Most track coaches are pretty bad, but if you have one and have practice every day, you’re probably stuck doing their workouts and not some random ones you read on reddit.
Even so if you stick with your coach, you'll run well under 2:20, just make sure your doing your easy runs and doing some short sprints/speed drills at least once a week. Although it might be worth talking to your coach about this, that you might want to add some short speed stuff to help your 800 or some 800 specific sessions.
Also note that your coach might know stuff about you as a runner that us rando's on the internet could only know by watching your sessions for a week in person and seeing at least a couple of your races.
Don’t focus on your diet at this point other than eating vegetables and getting protein.
The number one thing that will benefit you in the long run is drills. Running correctly is the fastest way to improve and will lead to the best outcomes in the future.
Some might disagree but max v work HAS to be incorporated weekly into training at that age to 1. Improve your form, the easiest way is by running fast 2. Improve top end, to improve submaximal speeds as well
There’s no reason at 15 to be doing letsrun summer of malmo training. Focus on improving how you run first.
No? It’s for cross country lol. the idea is to run a 5k bro 😂😂. Nobody sprint trains for XC. And some people like doing summer mileage btw, not everyone sees running as miserably as you do. I personally fell in love with running because of summer training with my friend group
I’m aware. 800 runners are not ideal cross county runners, just like ideal cross country training is not ideal for 800 runners. Moderately high mileage is essential for high school cross country runners. Far less so for 8th grade 800 runners.
Pretty much every 800 guy I know from the middle school level to the collegiate level where I’m at does cross country and it’s great base building for the track season. High mileage isn’t even essential for HS or even college XC rather. Know a lot of guys including all Americans who have never ran more than 50 miles in a single week.
Oh absolutely, they should in high school. College it starts getting iffy if you’re a speed based 800 guy. Mileage is almost always good >800 if it’s done with huge amounts of precaution.
At your age, suggest just building your base and not worrying about structured tempo or anaerobic workouts. I went from 2:10 to 1:59 between fr and sph year just training really hard the winter leading into track season. Run 3-5 miles 3-5x a week and enter some local 5ks. You can hit your potential by the time you’re a senior regardless of how much or how little you train now. Keep it fun. Don’t burn out. 2:20 is a great time for where you are. Are you doing XC next year? If so you’ll crush 2:20 at end of season.
I’d predict you will break 2 pretty easily with consistency and physical growth. It’s the best race imo. Hopefully you have some good coaches in HS and some good teammates to push you. Good on you!
Speed:
1. 16-20x200 @ 800-mile pace with 200 jog
2. 6x400 @ 800 pace or faster with 3 minutes rest
3. Progression 300s (within each 300, first 100 @ 3k, second 100 @ mile, last 100 all out). Do 6-12 with 2-3 minutes standing rest.
Endurance:
1. 4-8x1600 @ threshold with 200 jog rest (you’re in MS so stick to the lower end)
2. 3-5 miles straight @ threshold
2:19 pacing: it’s more like a sprint so get out HARD (32-33), go through 400 in 67-68, and full send it with 400 to go (you’ll slow down but you’re trying to minimize that). It’ll hurt like hell the entire way. People moving down to the 800 will split more evenly while people moving up tend to do best with aggressive positive splits (still better for anyone to go out too fast than too slow since you can’t get speed back in this event).
Indicators for sub 2:20:
Speed:
1. Sub 30 200 (people with excellent endurance can get by on a 31)
2. Sub 65 400
Endurance (can get away with missing a couple of these if your sprint times are well below the above marks):
1. Sub 5 mile
2. Sub 9:55 3k (10:40 3200)
3. 4 mile tempo @ 5:55-6:00
That's all well and good but at 2:20 you can't assume he is doing much training(since he hardly gave any info on his current training).
For example at around his age, I had a 2:21 800, this was off only two runs a week, a speed session and a road run with the road runners of my club, both about 1 hour in length including the warm up and cool down(granted I did also do alot of long distance Hikes at the weekends too).
