Are you seeking how to master the 4 hour marathon pace km effort? If so, you have come to the right place. Welcome to rundreamachieve.com. I fully understand how difficult the marathon is. I, too, dealt with setbacks along the way prior to running 2:19:35 for the marathon. One of the biggest mistakes I was making was running too many of my weekly miles too slow. Remember, to hold the pace for 4 hour marathon you need to sustain 9:09 per mile or 5:41 per kilometer. So, it does you no good to be able to hold this particular pace for a portion of the race but not throughout the entire distance.
The goal is to get sub 4 hour marathon pace to feel more in control. You don't want to be hurting 10 miles into a marathon. I always recommend to my athletes to do 1, Vo2 max workout per week. Also, we focus on a 10-day taper rather than dropping volume and intensity 3 weeks out. I have found that this leaves athletes a lot of times feeling tired and lethargic rather than energized and rested. Of course, it works for some but not all. So, consider a 10-day taper instead.
What Pace is a 4 Hour Marathon KM?
The pace per kilometer that you need to hold in order to run 3:59:59 is 5:40 per kilometer. Speed work is still vital as well. Again, training at paces that far exceed what you are planning on running in the marathon will make sub 4 hr marathon pace easier.
Unfortunately, this occurs far too often for marathoners. In addition, they are not drinking enough fluid or taking in enough calories during their races. I was able to drop my marathon best from 2:43:36 to 2:19:35 making small changes in how I trained. I started doing my long runs faster but I also started jogging on my recovery days. One of the biggest mistakes I see a lot of runners making is they are running too fast on their easy days. Remember, you need to ensure you are recovering from the harder, anaerobic work that you are doing. Also, to get the highest return on your investment.
How Do You Pace a Sub 4 Marathon?
I always recommend to runners to focus on doing a negative split to run 3:59:59 for the marathon or faster. Of course, you can go out faster the first half and have some wiggle room the second half to slow down. That being said, you really need to be confident and have done your homework in order to do this. I ran this way when I ran 2:19:35 for the marathon. I finished 4th overall and top American at the 2007 California International Marathon. Furthermore, I hit the first half marathon in 1:07:09 and came back the second half in 1:12:26. Remember, my personal best for the half marathon is 1:07:06 so I was way in over my head that day. That being said, I was very confident and had worked hard in training so went for it.
The key to holding the pace for 4 hour marathon is to train at, near and far below sub 4 hour marathon pace. Yes, easier said than done. The overall goal is to work smarter and use leverage rather than continuing to work hard and missing your goal. Remember, higher mileage isn't always the answer. You want to focus on what percentage of your weekly mileage are you spending at, near and far below your goal marathon race pace. Also, you need to focus on your recovery as well. The benefits of your hard work come within the rest phase. So, the greatest benefits comes after the hard workouts have been done.
How Hard is it to Run a Marathon under 4 Hours?
A sub 4 hour marathon is a highly competitive time. You need to teach the body to burn what you have far more of, fat stores. In addition, to conserve what you have far less of, carbohydrate stores. So, you need to train at far more aggressive paces than the goal race pace you are aiming for which is under 4 hour marathon pace. Also, don't neglect your nutrition. It is very important to ensure you are ingesting enough protein to help your muscles build back and recover from the hard training you are doing.
It isn't easy to break a 4 hour marathon. That being said, others have done it so there is no reason why you cannot yourself. Of course, you will need to start readjusting how you are setting up your training to get better results. I am all about using leverage. You don't need to run higher mileage to break a 4 hour marathon. There are plenty of runners who do this and never break the barrier. I discuss this in detail in the Sub 4 Hour Marathon Mastery course. Are you an athlete seeking to run 3:59:59 for the marathon and finally dip under that elusive, sub-4 hour marathon barrier? If so, click on the button below and learn more about the course.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE 4 HOUR MARATHON MASTERY COURSEHow Many Miles a Week Should I Run for a 4 Hour Marathon?
The amount of mileage needed to run under 4 hours for the marathon will depend on the athlete. There are some athletes who have run 3:59:59 or faster for the marathon on 50 miles (80 kilometers). That being said, others have done it closer to 90 miles (144 kilometers) a week. Remember, it isn't about the volume as much as it is the quality of the training you do. I got up to as high as 142 miles (228 kilometers) as week thinking higher mileage was going to help me to run faster for the marathon. I ended up running my PR of 2:19:35 on 85 to 90 miles a week. 4 hour marathon pace km will not be mastered by running too many miles or kilometers over a long period of time, too slow.
So, you want to focus on the quality of training that you are doing and not so much on the volume. The training plans and marathon running courses cap out around 70 miles per week. That being said, we focus on training well below sub 4 hour marathon pace too. Again, the goal is to slow down less in your race and sustain that goal pace for the entire duration of the marathon. You want to make sure you get race pace to feel less stressful on the body. It is normal to be hurting in the last 5 kilometers of a marathon. What you don't want is to be hurting the first 5 kilometers of a marathon.
Closing Thoughts
I hope this post on how to achieve running under the 4 hour marathon pace km effort has been helpful to you. I cover far more in-depth about this topic in the sub 4 hour marathon mastery course. Are you ready to take your training and racing to the next level and finally dip under that sub 4 hour marathon barrier? If so, click on the button below to join the course. I am certain by the end of it you will know what is needed in order to run a 3:59:59 marathon time. Also, there is a 16 week 4 hour marathon training plan at the end of the course. So, you will also be following the exact training workouts that I used in order to run 2:19:35 for the marathon distance.
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