The Winning Formula for the 800

Over many years of racing and studying others racing the 800m, I have figured out a formula that works great for succeeding at this distance. It's mostly a mental approach because the physical part of running for around 2-3 minutes is not that complicated.

Here's the main problem (which is also applicable to other distances, but to a lesser degree):

You don't believe you can finish strongly if you run hard in the middle.

First of all, let's backtrack to the beginning of the race. Everyone has about 7 seconds worth of energy to expend in a hard (almost sprinting) effort that won't hurt the remainder of your race, whether it's the 800, 1600, 5000, etc. So I tell my runners to go out hard for 5 seconds - not going for the full 7 seconds provides a little safety factor, both physically and mentally. But at the end of that 5 seconds, you MUST dial back the effort. The key to doing this is to make sure you are not "racing" the other runners. You should still be running somewhat briskly, but you shouldn't really be pushing the pace. Other runners may pull ahead of you here.

Before you know it, you'll get to the 200m mark, and you should be hitting this at about your goal time divided by 4. I think of the entire first 200 meters as a part of the race to largely ignore, in that - as long as you run that first 5 seconds hard - it will pretty much take care of itself. You will quite likely complete that first half lap just how you want to.

The next segment is very short: simply the 100m of the second turn. It's the only part of the race that you should look ahead to what is coming up. As for any turn, you should shorten up your stride, and don't worry if you slow down a bit because it's only 1/8 of the race.

The most important part of the race is the next 300m, which I call "The Middle 300." Starting on the home stretch (with 500m to go), work as hard as you can. The key to this 300m segment is that you get two straights and only one curve, so it's a part of the race that you should be able to run fast. Many other runners will slow down here because they are thinking ahead to the final 200, believing they need to "save something" in order to have a good sprint at the end. But you don't have to do that because you WILL have a good sprint at the end; everyone can sprint at the end.

During this 300m segment, you must have the mindset that you don't care how you will feel in the future (specifically, with 200m to go). The reason you can do this is that everyone will feel very, very fatigued during the final 25% of this race. So you can either be the same as everyone else in terms of where you are time-wise and fatigue-wise or you can be several seconds ahead of them and feeling the same level of fatigue. If you need a goal to get you through this part of the race, try to beat other runners to the beginning of each curve. This is actually an important tactic because you don't want to have to swing wide on a curve to pass a runner that you are overtaking.

The final 200 doesn't take any special approach - just run as fast as you can. Don't slow down on the curve, but try to speed up by increasing your turnover rate. Once you hit the straight, run like a sprinter with the best form you can muster.

One final key point is to be sure to give maximum effort all the way across the finish line. The 800 and 400 are races in which runners can almost literally become paralyzed within a very short distance of the finish line. I have seen 30m leads disintegrate within 50 meters because the leader "locks up" and almost can't move.

Will you get passed in the final 50 meters? It is possible, and if it happens, you can rest assured that the person who passes you should have been even further in front of you than they were had they run more efficiently. That is, it isn't a case of you not running well, but rather a case of a runner who is markedly better than you who just underperformed.

Good luck!

Running the Mile - OK, the "1600"

This week, our team has its third invitational of the track season. Only about half of the team ran in the first two because many runners had only been running for a couple of weeks. But this week, almost everyone will be running.

The newest runners on the team are, of course, just learning how to run the 1600 properly. Indeed, running this distance is a skill that has to be practiced in order to succeed. I put together a list of tips for those of you who are new to this race.

1. The Start. 
At the beginning of every race, your body has about 5 seconds worth of the kind of "fuel" that powers intense running, like sprinting. That fuel source is not available after the first 5 seconds of the race, even if you don't start fast, so you might as well use it. So start quickly, but only for about 4-5 seconds. After that, settle into your race pace.

2. The First Lap. 
Let the other runners go. Unless you're a freak of nature, you probably will be running with other inexperienced runners, and almost everyone runs way too fast for the first lap, then dies later on. One of the hardest things to do as a runner is to trust that you will catch up to other runners later, but it WILL happen if you run the correct pace on your first lap. Because of the adrenaline surge you'll get from the excitement of the beginning of the race, you will NOT run the first lap too slowly. It just won't happen. But if you run this lap correctly, you actually come through in a time a little faster than your desired average pace. Here's why:

Let's say your plan is to run 6:00 - that's an average of 90 seconds per lap. If you run the first 5 seconds "fast," you will cover about 30 meters. Let's say you then settle into a slower pace and actually complete the first lap in 90 seconds. Perfect, right? Well, not really. If you do the math, you'll realize that you are now running at a pace of 92 seconds per lap (because part of the lap was run at a faster pace). So you actually would want to finish the first lap about 1-2 seconds faster than your desired average pace, so in 88 or 89 seconds. Now, if you did that, you will start your second lap actually running at 90-second pace.

3. The Second Lap. 
As long as you ran the first lap correctly, you should be able to maintain your pace on the second lap. However, you will probably have to consciously work in order to do it, as opposed to the first lap, which should have felt easy.