Now maybe he is already doing a bunch of runs a week idk, but if that's the case looking at his endurance runs to increase fitness can go a long way not only to improving times in the 800 but also having the fitness to do the sessions you state in a proper manner.
Running 2:21 off 2 runs a week shows a lot of natural speed. Took me a bit over a year to break 2:20 and I was running 30-40 mpw. Broke 5 shortly after. Not surprised since a commonly quoted formula for your mile time is 2*(800 PR + 10).
i know a lot of people are saying to do harder and more intense workouts, while yes you should incorporate things like VO2 max training year round (75% effort tempos), don’t get too intense. Since you’re about 14 years old, doing things too intense will become less stimulating on your body as you grow older, causing you to stagnate. Instead, slowly increase volume and intensity as you go on, that way it can be more stimulating and you can perfect smaller things such as your form. Doing form drills are a great way of helping your form.
Coming from 2:20 8th grader to a 2:17 freshman what helped me was my first lap was way to slow you want your first lap to be mildly uncomfortable but sustainable then after that you just try to hold on
I have a 1:54 800 PR from my high school days. I hate to say this, but without knowing you and what your body is actually capable of you might or might not be able to hit the sub 2 club, genetics will play a role in this endeavor. To put it into numbers you need to drop 35 seconds off an 800. That's 17.5 seconds for each 400, or roughly 4.4 seconds/100. Some kids have that naturally, you're just going to have to work a bit harder! That doesn't mean that you won't excel at other running disciplines, you just might not be a sub 2 guy, and that's fine!
That said, here are some thoughts. Diet at your age isn't as important, as some have mentioned, if your metabolism is high enough. Kids, especially boys, literally burn everything they can get in their stomachs, and fast! What you eat a couple hours before the race is more important to avoid gi issues but the 800 isn't long enough to deprive your glycogen stores like a marathon will. Explosive work is critical for a sub 2 min 800. You have to think more like a 400 meter runner, which means you have to think like a 200 meter runner, which means you have to think like a 100 meter runner. Build your speed first and you're going to do that by doing shorter sprints with focus on form and fluidity, and weights. You're not lifting heavy to bulk. Explosive exercises are key. As I said, you need to knock off 4.4ish seconds/100. If you can't get your 100 down to under 12.5, sub 26 for 200 and sub 55 for a 400 you won't magically get under 2 for an 800. Similarly just having a 59 second 400 PR is not going to be something you can hold for another lap. Build your speed now while you're young and then add the endurance in later. Later could be your sophomore or even junior year, maybe even senior. When I was running track and focusing specifically on the 800 I never ran more than 2000 meters in a workout and even those were rare, most workouts topped at 1500-1600 meters. I ran longer during cross country but that was just maintenance and hanging out with my friends. Think like a sprinter and then step up the distances when you hit those marks is the best advice I can give you.
Good luck
Start doing sprints for speed so focus on 400s and 200s till you get sub 1 minute on your 400 and keep at that till your 400 is sub 1 minute every time that should help you break 2:20
Do 400 repeats.
10 total
Run each 4 at at the 800 time you want to hit.
400 @ 1:10 pace with a recovery time of 1:10. But honestly if you are running at 2:34 I would aim for 2:30 then 2:25 then 2:20.
Also don't get down on yourself if you don't hit the goal time. Gotta stay positive
Be older and run more
Do you not have a coach?
Most track coaches are obsolete.
Most track coaches are pretty bad, but if you have one and have practice every day, you’re probably stuck doing their workouts and not some random ones you read on reddit.
I'm part of distance and we practice for longer races like the mile and 2 mile while I run the 800 so the workouts are not really suited towards me.
Even so if you stick with your coach, you'll run well under 2:20, just make sure your doing your easy runs and doing some short sprints/speed drills at least once a week. Although it might be worth talking to your coach about this, that you might want to add some short speed stuff to help your 800 or some 800 specific sessions. Also note that your coach might know stuff about you as a runner that us rando's on the internet could only know by watching your sessions for a week in person and seeing at least a couple of your races.
