Train for the 800 Meter Race in Track and Field

There are all sorts of ideas on how to train properly for the 800 meter run. It is an event that is 50-67% aerobic and 33-50% anaerobic, making it one of the more difficult races to train.

Steps

  1. Start with strength training. Focus on 3 sets of 8-10 and hit each leg group. The goal is to work the muscles in ways that will maximize their ability to generate power over extended periods as well as to work stabilizer muscles that are under-trained in most runners. 3 sets of 8-10 works the body past pure power lifting (creating phosphate energy), but remains within the range for maximum strength benefits. Lifting helps extend the potential to increase power, which increases potential stride length, and thus the potential to run faster, especially if lean muscle mass and not bulk is added. Replace every 4th lifting day with plyometrics to ensure maximal conversion of strength training to explosiveness and fast running.
    • Emphasis needs to be placed on abductor/adductor exercises to help prevent injuries from overpronation and knee tracking issues (i.e. imbalances causing the knee to not glide on the patellar joint and instead irritate the cartilage), including but not limited to IT band syndrome, shin splints, tendinitis, etc.
    • Example Schedule: Day 1=Squats, Abductor, Adductor, Calve raises. Day 2= Lunges, Leg Extension, Leg Curl. Make sure to include core, including back extensions and abdominal crunches as well as some chest and shoulder exercises to assist with form.
    • Other lifts that should be included focus on the lower back and hip flexors, muscles that are often ignored. Deadlifts, Split-Squats, Glute-Ham Raise, Straight Leg Extensions, and barbell step-ups onto a knee high platform are great ways to develop strength in these muscles.
    • Lifting sessions should be less than one hour. To do this, utilize circuit type training approaches (i.e. while taking rest from squats, do pull-ups).
    • Recovery should include a protein/carbohydrate snack within one hour to maximize anabolism (protein assists in the ingestion of carbohydrate. A balanced diet should contain enough protein, so protein shakes are unnecessary - the body can produce a majority of amino acids). A nice glass of chocolate milk is ideal.
    • A non-lifting way to achieve the same objectives is to incorporate soccer or Frisbee or basketball once a week to help work on stabilizer muscles, explosiveness, and reinforce turnover. Football players rarely have an issue with over striding or slow turnover for a reason.
  2. Increase total fitness during the base season, aka early summer. The anaerobic system can reach 95% of its potential training for 6 weeks. Therefore, the only training that should be done in the summer should focus on aerobic conditioning and strength training. This can either be a cross country training program, or can be something consisting of the following:
    • One long run per week to build up oxidative enzymes (up to {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}, but no more than 1/4 of weekly mileage), 2 days of hill sprints including form drills (lead-yard bounding is recommended, see images and search for Lydiard foundation), 2 days of lifting, and just plenty of mileage until you are up to at least {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} per week.
    • Mileage is very important to most 800 runners. While elite sprint types can normally get away with 30-40 mpw, most elite 800 runners need to build base at 50 mpw up to 70-80 to maximize fitness and to consolidate aerobic gains.
    • Note: Unless you have hit a mileage before, do not increase more than 10% or {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} in a given week. For example, For someone running 60 mpw, mileage by week coming off of a break would be 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 35, 45, 50, 53, 55, 50, 55, 58, 60. Note that as the mileage increases to near maximum, the increase in mileage per week slows and lower mileage weeks are built in for recovery. Most 800 runners have a need to taper mileage every third week by ~20-30% (i.e. w1=60, w2=60, w3=45, w4=60...) in order to prevent physical and mental burnout. Build this into your schedule!
  3. Increase the intensity during the late summer period to include high-end aerobic work and start race specific work. After the mileage is built up, start including strides at the 800 meter date pace. For example, 12 x 100 @ 800 with 300 jog. This is to reinforce speed principles and build muscle memory/efficiency without straining and/or compromising aerobic conditioning. Also include 5K workouts (i.e. x mins @ 5K pace, x minutes recovery, where x starts at 2 and works up to 3-5 minutes for a maximum of 20-25 minutes). A great way to ensure that you are not overworking your athletes, but to keep hammering the different physiological systems is to do three week mini-cycles (i.e. in a 3 week span, you do 1 tempo runs, 1 day of cruise intervals, 2 days of 5K intervals, 1 day of 3K intervals, and 1 day of 200 meter hills, so 33% of the workouts are lactate threshold, 33% are VO2, and 33% are efficiency (At vVO2 or 1500/800 effort).
    • This can also be done at threshold pace for those focusing on XC (workout would be x mins @ slightly slower than 10K pace with 1 min recovery, starting at 2 minutes and working up to 6-10 minutes). Threshold pace is the pace at which a steady state of lactic acid is accumulated in the blood (~ 4 mM). Additional effort will cause a significant increase in lactic acid accumulation and will not improve your body's ability to buffer lactic acid and to clear it. Thus, it is an effort and not a pace.
    • Sample week: Sunday: {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}, Monday: {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} + 6 x Hills, Tuesday: 4 x 6 min @ T with one min jog, LIFT. Wednesday: OFF Thursday: {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} + Hill Sprints. Friday: {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} + 12 x 100 @ 800, LIFT, Saturday: {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} easy.
  4. Increase training in the fall. Start including intervals @ 5K pace. Intervals can start @ 400's and work up to intervals that take between 3-5 minutes (for example, 6 x 1K @ 5K with equal time recovery). Distance running increases mitochondria, increases the number of capillaries, and increases stroke volume, decreasing heart rate (aka, the infrastructure). VO2 max training on the other hand increases the ability of the body to take oxygen, absorb it into the blood stream, and subsequently deliver it to muscles (think the cars using the infrastructure) while threshold training helps to eliminate byproducts of training (think maintenance crews). Thus, they are all important and all have their place. VO2 max workouts should replace the Friday workout, which can replace hill sprints one of the days or can move to Saturday. At this point, the runner should be in great aerobic fitness and strong, but not "fast". Downhill sprints or sprints that are wind assisted should be incorporated to reinforce turnover.
  5. Continue in the winter. Now it is time to concentrate on race specificity. Workouts should now be 3 days a week and can often work on a 14 day cycle (i.e. every 14 days includes 1 VO2 max workout (aka 5K pace), 1 threshold workout, 1 workout at vVO2 (aka 3K pace), 1 workout @ 1500 pace, and 2 workouts @ 800/400 pace). For example, work from 8 x 300 @ 1500 date pace to 5 x 600 @ 1500 date pace. Interval length should for the most part be no longer than half of the race and the total distance at this pace should be no more distance than 2.5 times race distance (at that point, if you can run that, it's not your race pace, or you are recovering too long!). You can also run race simulations (600 @ 800 or 400 @ 800, 1 min, 200 @ 800).
    • Make SURE to keep up the work focusing on turnover, otherwise the 400 will suffer. Running the 4x4 at every indoor meet is a good way to turn a race into a full speed workout.
    • Take days easy/off as necessary for races, but train through (i.e. don't take 3 days off to recover for a dual meet).
    • Lifting should cut back to one day per week to account for the increased intensity of workouts, but can be replaced by plyometrics (depth jumps, alternate leg step-up jumps on an appropriate bench, alternate leg bounds, straight legged jumps (calve workout), etc.).
  6. Pick up the pace in spring. Now is the time to blast the anaerobic system. My favorite workout is 8-12 x 200 @ 800 meter date pace (pace you could run that day) with a 200 meter jog. This workout will give your body superior ability to buffer lactic acid, be relatively stress free mentally, and is just a good third workout. Running 4 x 400 at 800 meter date pace is a fantastic way to teach your body to run fast through fatigue. Practice running these date-pace type workouts with intervals both at "first lap pace" (i.e. goal pace - 2 seconds) and "second lap pace" (I.e goal pace + 2 seconds).
    • Lifting should be minimized and focus should be on form building plyometrics.
    • Focus should be on longer intervals (i.e. 400's at 800 meter date pace) and should work towards goal pace (i.e. 5-6 x 300 at 800 meter goal pace with ample recovery).
    • Increased focus on training at 400 pace should also be included, as the 800 time is in part limited by speed endurance, i.e. how fast one can run the 400 (400 time x 2 + 12 seconds = rough ceiling).
  7. Taper. A taper should be a slight cut down on quantity, a slight increase in quality, and a few extra days easy before race. We are natural hunters and gatherers. Therefore, cutting back mileage excessively will cause your body to go into hibernation mode. A workout such as 200, 300, 300, 200 for goal pace race simulation is a great easy workout, followed by 6 x 150 @ 400 to reinforce speed and turnover. Again, do not cut your mileage by more than 20%, but thresholds and VO2 work should be minimized (i.e., no more than 10 minutes a week of efforts at these paces to reinforce maintenance of physiological adaptations).
  8. Relax post-season. Take two weeks off to recuperate for the coming year. Lifting is encouraged, but other than that, have fun!

