 145-150lbs
8k XC: A muddy 28:03
200m: 24.4 (indoor 200m flat track)
500m: 1:11 high
800m: 2:03
Mile: 4:32 (indoor)
3000m: 9:25 (indoor)
3k Steeple: 10:14
Training: Pretty much did the opposite this summer. Ran up to 60mpw with consistent 45-55mpw of mostly easy mileage and some tempos and long runs. I probably could have used some more up tempo running and strides. I felt like I really under-performed in many of my 8k races. I was killing workouts but barely improving in races. During the winter, I got back to 60mpw for most of the winter and was in the 40’s most of spring. I started doubling 2-3 times a week in the winter because I took my coaches jogging class for easy kines credits in the mornings. The mile was a standout performance for me, and the 800 was pretty good too because it was 45 minutes after the mile and I negative split it. I was still hellbent on being a steepler, though.
Senior Year, 5’11 148-158lbs
8k XC: 27:04
400m split: 49.9
500m: 1:06.4
800m: 1:52 high
1500m: 4:08
Training: The training leading into and during this year is where the thread I linked above starts. I was really dedicated on reaching my goal of running 4:24 for the mile so I could qualify for indoor ECACs. I upped my summer mileage to consistent 70-75mpw with a lot of easy and longer tempos, some hill sprints and very consistent lifting. XC season went pretty well. I was much more consistent. XC is not my thing but I was pleased with my performances. I took 5 days off then got back into training. I quickly got up to 60mpw in the winter and did a lot of tempos and mile pace work in November and December. I also added in a lot of quick 100m ‘strides’ after easy runs, which I think helped my 400/800 tremendously. I ended up running the 4x4 regularly because I was one of our top 4 guys. Ended up splitting between 50.9 and 51.5 throughout the indoor season. I never reached my goal in the mile, as I only ran 4:31 for some reason. I just didn’t get in the right race I guess. I ran the 500m as a last-ditch effort to qualify at the end of indoor and ran 1:06.7 (qualifying was 1:08 flat). I got our school record and found I took well to the 500. I ran an 800m indoor on a 200m flat track and ran 1:56.5 and decided I had better drop steeplechase and switch to the mid distance group for outdoor track. You can check out the thread above for more details about that indoor season and the outdoor season. We did some hard progression runs, cut down workouts, and a lot of 400m-800m pace work during outdoor and I eventually ran 1:55.5, 1:54.3 and 1:52.7 at the last meet of the year.
1st year Post Collegiate
I didn’t really take much of a break after track season senior year because I was so amped up about how track season ended. I think this was mistake #1. I got back into training and made it up to consistent 60mpw with some sprint work and tempos. During the first part of summer I PR’d in the 5k and 15k with 16:10 and 52:40 but I also developed Achilles tendinopathy that I have to this day. I have always been able to run through it but I have not been able to shake the injury. Let’s just fast forward a bit. I had decent winter training but I had an injury scare that required me to take 4 days off of running in February, and I think this hurt me mentally more than anything. I never got my mileage back up and I wasn’t getting in quality workouts. I ended up getting strep throat in March and this pretty much did me in. I ran 4 outdoor track meets and ran 51.8 in the open 400m, and 2:02, 1:58.3 and 1:58.4 and I have now packed it in and am taking a week break from running.
So, as you can see, this past year hasn’t been great for my running. Maybe I’ll never break 1:50, or maybe I’ll never even PR again in the 800, but I’ll be damned if I don’t try while I’m young. I’m starting a new job soon so hopefully I can use the new structure and routine to help myself. I’m not starting serious training until June. I will be working on building mileage and consistently doubling during the month of May. I want to get into a routine where I’m doubling 6 days a week because I’ve never been very consistent with doubling. I’ll be updating this thread (hopefully) weekly with my training for that week. I welcome questions, (constructive) criticisms, advice, feedback, etc. I will try to be detailed with my training and continue to be as transparent as I can. This is no bs, just a thread about a running goal I want to achieve and discussions about said running. I will post an update after my first week of running is complete.
If you read this far, thank you and I hope you continue to follow along.