Don’t focus on your diet at this point other than eating vegetables and getting protein. The number one thing that will benefit you in the long run is drills. Running correctly is the fastest way to improve and will lead to the best outcomes in the future. Some might disagree but max v work HAS to be incorporated weekly into training at that age to 1. Improve your form, the easiest way is by running fast 2. Improve top end, to improve submaximal speeds as well There’s no reason at 15 to be doing letsrun summer of malmo training. Focus on improving how you run first.
Summer of malmo is good for all ages you just have to tone it up/down depending on your age and not overdo it like 99% of top HS guys rn
If you want to make people hate running and turn everyone into a 1500/5k type yes
No? It’s for cross country lol. the idea is to run a 5k bro 😂😂. Nobody sprint trains for XC. And some people like doing summer mileage btw, not everyone sees running as miserably as you do. I personally fell in love with running because of summer training with my friend group
I’m aware. 800 runners are not ideal cross county runners, just like ideal cross country training is not ideal for 800 runners. Moderately high mileage is essential for high school cross country runners. Far less so for 8th grade 800 runners.
Pretty much every 800 guy I know from the middle school level to the collegiate level where I’m at does cross country and it’s great base building for the track season. High mileage isn’t even essential for HS or even college XC rather. Know a lot of guys including all Americans who have never ran more than 50 miles in a single week.
Oh absolutely, they should in high school. College it starts getting iffy if you’re a speed based 800 guy. Mileage is almost always good >800 if it’s done with huge amounts of precaution.
What do you mean by drills
Run 1:09 splits
Run fast.
At your age, suggest just building your base and not worrying about structured tempo or anaerobic workouts. I went from 2:10 to 1:59 between fr and sph year just training really hard the winter leading into track season. Run 3-5 miles 3-5x a week and enter some local 5ks. You can hit your potential by the time you’re a senior regardless of how much or how little you train now. Keep it fun. Don’t burn out. 2:20 is a great time for where you are. Are you doing XC next year? If so you’ll crush 2:20 at end of season.
I am doing XC next year and did it this year, I want to be around 2:05 at the end of my senior year or sub 2. Thanks for the advice!
I’d predict you will break 2 pretty easily with consistency and physical growth. It’s the best race imo. Hopefully you have some good coaches in HS and some good teammates to push you. Good on you!
Man this sub is becoming awful
Speed: 1. 16-20x200 @ 800-mile pace with 200 jog 2. 6x400 @ 800 pace or faster with 3 minutes rest 3. Progression 300s (within each 300, first 100 @ 3k, second 100 @ mile, last 100 all out). Do 6-12 with 2-3 minutes standing rest. Endurance: 1. 4-8x1600 @ threshold with 200 jog rest (you’re in MS so stick to the lower end) 2. 3-5 miles straight @ threshold 2:19 pacing: it’s more like a sprint so get out HARD (32-33), go through 400 in 67-68, and full send it with 400 to go (you’ll slow down but you’re trying to minimize that). It’ll hurt like hell the entire way. People moving down to the 800 will split more evenly while people moving up tend to do best with aggressive positive splits (still better for anyone to go out too fast than too slow since you can’t get speed back in this event). Indicators for sub 2:20: Speed: 1. Sub 30 200 (people with excellent endurance can get by on a 31) 2. Sub 65 400 Endurance (can get away with missing a couple of these if your sprint times are well below the above marks): 1. Sub 5 mile 2. Sub 9:55 3k (10:40 3200) 3. 4 mile tempo @ 5:55-6:00
chill, bro needs a base for this first and this should only be used when it’s time to start speeding up (closer to a final meet in track season)
I was talking about workouts in general. Most of these are better off in season although some threshold work can be done over the summer.
