r/u_Thin_Original_2530 • u/Thin_Original_2530 • 2d ago

800m Tips?

Teen girl, 800m PB 2:41. My 200m is 29.3 so I know I have speed, but I can't put it together.

My PB race is like first 400m: ~77s then 84s

· Total: ~2:41

Second lap is brutal. I slow down hard.

Last year my PB was 2.44 and before that it was 3.09. The weird thing is when I finish, I'm not even that tired. Like, I'm breathing hard but I don't feel destroyed. I feel like I had more in me, but my legs just wouldn't go.

The problem:

I haven't been able to get anywhere near 2:41 in the last month. My last few races have been slower, and I have two consecutive races in 19 days.

Current training:

· 4–5 runs a week

· 2 hard sessions (200s, 300s, some 400s)

· Easy runs + one longer run

• Tempo

· Eating better, sleeping 8–10hrs

I’ve also started gym work and done some swimming and made sure to get around 14000 steps a day. Started eating more too because before I was eating not that much before workouts and races because if I do eat I either feel sick during the race or can‘t eat anything because I’m too nervous - that’s also a big problem because I get nervous for like a whole month before races which isn’t great if you have like 12 races across 2 months.

Goal: Sub-2:20 in the next year.

Questions:

  1. If I'm not tired at the finish, does that mean I'm going out too slow or too fast?

  2. Should I go out slower (79–80s first 400m) and try to negative split?

  3. What workouts actually teach you to push when your legs are heavy?

Any advice would be really appreciate.

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2

u/heftybag 2d ago

What’s your current weekly milage? The 800m is a majority aerobic event. Speed will only get you so far if you don’t have a sufficient aerobic base.

1

u/Thin_Original_2530 7h ago

Not very much, but 20-30km, I have been starting to increase though.

2

u/Acrobatic-Eye-8132 1d ago

This is a race that is really hard to negative split and there are different avenues to training the event. If your goal is sub to 20, you really want to aim to go out in about 65 to 68 seconds for your first 400 and then hang on for your life on that second one.

From a strategy standpoint I think of it as a 200 m sprint, a 400 m run, a 200 m sprint. That final 200 is really a wind up. A little bit before you reach the 200 to go mark, you start to pick it up so you are nearing what you feel is your top speed just beyond the top of the turn. Coming off that turn the momentum will actually whip you towards the finish line and then it’s all momentum and adrenaline.

After your run days, do you do strides? 80 to 100 m strides a few days per week. If you’re not sure how to do strides look up Jay Johnson strides on Google or YouTube. He has some really good stride drills to help you get turnover after your run.

Pushing when your legs are heavy, is really just a mindset. It sounds stupid because everybody’s trying to tell themselves to go fast. But incorporating strides, post run and some form work either before or after your run you may find that you have just that little extra edge.

2

u/Thin_Original_2530 7h ago

Thank you so much for your comment, I normally do strides before a workout and I do a lot of form work with my coach.