Part 2:

You may think you’re too tired to expend the extra energy to warm-up after 2 days of competition, but if you put a good effort into warming up before the 1500, you might be surprised how much easier it feels, and how much better you may run if you do!

I never tried the 1200 training plan; I went with the 8x400 repeat workout once a week. It probably takes the same amount of time, because I’d always do it at the end of a workout, so I wouldn’t have to warm-up for it. Then I would do 8x400 with a 60 second recovery, usually taking about 20 mins. to complete. PLUS… Since you were already a little tired from the workout, it gave you a better simulation of how you might feel at the end of a decathlon.

If you run it right, usually only the last 2 might sting a bit! I would start out a little slower than 1500 race pace and always try to go a little faster on each one, finishing the last one the fastest. This is a real good 1500 confidence builder too; finishing this workout strong should help you finish strong in the actual 1500. Once you get a baseline average, you might want to try and chip away at your splits, which should also bring down your 1500 time.

Don’t have 9 good events and end up losing out on a PR or a medal because of a SLOOOWWW 1500!

Good advice John! A good 1200 a week could never hurt a decathlete’s 1500 time.

Although, I wasn’t a world-class decathlete, the 1500 is probably one event that I might also be able to give a couple of tips that helped me run a fast one.

I did about 40 decathlons when I was competing and noticed in almost every meet, that many decathletes didn't want to “waste” energy warming up for the 1500. As soon as the javelin was finished, a lot of the guys would sit down and rest and wait until the 5 minute warning to toss on their spikes and come strolling up to the starting line.

Instead of sitting down to “rest” after the javelin, I would find out exactly when we were starting the 1500. Then about 20 mins before the start, I would start doing strides 100-125 meters, with about a 100 walk in between. I’d run them at about my intended race pace 16-17 secs per 100 for me. I’d stop about 5 mins before the race started and would just lightly jog around after that.
When the gun went off, I went right out on pace comfortably, and usually hit the 400 mark within a second of what I was aiming for. Then I would concentrate on each lap individually, instead of thinking of it as 3 ¾ laps of PAIN! I think you might find it a tremendous psychological help!