2 x (500m, 200m) + 4 x 600m
2 x (500m, 200m) + 4 x 600m
Designed for 800m runners
Intensity
500m reps at 800m goal pace
200m reps at All You Got
600m reps at 10K effort
Recovery
100m jog after 500m reps
10 minutes between sets
200m jog in 60 - 90 seconds between 600s
Exertion
9/10
Periodization
Specific Period, Stabilization Block
Context & Details
I picked up this workout from American 800m Olympian, now turned coach, Khadevis Robinson.
It’s a tough session but highly effective as it’s a near-perfect simulation of the 800m. I only have experienced 800m runners perform this session in the final stages of the Specific Period, right before they begin racing.
Middle distance success hinges on speed-endurance efficacy, which is heavily influenced by maximal strength, aerobic power, and lactate tolerance. This workout addresses all these elements.
The 500m reps at 800m pace are performed in a fresh state and the high power running done here solidifies and further upgrades the runner’s neuromuscular coordination and force output. Sustaining fast speeds for 70 to 80 seconds will also result in rapid production of lactate. The 100m jog after the 500m rep is not so much of a physiological recovery (as lactate will flooding the bloodstream), but more of a mental reset for the highly difficult 200m rep that lies ahead.
The 200m rep is the most intense part of the workout, with both a high external and internal load.
By asking the runner to run as fast as possible for the final 200m lactate production will spike to sky-high levels. This will produce a highly acidic internal environment and result in significant deceleration in the final 80m - 130m of the rep. The time on the stopwatch may no be impressive, but the training effect will be potent — an increase in lactate buffering and tolerance capacity at high speeds in a fatiguing state.
Remember, no runner is speeding up in the final 200m of an 800m race. The race is won by the runner who slows down the least. The 200m reps are designed to teach and prepare both the 1/2 miler’s body and mind how to better cope with the sea of acidosis awaiting them in the final stages of the race. This will result in improved fatigue resistance, allowing them to decelerate a little less and hopefully outpace their competition down the final straightaway on race day.
Finally, the 600m reps at 10K pace are included as an “aerobic flush.” This segment is designed to be an active recovery modality to help flush out the significant amount of metabolic waste the body produced by this workout. Pace doesn’t really matter here, only effort, as the desired training effect is to help quicken adaption to the day’s training load by jump-starting the recovery process via the aerobic metabolism. These reps usually start off very slow, but by the 3rd or 4th rep, natural quicken as acidosis is cleared from the bloodstream, leaving the 800m runner feeling better for the rest of the cooldown.
Continue Learning
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Good books on 800m training
Nick Symmonds' 2012 Training Log eBook via RunGum website
Winning Running by Seb Coe
Running Science by Own Anderson
Modern Training and Physiology for Middle and Long-Distance Runners by John Davis