Got an indoor track meet on February 1st, and I only raced one 800m which was last year freshman year. My goal is to get under 2:20. Im also a sophomore 5'8 and 129 pounds. Im kinda skinny fat though. Can anyone give me training plans, tips, and diet advice please?
Also other times
5k-20:16
3200m-12:19
1600m-5:35
You're gonna get faster just by growing the next few years. What have you done in terms of training so far to reach your current times?
As far as training goes, you should probably aim to run decent mileage (decent depends on how much you've run up to now. It could be 30, it could be even 15 mpw) on a consistent basis while touching on 800m pace with strides once a week at least and doing some sort of faster top speed work (whether up a hill or on the track.) once a week
Aerobic workouts would mostly involve medium distance repeats (800-1600m) at a pace that's challenging but manageable for sure and doesn't cause you to strain or heave like you would near the end of a race (10k-15k pace).
Up until you are in about 2:15 shape you don’t need to really worry about specific training. Anything over 2:15 and you aren’t really in 800M shape. I’m not dissing, I used to be there too, and everyone needs to start from somewhere. That being said,
Try to run 5 miles a day, at least 8 on the weekends, and have one of those 5 milers be at a pretty hard pace.
Also challenge yourself. Don’t pick the easiest routes, in fact, you should pick the hilliest ones you can. It builds mental toughness which is essential for an 800 runner.
150 meter strides at between 400-800 pace do wonders during the off season. Do 4-8 of them every other day and you’ll be surprised at how smooth you feel come race day.
This was the entire winter training plan for me freshman-sophomore year and this is how I progressed:
2:33-2:11
5:26-4:52
12:46-10:53
Hope this helps!
Just saw that you're aimin to be under 2:20 in February. In that case, and assuming you've done some good consistent base training like outlined above; in 2 weeks you should start doing pace workouts (repeats at or around your race pace)
Ex: 8x200m with 1:30 rest at 800m pace
5x300m with 3:00 rest at pace
This one is real tough and should be done 10-14 days out: 3x400 with 3:00 rest at 800m effort
2x(400,300,200), 3:00 between reps and 6:00 between sets
3-4x200m at 400m pace
600m @ 800m pace, 5:00 rest, then a few 200s.
These are bread and butter 800m workouts to do in the last 4-5 weeks before the race you want to peak for. Just make sure you do no more than 1 speed endurance type session and one speed session a week, otherwise injury risks will go up. 7 days before the race should be your last hard workout, and till then the only intensity should include some strides, and 2 or 3 200s at 800m effort
Good luck
Hill sprints. Lots of conditioning work- press ups, sit ups, squats.
Don't worry about mileage much- increase the pace of your runs and ensure that you're doing training which is making you faster over a short period and more explosive.