4. The Third Lap. 
This is the hardest lap of the "mile" because you're tired, and you're thinking about how much farther you still have to go. Almost everyone slows down on this lap, and your goal is to minimize that slowing. So when you get to the back straight, focus on trying to speed up and catch other runners. Try to beat one or more runners to the beginning of the curve (since it's harder to pass on a curve - you don't want to get stuck behind someone who is slowing down). You may still be slowing down slightly, but if you ran the first two laps correctly, you will be slowing down less than others, so you'll overtake them. Also, most newer runners have a mindset that they'll run a little easier on the third lap, thinking that they should "save" something for the final lap. Don't do that. If you try to catch and pass people instead, you will probably only slow down by a second or two, hitting a 91 or 92, leaving you right on 90-second pace.

5. The Fourth Lap. 
This is when you simply run as hard as you can manage. Actually, I recommend starting your "kick" on the home straight before you begin the fourth lap. You don't want to get stuck behind other runners on the first curve of the final lap, so try to race people to the curve. If you follow this plan, you will certainly not run slower than 6:00, and will likely beat that by a couple of seconds as your adrenaline kicks in as you sprint for the finish line.

That's it - congrats!

If You Can Do This, You Can Do Anything!

Earlier this week, the San Francisco Bay Area finally got a rainstorm with some strength to it (we are currently in a near-drought condition, running at about half of our normal rainfall for the rainy season).

Of course, we had a track workout scheduled.

The wind was gusting up to around 20 mph, and the rain was steady. The temperature dropped almost 10 degrees from the time we showed up at the track to the time the workout ended.

When you're running along a path or road on a stormy day just doing a regular run, it's not too bad. You're constantly moving, so you can adjust your clothing and pace to be reasonably comfortable. On the track, it's run, then stop, then run, then stop. The runs always include portions that are against the wind, which means - even if you wear a hat, like I do - you get rain in your face. You get cold in between the run segments. Ugh. It is really not fun.

What's worse is that it's really, really hard - no, darn near impossible - to get any sense of pace because of running against the wind, then with it, then against it, and so on. So the workout can be very frustrating, in addition to very miserable.

But here's the bonus: a lot of your competition won't do it. They'll change their workout to something easier or even skip it entirely. If you go ahead and do it, you should know that it will put you one step ahead of the competition in terms of training. Better yet, the mental toughness you gain by doing that workout under those conditions will give you a huge leg-up. You will be in races where you are feeling very fatigued, and you'll know that it will require a lot of toughness to continue running well all the way to the finish. If you have done this kind of workout under extreme conditions like what our runners did this week, you will know (not just hope) that you have that toughness to get the job done.

It's January. What do I do now?

So, here we are nearing the end of January already. What is going on for cross-country runners right now? Chances are, you are getting ready to start your track seasons. Are you running track? Should you? What event(s) should you run? How is track different from cross-country?

Lots of questions, of course. Here are my answers to these questions. If you think of other questions (or other answers!), add them in the comments, and I'll give you my two cents.

What are cross-country runners doing right now?
As I noted above, most are probably getting ready for track season. Track is a natural companion to cross-country because, well, it involves running. Different kinds of running, but running nonetheless. Since "track season" doesn't really start for at least a couple more weeks, most athletes are in a pre-season regimen of some kind. For our team, we are just running miles, with an occasional easy-ish tempo run or a few 50-meter strides thrown in. We also went to an "all-comers" meet just for fun (I even ran in it!).

Should you run track?
 Absolutely! Why? For a couple of reasons. First of all, you should continue running throughout the year. There are times when you should take a break from running, but you don't need to make that break more than a couple of weeks. You are developing as an athlete, and running track will allow you to continue to develop without going backwards in that development. Second, track will give you some experience with different kinds of running that will keep you interested in the sport, as well as develop your ability to run fast. Finally, it's fun! I actually developed my love for running from running track. Even though I was one of the slowest runners in the entire county, running in a track meet made me feel like I was competing in the Olympics. There was something about the formality of the starts of the various races that just seemed really cool to me. I also found that I loved the competition itself, as well as the systematic-ness of dividing up races into easily dividable pieces, like laps or half-laps (did that make sense?).

What event(s) should you run?
Most cross-country runners will run the 1500/1600 meters and/or the 3000/3200 meters, and some will also do the 800. I encourage runners to try other events, too, just to see if they like them. The 400 is a good one to try because it can give you some perspective on your own pacing for the longer races. Depending on how big the meets are and what the order of events is, you should try to run in two events during each meet, maybe even three. This introduces you to a new skill, which involves cooling down from one event, then warming up for another one, which you did not have to do during cross-country season. It's a challenge to figure out how to make that work.

How is track different than cross-country?
First and foremost, the distances are shorter, which means that you will be running faster. In the case of the 800, especially, it will be a lot faster. This creates a new challenge because the faster you are running, the more you might be risking injury, especially if you have not trained enough.

Another major difference is that every course is the same, pretty much. There are some differences in surface (one track may be softer or harder than another) and, of course, weather, but 1600m on one track is the exact same distance as on another track and - some people will love this - there are no hills!

Training is different for track, too, primarily because of the shorter and homogeneous races. There is a lot of precise pacing involved, which you will learn during practices.

Like I noted above, if you have other questions about track, post them in the comments, and I will answer them!