A marathon is not only 26.2 miles, it’s months of coaching, good restoration, and good diet to get to the beginning line feeling robust, assured, and wholesome. A 4 hour marathon coaching plan is designed for somebody who has coated the space earlier than and is able to put further items in play to hit their purpose.
The common marathon time in 2018 was 4:32:29; the common males’s marathon time was 4:52:18 and the common girls’s marathon time that very same yr was 4:48:45.
Thus the sub 4-hour marathon purpose is one which requires further health, focus, and psychological willpower. It’s completely doable with the precise coaching, however that doesn’t all the time imply it is going to occur the primary time round both!
I do know many runners who took a number of races to BQ, a number of races to cross the sub two half marathon barrier and the 4 hour marathon. Persistence with the method and getting the precise race day are a part of the method.
What’s a 4-Hour Marathon Tempo?
The 4 hour marathon purpose tempo is 9:09 per mile.
However nobody needs to complete at 4:01, so we often set our purpose tempo nearer to 8:50-8:55.
This coaching plan is to complete a marathon inside 4 hours and the methods are designed that can assist you discover the items you must tweak to hit that massive purpose.
What to Take into account Earlier than Coaching for a Sub 4-Hour Marathon
Earlier than you decide to a time purpose like a sub-four hour marathon coaching program, you must think about a number of various factors:
1. Degree of Expertise
Should you’re an absolute newbie, I like to recommend going for considered one of my newbie marathon coaching plans or perhaps a sofa to marathon plan in your first one.
This explicit plan is designed for runners who have already got expertise coaching for a marathon and have run no less than one beforehand.
You’ll want an honest quantity of expertise to start with, contemplating this plan is 16 weeks lengthy. Plus, you’ll be working 20+ miles in your very first week of the plan.
Having some earlier working expertise is vital to tackle the problem of a sub 4-hour marathon tempo with out damage.
2. Common Weekly Mileage
I discussed in my earlier level that this plan begins off with 20+ miles within the very first week. This implies you must be working on common round 20 miles weekly to start out coaching with this plan.
That is primarily to forestall any accidents and to remain secure whereas coaching. The overall rule of thumb is to not improve mileage or depth drastically and to extend it by 10% week by week. Preserve this in thoughts earlier than you determine to start out coaching.
3. Common Mile Tempo Throughout Final Marathon
Calculate your common mile tempo throughout your final marathon and think about it at varied phases of the marathon itself.
Have been you working at a decently quick tempo up till a sure milestone in the course of the race, just like the 20-mile marker? Or did you add further minutes to your total time due to a porta-potty break?
Earlier than committing to this time purpose, it’ll assist to determine how else you may enhance your marathon time.
The Full 4 Hour Marathon Coaching Plan
All marathon coaching plans are divided into sections to assist maximize your health. You’ll additionally discover that almost all plans are designed with a cycle of three weeks of constructing after which a reduce week.
It’s because in restoration our physique catches as much as the work we’ve achieved and thus we see the beneficial properties! Should you by no means relaxation and by no means take the cutback week, you’ll both burnout, get injured or just plateau.
Enable your self to embrace these moments in coaching and keep in mind that bouncing from plan to plan goes to make it a lot more durable to hit your purpose. Plans are designed to work in a scientific manner.
4 Hour Marathon Coaching Schedule
Able to get going?
👉Right here’s a free plan you could obtain and start utilizing to hit your goal! This plan shouldn’t be custom-made, so chances are you’ll want to regulate issues to suit your life, but it surely will provide you with a superb information.
Weeks 1-5
Base constructing is the inspiration of a fantastic marathon. Throughout this time, we’re targeted on slowly growing your weekly mileage whereas additionally growing your muscle energy.
That is the time we wish to guarantee no power coaching classes are missed and that you simply work with heavy weights. Constructing muscle earlier than beginning to run farther and more durable means it is going to assist to forestall accidents and also you’ll be extra more likely to preserve muscle all through marathon coaching.
We’ll even be mixing issues up, with fartleks being launched in week 4, adopted by yoga (sure, yoga!) in your lively restoration. It’ll assist stretch out the muscle tissue, improve blood move, and assist with restoration.
Weeks 6-10
Weeks 6-10
Now we’re beginning to fine-tune coaching. Meaning we’re including in additional purpose tempo miles to assist the physique be taught precisely the way it feels to run at race tempo and we’re persevering with to construct weekly mileage.
