800m pacing advice? (Read 247 times)

I have my very first track meet this week and I'm debating whether or not to run the 800.  I'm doing the mile (1600, technically) for sure, and my other option is the 3200, but I'd rather not run it this meet even though I have to eventually.  I could just do the mile but it's encouraged to do more than one event.

Some stats: (I'm female btw)

200m-- 31.4, hand-timed by myself, in (distance) spikes

300m-- 55.6, also hand timed and w/ distance spikes

400m-- 78 but I think I can go faster than this, based on my other times, maybe 76?

1600m-- my goal for the race is 6:50-6:55, based on my workouts this is a reasonable goal but it would be a PR

Based on this, how should I pace my 800?  About what time should I aim for per lap?  Is a little under 3:00 reasonable for me?

Thanks in advance!

I'd think that if you're a distance runner and can run a 400 in 78, then you should be able to shoot for sub 3:00 in the 8:00. Perhaps even a 2:50.

As for pacing, I (am not an 800m runner) but people tell me it's the exception to the rule about trying to negative split the race. It's really tough to negative split when you're running near red-line the whole time.  So, if your goal is 2:50 to 3:00 I'd expect that first 400m to be about 5s off your 400 PR, and then the hard part starts.  Expect it to hurt but it's over before you know it.

AmoresPerros: Great article, thank you!

"When truly racing a solid 800, you want to run your 400 pace around 90-93% of your best 400 meter time.  So if you are capable of running a 49 second 400m, then you will want to come in the first 400m of your 800m race in a time around 52-54 seconds. Assuming you have a well-executed training plan, you should finish with your second lap being 2-3 seconds slower than your first lap."

Based on a 78s 400m, my first lap should be 83-86, and my second lap should be 85-89.  This gives a total time of 2:48-2:55.

That's a lot better than I thought it would be, honestly.  Right now I'm thinking maybe 1:24 for my first lap and then 1:29 for my second lap, which would be 2:53.  Not sure if 1:29 is going to be doable for me following a 1:24 but I figure it's worth a shot, right?  How does that sound to you guys?

BoilerTom: Thanks, that's good to hear!  Yeah, I've been reading up about the 800 a lot, I think it's interesting how it's one of few events where a positive split is the best strategy.

DaBurger:  My coach is encouraging us to do the 3200 in addition to the 1600.  I think I might have better luck in the 800 than the 3200, though, since I think my times are better for shorter distances right now.  I should have at least an hour in between them so that's plenty of recovery time.

Thanks everybody!

That advice on how to run an 800m race is directed to runners who run close to 2:00 or faster because the time is beginning to approach a long sprint. When your time is closer to 3:00, pacing needs to be more like what it would be for a middle distance runner, i.e.  more even paced. I'd suggest something closer to 86-87 for your first lap and try to maintain that for the second. BTW your 200m time indicates potential for much faster times once you develop your endurance.

I agree with all of this.  I also agree that the 800 is probably a better fit for you than the 3200.  With a 78s 400m, and 6:50 goal mile, it sounds like there is a larger than normal drop off there, which will likely just get worse moving up to the 3200.

Congrats on your first race and it sounds like you have some promising results that should lead to many PRs this season.  If this is your first race, I might consider not doubling at all.  Unless they've changed the order of events, the 1600 and the 800 are pretty close to one another in most meets- only separated by a few races and maybe 45 minutes.  That's not a ton of recovery and it might be hard to run your best effort in the second race.  That was always the advantage of doubling off the 3200 - it is almost always the third race of the meet after the 3200M relay and a shorter event so you had lots of time to recover before doubling in the 1600 or 800.   You might want to peek at the schedule of events before committing one way or the other.  I agree with all the other advice though...my personal experience is no matter how many times I raced the 800, the last 150M is always a struggle for survival which is why I always both hated and loved that event.

 

 

Kikee:  I'm required to run the 3200 in some races but so far we've been focusing on the mile and there hasn't really been any specific 800 or 3200 training.

 

 

You will definitely benefit from something longer, like the 3200, to help build your aerobic base, so have fun with that race too!

Quick update: I ended up getting intimidated and thinking that I wouldn't have been fast enough to even try the 800, so I didn't, but after watching the race I regretted this.  So I'm going to run a time trial in the next week and I'll update with whatever I get

 

Good news though! I timed at either 6:48 or 6:50 in the 1600, I'm not really sure, which I was very happy about because it was actually really easy to run?  I thought that 6:50 would be a tough goal for me based on my current fitness level.  It was somehow very easy and the race went by super quickly.  And that was without spikes, too!  Not that I'm happy about not running a tough race, but I am happy about the implication that if I run hard, I can go even faster than that.   So I'm hoping to see 6:40 very soon

Nice work!  If 6:50 felt easy, I'd think 6:40 is very reasonable.

I think the 2:50-2:52 times for 800m is still reasonable. With your comments on how easy the 6:50 felt and the faster 400m time, I think 6:30 is within reason if properly and evenly paced.