u/CockroachLife3688

I recently ran my first marathon and unfortunately missed my goal of sub-4 by 12 and change. The weather wasn’t super conducive to running as it was very hot and humid. I did learn that I will need supplemental electrolytes or salt tabs as I cramped bad between miles 22-26 which cost me lots of time.

What is the minimum amount of time between marathons to make a meaningful impact to achieve my sub-4 goal? I am eyeing a marathon that’s 22 weeks out, but I don’t want to do it if that’s not enough time to make meaningful gains.

I think sub-4 is not only realistic but probable in my future, just dealt a shitty hand with the weather. My half marathon time is 1:44, for this marathon in May, my 18 week training block covered 600 miles and 3 runs between 20-22 miles. I was consistently negative splitting the 20 mile runs with a 10:15/mi pace the first half and closing the last half around 8:45. The specific plan I followed was Hal Higdon Intermediate 1 but I was further along on long runs so I did longer runs than each week prescribed.

Is 22 weeks enough time between races? What are the sub-4 training plans you’ve had the most success with? Anything helps get me closer to my goal.

I finished my first marathon yesterday and missed my goal time. I crushed training and my time was very realistic, but the heat had a different plan.

That being said, I can easily follow an 18-20 week training plan during the more formal training block. I am going to target another marathon next spring and dedicate the next 10-11 months to the training.

Do you have any recommendations for “offseason” training plans? Best ways to structure training? How many mpw should I be shooting for? For reference I used Hal Higdon Intermediate 1 for my marathon and hit 950 miles over the last year.

I completed my first marathon in 4:12:27 yesterday and unfortunately missed my goal of sub-4 hours. Very disappointed in the outcome and not really sure where everything went wrong, or how likely I am to get sub-4 in the future.

In the last year leading up to the marathon I ran 950 miles, 570 miles over the course of Hal Higdon’s 18 week Intermediate plan. In training I covered 18, 20, 22, & 20 mile runs. I finished every one of those runs with the last 8-10 miles ~8:45/mi pace and felt great.

I practiced carb loading numerous times during training so no surprises week of. I took in SiS Beta Fuel (40g of carbs) every 30 min during training and the marathon. I stuck to lots of Gatorade in training and the marathon and sprinkled in water time to time.

I do live in an area that experiences all the season meaning most of the training was done in the winter and spring. Yesterday was the hottest day of the year to date. Temps started at 65 degrees and by the time I finished it was 80. Not a cloud in the sky, humidity was 80%, and dew point was 65.

The course was also difficult. Elevation was only around 550 feet, but mentally exhausting. At mile 12.7 the marathon and half split from each other. The marathon closed out the last 13.5 miles of the marathon were straight out, straight back with miles 23-25 being all uphill. This last 13.5 was also along a stretch with no breeze, no shade, just concrete jungle straight out, straight back.

I made it through the first 20 miles with an average pace of 9:11. I was right there and had nothing left to close that gap. I finished the last 6 miles with an average pace of 10:46/mi. I was experiencing spasms in my groin/inner thigh that forced me to stops, take 10 steps walking, and then start running again multiple times. Finally, as I was 0.25 miles from the finish, both hamstrings simultaneously cramped, I could feel the knots with my hands. Completely debilitating and I lost another 2 minutes there stretching those out so I could take another step. My pacing plan was miles 1-4 at 9:25/mi (actual 9:27), miles 5-20 at 9:05 (actual 9:08), miles 21-26 whatever I had left.

Any tips, feedback, or what needs to change next round to make the sub-4 realistic is appreciated

As my first marathon gets closer (May 17), the anxiety and doubt continues to climb. I want to achieve a sub-4 marathon, and did my best to tailor all the training around that goal. However, the more I read the more I question if I did enough.

I followed the Hal Higdon Intermediate 1 plan, running all 5 days every week. The changes I made to the plan were added an interval or tempo run each week, and my long runs were longer than the week called for as I started the plan further ahead on long runs. Most of the runs called for a Z2 pace (10:15 for me), I struggle with seeing this translate to a strong full under 4-hours.

I am now beginning the taper so not much I can change now, but would love to hear your experience and the reality of me achieving sub-4. Did I do enough?

6 weeks ago I finished a half marathon in 1:44, have done 2, 20 mile runs, and 1, 22 mile run. For each of the 20+ mile runs, I would start around 10:15, and finish the last 8-10 miles at or better than 9:09 pace. For example, this last weekend, my 20 mile run averaged 10:14 for the first 10 miles, and 8:48 for the last 10, and honestly I could have pushed on for at least 3 more miles. I’ve also ran 5x a week for last 18 weeks.

As the reality of the race gets closer, and the taper is here, I’m spiraling that I’m so far from my sub-4 goal.