That is the half that may ask you to do belongings you haven’t achieved earlier than and practice your physique to deal with extra whereas additionally embracing restoration.
It’s tremendous vital to stay to the schedule and incorporate power coaching as talked about within the plan. It’s designed to forestall accidents and make you even sooner.
Weeks 11-14
Peak weeks throughout coaching are when issues hit their hardest. That is the purpose the place the mileage is the best, the pace exercises are the toughest and it turns into a matter of working by the psychological a part of pushing by.
That is the place you’re constructing huge health that will likely be realized by the approaching restoration.
Weeks 15-16
Taper time to race day! Within the remaining two weeks, we’re targeted on maximal restoration.
Whereas you may be lowering the amount of coaching, it’s okay to nonetheless throw in some depth with intervals to maintain the legs feeling recent. Additionally, you will discover that we take away all power coaching in addition to core work as a result of we don’t wish to be breaking down muscle tissue.
All of our consideration is targeted on restore, relaxation, and recuperate.
4 Hour Marathon Coaching Ideas
With 10 working coaches on Workforce Run To The End, I needed to attain out to them for the issues they discover most beneficial when working in direction of that sub 4 hour marathon.
Many of those girls have hit that purpose after which pushed far past it, so I like seeing what they discovered most vital.
Optimize Your Diet
In fact Coach Cortney, as an RD, got here in robust with some diet ideas!
- Observe your diet previous to race day. By no means ever attempt something new on race day!
- Gas early and infrequently. One of many greatest errors I see runners make is ready till they’re cramping up to soak up diet.
- A normal fueling purpose is 30-60 grams of carbs per hour of working (after the primary hour). So a 4 hour marathoner ought to eat round 90-180 grams of carbs within the race.
Spice Up Your Lengthy Run
You’ll see this within the plan and I cherished the best way Coach Alexis acknowledged it:
I feel the largest factor that helped me breakthrough within the marathon, and has made a distinction with my athletes too, is including spice into the long term.
Beginning easy with some strides and surges in the long term after which as runners grow to be extra superior issues like marathon paced or sooner tempo run miles inside the long term!
Study to Run Straightforward
Coach Kaitlyn reiterated considered one of my FAVORITE issues.
The largest factor that helped me was setting a CLEAR distinction between onerous and straightforward – no extra gray zones! As soon as I used to be capable of SLOW DOWN, I used to be capable of push it a lot sooner on exercises and on race day.
A straightforward run isn’t a tempo, it’s an effort.
You have to let go of your mile tempo on simple days and as a substitute concentrate on with the ability to keep it up a dialog. Straightforward runs are about constructing endurance, time on ft and infrequently restoration from onerous days.
Check Your Ending Time
Coach Amanda Eardley had a implausible tip to make sure your coaching is on observe and also you’ve set a practical purpose for your self.
Discover a 10K or run a 10K time trial in weeks 10-12 and in case you can run it below 52 minutes, you’re on observe to interrupt that 4 hour barrier! This additionally offers you an opportunity to do a number of the key assessments:
- Check out the gear you wish to put on for marathon day
- Strive the kind of gasoline you wish to use for marathon day
- Work out how you’ll deal with water in the course of the race
Sensible Cross Coaching
We hear the phrase cross coaching lots, however I feel runners usually take it to imply doing cardio in a special kind. Whereas it may be nice to get in some biking and swimming, our major focus is power coaching.
- Lifting heavy early in coaching builds muscle for energy
- Lifting throughout coaching builds endurance and prevents accidents
- 30 Day Core Program – offers you 10 minutes pre-run to work your abs, hips and glutes
- Neglecting power doesn’t look like a difficulty initially, however is commonly the downfall round peak week
You’ll be able to run a marathon with out doing all of the issues proper.
However hitting your subsequent degree purpose requires giving it just a bit extra dedication. It’s taking your health degree from good to raised by being keen to do the nice and cozy up, do the power, do the restoration.
Because it all turns into extra routine, you’ll discover these items may be achieved pretty shortly.
Should you haven’t but, snag this free plan you could obtain and start utilizing to hit your goal!
And in case you’re nonetheless feeling caught, be taught how one can work with considered one of our 8 coaches to snag your personal custom-made Sub 4 Hour Marathon Coaching Plan.
Different methods to attach with Amanda
Instagram Each day Enjoyable: RunToTheFinish
Fb Group Chatter: RunToTheFinish
Signal As much as Obtain a Weekly E-newsletter of Ideas
