When to try for sub 4 hours?

hot to trot

Is there any guide or indicator that I can use to know whether I am ready and capable of sub 4?

I think I am being too cautious on my marathon efforts on the day. I decide to knock off maybe 10 seconds per mile between one marathon and the next one. The legs are fine within 2 days and the heart is fine by the end of the week. Im afraid that the wheels will come off and I will grind to a halt if I go too fast and die off in the closing stages. I manage my long runs well and my tempos and speed intervals are reasonable enough too.
Is there any guide or indicator that I can use to know whether I am ready and capable of sub 4?
The mc millans/rw and other charts give you guides depending on races at shorter distances but over what time frame should you be able to make the target they give for full marathons?

shels4ever

hot to trot wrote: »

Is there any guide or indicator that I can use to know whether I am ready and capable of sub 4?

I think I am being too cautious on my marathon efforts on the day. I decide to knock off maybe 10 seconds per mile between one marathon and the next one. The legs are fine within 2 days and the heart is fine by the end of the week. Im afraid that the wheels will come off and I will grind to a halt if I go too fast and die off in the closing stages. I manage my long runs well and my tempos and speed intervals are reasonable enough too.
Is there any guide or indicator that I can use to know whether I am ready and capable of sub 4?
The mc millans/rw and other charts give you guides depending on races at shorter distances but over what time frame should you be able to make the target they give for full marathons?

My view(many won't agree) would be that you need to take a number of factors into account, the volumer of training you have been doing, time you can train, Injury history , weight , current marathon best times etc

I'd say most people are capable of sub 4 as 9:09 mile is possible for almost everyone but putting 26 of them is the hard part.

For a sub 4 I would expect that if you could run a 5 mile race in sub 40 mins (or close)you'd be ready to build up to a sub 4.

I was in the same boat myself last year and tired a sub 4 when i wasnt really ready and forced it a bit too much. This time i will improve my base speed first before i set a huge pb for marathon

Krusty_Clown

You're ready now! Take a couple of weeks break, and start an 18 week training plan (without doing any marathons in the middle!). I think your hardest thing will be to stop doing any marathons in the middle!

tunguska

Theres only one way to find out hot to trot........go for it. Youre trying to determine whether youre capable of something without actually doing that thing. Which is impossible. If you crash and burn you crash and burn, so what? You'll know where you stand at the very least, instead of playing it safe and never knowing what you got in the tank. Plus I think its good for everybody to blow up in at least one marathon because then you'll know you can get through it even though youre suffering. You can be afraid of hitting the wall and that fear will hold you back. Fear of hitting the wall is much worse than hitting the wall itself. If it happens you'll get through it and come out on the other side stronger and wiser. But you'll never know unless you try.

hot to trot

I know I am capable of it , But when do you know you are ready to DO it. Id hate to think I have to wait 18 weeks for it. By then Id expect to be comfortably under the 4.
What I mean is .... is it when you can do a 28/20 mile run at that pace tha you know you are good for it on the day? Or do you have to be able to do that distance faster to allow for some drop off in the last 6 miles?

Krusty_Clown

I've no doubt you could go out and do a sub4 any time soon. I guess the idea I'm trying to impress is that you could have significant gains, if you just sit back and train for a while, without running any races.

shels4ever

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I've no doubt you could go out and do a sub4 any time soon. I guess the idea I'm trying to impress is that you could have significant gains, if you just sit back and train for a while, without running any races.

+1
The thing is if you feel that in 18 week that you would run sub for no problem, Would you be happy with just sub 4? What would you like long term?
It all depends on what you want to do, if you want to run a marathon soon target the sub 4, If you want to run a faster marathon then maybe set a longer term target .

hot to trot

OH Krusty I am trying really hard to stay away from marathon websites. I will do my serious best to just keep training. I went for a snorkel yesterday and if I get back into my diving it will seriously curtail my marathons as long runs and diving do not mix. That might halt me for a bit.
LOng term .. I dont really care what times I do in the future , I just enjoy running around cities. Once I get sub 4 , It doesnt bother me if I never get it again. NO great ambitions for 3.45 or anything like that

hot to trot

Just realized its 12 weeks to Cork and then 18 weeks to Dublin? Would that be allowed?;)

Krusty_Clown

hot to trot wrote: »

Just realized its 12 weeks to Cork and then 18 weeks to Dublin? Would that be allowed?;)

LOL. Addictive personality? Having said that, I plan to do both (and more over the next while). Race you to ten marathons?

hot to trot

NOpe thats not me- definitley not an addictive personality. But I know I would lose interest if I had to try and motivate myself for something sooooo far away into the future. Thats all.
Im a bit of a crammer. Dont do any study or chores until I have no choice. I think that if I had to do an 18 week programme starting now , I would lose interest and probably miss loads of it until it got closer to the time.
BUT I will try

Krusty_Clown

Why not follow a 16 week plan, with a 10k, 5 mile, 10mile and half marathon race along the way, each time trying to record a personal best.

hot to trot

im down for the great Ireland run . I think in mid April, then I promised a friend I would do the Curragh half in May and there is a new local womens 10K the week before that in May so I will have to support that . Trying to Ignore Newry at the end of May and the Cork at the beginning of June so whats up in July????
Guess I will have to hang on til the end of August for the new Galway one on the 29th. Poor Longford. I am sure that they will suffer with Galway on the same day.

I will keep your voice in my head when I think of other marathons and refrain and hold on. I will be as happy as you with your sub 3 .;)
Will you go for sub 3 for the rest of yours now too? Is that the way it normally works?