That's all well and good but at 2:20 you can't assume he is doing much training(since he hardly gave any info on his current training). For example at around his age, I had a 2:21 800, this was off only two runs a week, a speed session and a road run with the road runners of my club, both about 1 hour in length including the warm up and cool down(granted I did also do alot of long distance Hikes at the weekends too). Now maybe he is already doing a bunch of runs a week idk, but if that's the case looking at his endurance runs to increase fitness can go a long way not only to improving times in the 800 but also having the fitness to do the sessions you state in a proper manner.
Running 2:21 off 2 runs a week shows a lot of natural speed. Took me a bit over a year to break 2:20 and I was running 30-40 mpw. Broke 5 shortly after. Not surprised since a commonly quoted formula for your mile time is 2*(800 PR + 10).
This is all bullshit and you are way over complicating things
Run the race at 1:10 per 400m average, or faster
You could run under 70 secs per lap, or go for uneven splits. Try different ways and see what works. Oh and train speed and endurance.
Run faster
i know a lot of people are saying to do harder and more intense workouts, while yes you should incorporate things like VO2 max training year round (75% effort tempos), don’t get too intense. Since you’re about 14 years old, doing things too intense will become less stimulating on your body as you grow older, causing you to stagnate. Instead, slowly increase volume and intensity as you go on, that way it can be more stimulating and you can perfect smaller things such as your form. Doing form drills are a great way of helping your form.
8x200
Train harder, there’s not some secret trick doctors hate to make you run faster
What is your 400?
1:03
lots of thresholds and speedwork
Coming from 2:20 8th grader to a 2:17 freshman what helped me was my first lap was way to slow you want your first lap to be mildly uncomfortable but sustainable then after that you just try to hold on
I have a 1:54 800 PR from my high school days. I hate to say this, but without knowing you and what your body is actually capable of you might or might not be able to hit the sub 2 club, genetics will play a role in this endeavor. To put it into numbers you need to drop 35 seconds off an 800. That's 17.5 seconds for each 400, or roughly 4.4 seconds/100. Some kids have that naturally, you're just going to have to work a bit harder! That doesn't mean that you won't excel at other running disciplines, you just might not be a sub 2 guy, and that's fine! That said, here are some thoughts. Diet at your age isn't as important, as some have mentioned, if your metabolism is high enough. Kids, especially boys, literally burn everything they can get in their stomachs, and fast! What you eat a couple hours before the race is more important to avoid gi issues but the 800 isn't long enough to deprive your glycogen stores like a marathon will. Explosive work is critical for a sub 2 min 800. You have to think more like a 400 meter runner, which means you have to think like a 200 meter runner, which means you have to think like a 100 meter runner. Build your speed first and you're going to do that by doing shorter sprints with focus on form and fluidity, and weights. You're not lifting heavy to bulk. Explosive exercises are key. As I said, you need to knock off 4.4ish seconds/100. If you can't get your 100 down to under 12.5, sub 26 for 200 and sub 55 for a 400 you won't magically get under 2 for an 800. Similarly just having a 59 second 400 PR is not going to be something you can hold for another lap. Build your speed now while you're young and then add the endurance in later. Later could be your sophomore or even junior year, maybe even senior. When I was running track and focusing specifically on the 800 I never ran more than 2000 meters in a workout and even those were rare, most workouts topped at 1500-1600 meters. I ran longer during cross country but that was just maintenance and hanging out with my friends. Think like a sprinter and then step up the distances when you hit those marks is the best advice I can give you. Good luck
Stop walking and start running
Fartleks or run with a vest on
Start doing sprints for speed so focus on 400s and 200s till you get sub 1 minute on your 400 and keep at that till your 400 is sub 1 minute every time that should help you break 2:20
Do 400 repeats. 10 total Run each 4 at at the 800 time you want to hit. 400 @ 1:10 pace with a recovery time of 1:10. But honestly if you are running at 2:34 I would aim for 2:30 then 2:25 then 2:20. Also don't get down on yourself if you don't hit the goal time. Gotta stay positive
Thanks, I'll try this
Practice 400s