RunningAHEAD - Topic: Mile and 800 Strategy?

marethon

posted: 3/10/2009 at 3:20 PM

I'm 13, and I have a meet this afternoon. I run the mile and 800, and I'm really nervous! Last week I got 3:01 for the 800 and 6:28 for the mile. They were very far from my best times, and I want to get even better today. What are some good strategies for the mile and 800?

Doug B

posted: 3/10/2009 at 3:25 PM

you can't waste energy on bad mechanics but to summon up the extra energy you'll need to do your best you can identify somone in front of you and hate them with a passion. then catch them and find someone else to hate. hit the backstretch with everything you have so that you think you are going to die. then die some more at the finish.

mikeymike

posted: 3/10/2009 at 3:25 PM

My coach used to say, "Out fast, settle down, finish strong." I never knew what he meant but in my best races I tasted copper. I know I haven't helped. Good luck--in 22 years may you still be waking up in cold sweats thinking of the 800.

Runners run

StuMoney

Certainly Something...

posted: 3/10/2009 at 3:31 PM

Quote from mikeymike on 3/10/2009 at 3:25 PM:

My coach used to say, "Out fast, settle down, finish strong." I never knew what he meant but in my best races I tasted copper. I know I haven't helped. Good luck--in 22 years may you still be waking up in cold sweats thinking of the 800.

^^^^^^ what he said. Good luck out there!

marethon

posted: 3/10/2009 at 3:31 PM

Quote from Doug B on 3/10/2009 at 3:25 PM:

t you can identify somone in front of you and hate them with a passion. .

That could work. My best friend (whom I ran track and cross country with) has never, ever beat me at a race. I'm at a different school than her now. She beat me at the 800 by one second! I pretty much hate her now, haha

MrH

posted: 3/10/2009 at 3:39 PM
modified: 3/10/2009 at 3:41 PM

Everybody gets nervous. Don't worry. Smile

As mikey said, get out well and then settle down into what is a comfortable pace for you. What's comfortable? You'll do best when you run each lap at the same pace. If you're aiming for, say 6:20, for the mile, that means your target time for each lap is 1:35. That means your effort on the first lap will probably seem too easy but you will need to work progressively harder as the race goes on. Good luck. Have someone time your splits each 200m or 400m and then you'll know how well you're maintaining pace throughout the race. MTA: focusing on a goal, such as running 95 second laps for your mile may help you forget about any nerves.

The process is the goal.

Men heap together the mistakes of their lives, and create a monster they call Destiny.

Jeff

Why is it sideways?

posted: 3/10/2009 at 3:44 PM
modified: 3/10/2009 at 3:45 PM

Quote from marethon on 3/10/2009 at 3:31 PM:

That could work. My best friend (whom I ran track and cross country with) has never, ever beat me at a race. I'm at a different school than her now. She beat me at the 800 by one second! I pretty much hate her now, haha

Sweet. Pure hate will take you a long way. I used to break the 800 down mentally like this: 200-400-200. The first 200 takes care of itself: the gun, adrenaline, positioning. Then, run a 400, as fast and smooth and hard as you can. Then, in the last 200, just lose yourself. So, really, the 800 is just a 400 with a start and a finish. The Mile: I'd go out as easy as possible the first quarter, holding back. The second quarter is getting into position: locating your competitors and getting in position on their shoulder or in a place where you can run smooth, just behind. The third quarter is the race. RACE. The fourth quarter cannot be put into words.

xor

posted: 3/10/2009 at 3:44 PM

in my best races I tasted copper.

Trent could probably explain why this is. (side note, chemo used to make everything taste like metal. But that's not quite the same thing.) Marethon: I can't offer up any tips on this type of running. But what I can say is that almost everyone else out there is nervous too. It's ok to be nervous. Don't increase it by getting more nervous about being nervous. Good luck!

The Thunder

posted: 3/10/2009 at 4:06 PM

Ahhh the old 800....my plan was always to go out hard, until you don't think you can go any harder....then try to pick it up. When the ~~monkey~~ bear jumps on your back with 100 to go...just try not to fall down. Well that never really worked out too well for me...but hey, like Mikey said it sure will make you remember it years later!

1 Hip and 2 Hamstring reconstructions later…

girmann

Giant Flaming Dork

posted: 3/10/2009 at 4:38 PM
modified: 3/10/2009 at 4:41 PM

I'm an 800 runner from waaaaaayyyy back... I agree that my best times came from splitting it into 200-400-200. My first 800 at a meet was 3:02 (Have I ever been fast? no.) When you hit the 600m mark where you're almost into the final curve, try to picture yourself going so fast, that you're going to fly off the track. That mental image always got me to speed up and make it to the final 100m. The final 100m is just pure guts. Give it everything you've got and get to the finish. Said by one of my track team members "It's the hardest race you'll ever love." The 800 tends to suck and then get worse. Mikeymike is right, though. To this day I still remember some of the 800's I've raced (but hardly any others.)

http://xkcd.com/621/

Lane

posted: 3/10/2009 at 8:17 PM

I've been running the 800 since I was your age, and now I'm a sophomore in college and still running it. You get over the nervousness; I used to throw-up before my races, I was so nervous. I've gotten over that (for the most part). I find the trick to the 800 is push the third 200m. It's the hardest one, and once you get past it, you're starting your kick. The mile is a good one to start off a little quick but then settle into a pace and then kick. If you know someone who is a little faster than you are, stick right behind their shoulder, and then try to out-sprint them with 100-200 meters to go. This is also a good strategy for the 800, but be careful not to draft off of someone who will go out too fast and then die (because then you will too).

jshearer14

posted: 3/10/2009 at 8:49 PM

800 is the hardest race there is, far enough that you can't go 100% the whole way, but short enough that its dang near tempting . I used to throw up after every 800. A couple of things... *DO NOT LET ANOTHER RUNNER DETERMINE YOUR PACE... theres always some moron who starts out on fire and runs out of gas, don't follow his mistake, tempting as it may be. *My pace would always pick up on the second lap, every 100M just a little faster until the last turn which you need to picture as a catapult, don't you dare do anything but go faster in that last stretch.

RustinSPE

Mr. Muscle

posted: 3/10/2009 at 9:15 PM

As I tell my inexperienced, yet very talented 800 runners, it's nuts and guts buddy. I challenge him not to quit and only the toughtest of the tough can succeed. He responds well to that. He loves challenges. He sits right on the leader and then blows the boy away. I feel sorry for the kids in his wake..

marethon

posted: 3/10/2009 at 9:45 PM

Thanks for all the help! I got 6:28 again on my mile! At least I'm consistent. Wink

On the 800 I got 2:49, and beat my friend by eight seconds! I was really happy about that. She wasn't. Big grin

I used to hate the 800 with a passion, but I'm starting to like it now. I almost won the race, but the girl outsprinted me on the last 100, so I got second. Thanks again for all the help!

Teresadfp

One day at a time

posted: 3/10/2009 at 9:47 PM

Congratulations! That's a big improvement in the 800!! My son (high school junior) used to hate the 800, also, but the coach kept putting in him there, and now he does really well at it. So you never know! His favorite is still the two-mile, though.

Mile and 800 Strategy? (Read 791 times)