3200m Running Program

by Steven
(New Jersey)

How can I train to run the 3200m under 11 minutes? I have been running for a year and a half and my 800m is 2:30, my mile is 5:30.

Also my 5k is 19min. Could you give me workout schedules to meet my goal?

Answer by Dominique:

Steven,
Thank you for your running question. I can help you. Maybe not with a tailored workout schedule given the limited information available, but I can point out the root cause of your problem.

Let's cover off on the following:

1. Analysis of your race performances
2. What training to do to improve your 3200m?

Analysis of Your Race Performances

When I first looked at your question, the first thing that came to mind was to check the different race times you gave to me and see how well aligned they were.

So, I went to this handy tool on my website, the Race Conversion Calculator.

I first compared your mile time to your 5k time. The time I'd expect you to run your 5k given your mile time of 5.30 mins. Answer = 18.16 mins. Your time = 19 mins.

Then I went to your 800m time and compared that to your mile and 5k time:

The time I'd expect you to run in a mile, given your 800m time of 2.30 mins. Answer = 5.14 mins. Your time = 5.30 mins.

The time I'd expect you to run in 5km given your 800m time. Answer = 17.26 mins. Your time = 19mins.

Then lastly, I predicted your possible 3200m time given your 800m time. Answer = 10.52 mins. That's good. It at least means that the 11 min goal is within reach!

All of this points in one clear direction:
Your speed in a 800-metre race is fast enough to make your 11 min goal attainable.

But.... the longer the race, the harder it is for you to hold on to the speed you need! The longer the distance, the more time you lose compared to what you "should" run. When we double the distance from 800m to 1 mile, you lose 16 seconds to what the calculator says. That's quite big. When we go to 5km, you lose over a minute and a half.

Don't feel bad about this. It is so much harder to get meaningful improvement when your race times are all aligned. The great thing here is that we have found an issue that can be addressed.

What Training to Do to Improve Your 3200m?

The issue we have uncovered is that your aerobic base needs to be further developed. You have been running over a year and a half and are clocking some good times. But your aerobic base, the foundation of your running, still needs more work. Any race longer than a few hundred metres requires an aerobic base, much more than it is requires speed / anaerobic running.

As I often say:

your aerobic base needs to be strong, otherwise you are building your speed on a layer of quicksand. It is great to be fast, but you need to be able to be fast for a longer period of time.

So, to cut a long story short: you need to build up your base. How do you do that? Lots of easy running. I'd like you to take a good deep look at the following few pages:

Page about developing your base - this page lays out the key type of running to do to improve your base.

Tempo running - this page covers the principles of tempo running, why it is good for you and what types of tempo workouts you can do.

A balanced running program would also incorporate running strides, intervals and strength training. But there is no doubt that in your case, you would emphasise most of your running on easy runs, long runs and tempo runs.

Hope all of this helps. The great thing here is that your 800m time indicates an 11 min 3200m time is possible and that you have a clear way forward.

Persevere and build that base and you should be able to reach that 3200m goal!
Kind regards,
Dominique