What should a sub 4 hr marathon training plan be comprised of? One, it has to teach the athlete how to hold 9:09 per mile for 26.2 miles.
Secondly, it must also teach those not in the United States how to hold 5:41 per kilometer for the 42.1 K distance. There are no breaks within the marathon so you have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
The best runners in the world make it look easy for a reason. They spend a large amount of their weekly volume training at or above 88% of their max heart rate. The key to breaking the sub 4 hour marathon barrier is to clear lactic acid faster than it is building up in your blood stream.
It is actually the hydrogen ion within lactic acid which is the culprit that slows muscle functioning. This causes us to slow down in a race.
How Do You Break The 4 Hour Marathon Barrier?
Well, one of the best ways to do is to gradually spend more time at or below your goal marathon race pace. This doesn't happen overnight. I wish it were that easy but unfortunately it is not. I have created 5K to marathon training schedules here at RunDreamAchieve to help runners do just that.
If you are serious about becoming a 3 hour marathoner check out the Sub 4 Hour Marathon Mastery course. This is is an extensive course on how to break the 4 hour marathon. It will be more than just a sub 4 hr marathon training plan. It is going to cover every detail of how to conquer 4 hour marathon pace.
The course will conclude with an in-depth, 16 week marathon training schedule. Lastly, it will cover all the specifics of running a marathon under 4 hours. I'll be touching on nutrition, rest, hydration and key workouts that you absolutely must follow in order to conquer the 4 hour marathon barrier.
Why Do So Many Runners Miss Running A Marathon Under 4 Hours?
It is not for a lack of trying or talent.
Do you need any talent to break 4 hours? I would say you may need a little but you can overcome what you don't have with hard work. There are many runners that don't have a lot of talent but do have work ethic. My best mile as a freshman in high school was “only” a 5:09. Who would have thought I would have been able to hold 5:19 pace for 26.2 miles a few years later?
I didn't have a lot of talent so I had to rely on work ethic and the power of my mind. You don't break the sub-2:20 marathon barrier by interest.
What you must have and what I will be teaching in the Sub 4 Hour Marathon Mastery course is a sub 4 hour marathon training plan that will get you results. All runners need a legitimate plan of action. It makes the process much easier if you know what you need to do on any given day.
Runners are not spending sufficient time at the pace they want to hold for the marathon. There is a reason for this. It is painful to do so. If 90 percent of your weekly mileage is run too slow how do you expect to hold a fast pace for 26.2 miles? Furthermore, what I see a lot of runners do is second guess themselves.
How? The results don't come fast enough and they start to question their ability. Do I still have what it takes? Am I too old? Did I get enough sleep the night before? Have I done enough training? These are questions that tend to pop up for a lot of runners.
What Should A Legitimate Sub 4 Marathon Training Plan Look Like?
I have always focused on 4 month blocks of training. Can you span your training out to 5 months? Yes, if you spend 4 weeks running easy base mileage. The problem with going over 16 weeks is that it leaves many runners feel flat come race day. A sub 4 hr marathon training plan shouldn't be too long or aggressive early on in the training block.
Tapering is an art form. If you get it right it can help you do the unthinkable. That being said, if you get it wrong you can peak too early and run like crap the day of the race. Remember, failure is part of success. It may sound cliche and we do here it all the time but it is true.
I ran 2:40:02 and 2:51:55 for the marathon before I ran 2:19:35. It took a lot of ups and downs to finally get it right. The marathon is not like the 5K or 10K. As you already know, there are a lot of moving parts when it comes to the marathon distance.
Why Should I Consider The Sub 4 Hour Marathon Mastery Course?
One, I know what I am doing. Additionally, I have walked and walk and talked the talk when it comes to training and racing.
Secondly, I fully understand what runners are dealing with. The time it takes to prepare for a marathon while working a full-time job takes a great deal of commitment.
There is a massive difference between interest versus commitment. Anyone who is seeking to break the 4 hour marathon is not merely interested. It takes full commitment to run a 3:59:59 or faster marathon.
A 9 minute mile marathon is extremely competitive and such a small percentage of the world population does that each year.
Lastly, I have run 2:19:35 for the marathon and understand what it takes to break the 4 hour barrier. There are strategies that I teach that I have zero doubt will help you drop significant time off your current marathon.
What are they? I will be covering them in detail in the Sub 4 Hour Marathon Mastery course. Fill out your information below to be notified when the course launches. Additionally, receive a 30 percent discount on our launch price ($89 value).
What Should I Do Differently To Break The 4 Hour Marathon?
I cover this in detail in the Sub 4 Hour Marathon Mastery course but will touch on a few key tips here.
- Practice running at or below 9:09 mile pace or 5:41 kilometer pace. This is a must. If you are spending 85 to 90 percent of your mileage running at 11 minute mile pace it won't be easy to break 4 hours.
- Focus on drinking rather than sipping during your long run. The biggest mistake marathoners make is not drinking enough during the race. This is one of the biggest race-killers of them all. A sub 4 hr marathon training plan has to cover this in detail as it is one of the biggest reasons runners fail to break the barrier.
- Get rid of the negativity. Possibility thinking is how runners break the 4 hour marathon. Cut out the talking heads and negative media. Start reading some self-development books, turn off the radio and listen to a podcast. Get your mind filled with the right material.
- Focus on what you can control. You cannot control the weather or the other runners in the race (but you can manage them). A sub 4 hr marathon training plan will show you what you should and should not be focusing on. It should take the guesswork out of your preparation.
- Be patient. It takes time to get into great shape. Don't expect it to come overnight. The patient are dangerous and those on the starting line will know quickly if you are or are not serious. Does the average sub 4 hr marathon training plan teach anything about this? This is a component of training far too many of us as athletes overlook.
- Extend your long run and the time you spend at higher heart rates. Your will adapt to the stress load you are putting on it. Paces that seemed un-manageable early on will become very easy. That being said, you have to let your fitness come to you. It cannot be rushed.
- and much, much more.
Why Should I Invest In Your Sub 4 Hour Marathon Mastery Course?
You are more than welcome to visit the about page if you would like to know more of my background. I love the marathon but I love helping other runners surpass what they think is possible for them. It took me from 1992 to 2007 to break the sub-2:20:00 marathon barrier.
I've been competing for over 27 years and like anyone else have had successes and failures. Remember, failure is part of success. It is a must less glamorous part of the success formula but is necessary to get to the golden moment. I had many failures prior to running 2:19:35 for the marathon. I didn't want to just create a sub 4 hr marathon training plan anyone can find online.
It needed to have some more substance to it. It needed to be more of just a course about running but also one that would improve the mindset of the athlete. The mental aspect of training is often overlooked. This is a huge reason why I was able to drop my marathon from 2:43:36 to 2:19:35. Your goals have to be reality in the mind before they become reality in real life.
The great Billy Mills, Olympic Gold medalist in the 10,000m event said it best.
The Subsconscious mind cannot tell the difference between reality and imagination
You can easily find a sub 4 hr marathon training plan online. That being said, you will not find a more in-depth course than the Sub 4 Hour Marathon Mastery course. It is not my intention to help you break the 4 hour marathon barrier. It is my goal to make sure you do it and that you know exactly what to do in order to be successful at this goal.
Learn More About The Sub 4 Hour Marathon Mastery Course
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