Tips

  • Cross training, primarily pool running/swimming is a fantastic, fun group way to build fitness, have a good conversation, and keep from generating leg injuries due to over use (shin splints, IT band syndrome, etc.).
  • Be intelligent with goals. Running workouts over your head is a great way to lead to burn out and injury. Again, the name of the game is gradual improvement.
  • Natural athleticism with regards to explosiveness and turnover play a major role in the ability to improve in the 800. Don't leave your youthful athletic roots completely behind, as other athletic endeavors (sparingly) can reinforce the body's muscle memory in a non-monotonous way.
  • Focus on gradual improvement. Ditch the track for VO2 max intervals and threshold intervals except for once a month. Focus on effort, as the body fluctuates in its energetic demands as it continues to grow and build up new muscle, mitochondria, blood vessels, etc.
  • Build in half mileage weeks as necessary (i.e. if you are going on vacation, make that week a half-mileage week to allow your body to recover and maximize on the physiological benefits you will gain from training).
  • Avoid the temptation to race during practice. Again, all this will result in is injuries and mental burnout. Mid-distance runners in particular have only a certain number of times they can push themselves to the brink without a mental break and don't leave your best races on the track in practice!
  • Follow a plan and stick to it. Find someone you trust and use them as a guide, whether it's Daniels, some training plan on the internet (many coaches including myself post ours on websites), or something your high school coach has developed. There is a plan, so pick a plan and trust it, as no plan can guarantee rapid results and/or continuous results on a weekly basis.
  • Avoid the temptation to run race pace every day. The body needs time to recover. As Bowerman stated "Stress, recover, repeat". It's a simple cycle, but so many coaches and athletes mess this up by trying to follow what some Olympic level athletes are doing who have the best trainers in the world, excess time to recover, and are rumored to be using illicit drugs. The Bowerman principle always applies, regardless of physiology.

Warnings

  • Make sure to use appropriate nutrition and sleeping patterns, otherwise all you will do is tear down the body without appropriate anabolism.
  • Make sure you practice proper form while lifting and/or explosive exercise otherwise injury will occur.
  • Consult your doctor before starting any exercise program.

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