middle distance

U

underdog13

Guest
ive doing mostly middle distance recently and im having trouble bringing my 400 and 800m times down. whereas ive taken about 40 seconds of my mile and about 1min 35 secs of my 2 mile in 3 weeks.
the times are
400m 1min 14
800m 2min 43
1600m 5min 46
3200m 12min 28
should i try 100 and 200m to get my top speed up or keep the same? looking at the video of myself i never get my knees high so maybe this is the problem?
can someone please answer this time!
thank you
 
Well, if you want to run middle distance, you should focus on that. Middle distance and 100m sprinting are two completely different animals. Being fast on the 100 meters won't help you on the 800 if your lactate tolerance sucks.
 
This may sound simplistic, but middle distance means running very fast for a long time! You need both speed and the ability to keep it up for the duration. A couple of thoughts/suggestions:
1. good middle distance runners have very long legs and a very long stride. You can improve some with practice, but you will never be a world class middle distance runner if you weren't born with very long legs!
2. if your goal is to, say, get the 400 down to 1 minute, then you need to run, on average, 15 seconds per 100. Get a stop watch and time yourself for each 100. If you can do 15 seconds for the first hundred then you have to keep up that same pace for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th 100 as well to break 1 minute.
3. developing the endurance to keep up that pace for 400 or 800 meters requires some longer distance running. I would recommend a medium long run (3+ miles) and/or a long run (6+ miles) at once or twice a week, as well as hill running or stadium step running to strengthen your legs. Once you can sprint up a steep hill for 800+ meters running on a flat track seems a lot easier.
 
keeping the pace up for 400-800 meters means you have to run that far.. not further. If you run a lot further you'll end up stressing a different energy system.
 
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