How much do you think my 800m time can improve in 4 months?

Question

i have very little training, and no experience in the 800m. 3-4 years ago, i ran a slow 1500m. this year, i did sprinting training (for about a month or two, 4 months ago). my 800m time is a little less than 3 min (very inaccurate timing, timed not on track). i understand that is extremely slow, but i have no training whatsoever. if i work hard for 3-4 months, how much do you think i could improve?

i am 15 (16 in 2 months), 5'5", and only 105 lbs. my current 100m time is 12:98, and my 200m time is 26:82. my 1600m time is 5:54.

Answer 1

Look I'm not going to go tell you to gain weight haha... but remembering that being small doesn't necessarily mean being quick. Just keep that in mind... I've seen too many people crash by trying to drop weight in order to drop times. It does NOT work like that.

Don't be suprised if you gain weight training for this. That is what I did, and.. hey I was just like you. I started  at  2:52 800, and now I'm down to 2:22. That was over two years though and a lot of pshyical and mental disapline.

four months is almost two season. Make sure you take it easy, don't hurt yourself. If you do this right... I think you can get down to 2:30. Really I think you can take a good 20-30 seconds off your time if you want it.

Trust me, with running...nothing is impossble. It's all about breaking these 'im'possibilities.

goodluck!

Answer 2

The first thing you want to do is build a base by doing a lot of distance running. It probably doesn't make sense considering the 800 is a sprint (to a degree) but trust me, this is the most important thing. After you have a comfortable base you should still do distance runs about half the days you work out and then work on speed and strength the other days.

Lots of 400/200 repeats with some 600 repeats thrown in are good.

At least thats what my coach says and how I train, it works because I ran 1:59 as a sophomore!

I just re-read your original post and the reason your time isn't faster is because you said you were doing sprint work. Distance work is a lot more important especially in the beginning.

Answer 3

You are pretty quick so that is nice to have. You seem to have good speed endurance as your 200m time is not that much slower than doubling your 100m time. Perhaps you could look at running 400m?

If you half your 100m time that gives you 2.57. You are at an age where things can improve fairly quickly, and you also need to do some work/training to keep fit.

With 4 months I would have thought at least 2.30 for 800m, but depending on a 400m you could even get down to under 2.10.

SO get a coach or a program, start easy and who knows.