Sub 4.15

Well thats my target anyway.

I'll be tri training with an additional long run every two week - hardly conventional marathon preparation I know but its just got me a 1/2 marathon pb so I'm going with it for now!

4.15 will be a bit of a stretch given its a PB by over 25 minutes - but you've got to set challenging targets or you'd never achieve anything.

So - anyone else out there looking to achieve 4.15 this spring?

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Comments

  • Hi M, I am currently floating between sub 4.30 and sub4 hour thread!! I have run the FLM before but not fully fit on either occasion. I am already a lot fitter this yer=ar and confident I could acheive at least 4.30. Anything under this would be great. Sub 4.15 would be a super bonus and sub 4, a super duper bonus. Its my experience that many factors can affect your time on the day so I am of the attitude that it pays to be flexible with your goals. (dont think I'll join a sub 3.30 thread though!!)
  • Hi Billie

    I know just what you mean. Sub 4.30 would do me nicely but sub 4 isn't going to happen (except in my dreams! - I've only just broken 2 hours for the 1/2)

    So for me 4.15 is a tough but not unreasonable target. I haven't done FLM before but did Rotterdam last year :-)

    Good luck with training.
  • Thanks M
    I have just read the book " train for a sub 4 hour marathon in 4 months" very inspiring and wish all I had to do was read the book to get me round in sub 4!!
  • Hi M. and Billie
    I've also been floating between the 4 hour and 4.30 hour thread! I did the race time calculator thingy and depending on which race I put in, it comes up with around 4.15. Mind you the races I've done recently I've not been that fit, I intend to get as fit as I can for the FLM. I don't know whether this means you could probably run it a bit faster though. I think sub 4 is a bit optimistic though and if I got under 4.30 I'd be happy, like you 4.15 would be fantastic!
    Feeling good now as just forced myself out the door for a hard (for me anyway!!!) 5 miler which I did in 44 minutes - I suppose on that calculation sub 4.30 would be a bonus after all!
  • Hi sub4.15ers

    i cant make my mind up, no way i could do sub 4 think i could do under 4.30, sub4.15 would be amazing for my first marathon,
  • hmm, not too many takers for a sub 4.15 marathon so far eh! I thought this might be quite a popular target time given that it requires around 9.30-10 minute miling.

    If we do a race some time before the marathon can we use that race time to adjust our target finish time? (particularly if it is faster than usual?)
  • slowlegs - do you mean adjust your "official" target time and hence your pen number? if so i doubt it but it may be worth trying at the expo? or did you just mean your own target time and therefore the pace you start off at?

    i've been having a quiet start to the week after the 1/2 marathon on sunday - sore legs for a couple of days! so i've only done one swim session so far. but i've got a 5k race planned for tomorrow.

    tonight however? a glass of wine or two to celebrate the job offer i've just received :-)

    hi stevej - 4.15 would indeed be a fantastic first marathon time. i was just happy to get to the end of my first one!
  • M. - Well, I meant adjust my own target time but now you come to mention it I can't remember what I told them I'd do it in! I think it was 4.30 but am not sure. Can you find out any way?

    Congratulations on breaking 2 hours for the half by the way! I, too had a couple of glasses of wine last night to celebrate passing some exams! Woke up with a bit of a sore throat but hopefully I can just do an easy 3 miles later after some hard christmas shopping!
  • Hi M. congrats on the job offer, i know that
    -4.15 is going to be hard for my first marathon but you have to have something to aim for dont you,i dont think i would be to disapointed if it takes longer...as you said "its something just to get to the end"
    good luck with the 5k today,
  • well - the 5k was not so good. i could feel how tired my legs were from about half way and finished in 26.15 or so - by far the slowest 5k of the year.

    hope the sore throat is feeling better sorelegs.

    stevej - you definitely do have to have something to aim for. i stayed with the 4.15 pacers at rotterdam last year until about 1/2 way then just faded. this year i'll have a lot more endurance training behind me (having trained for a 1/2 ironman this summer) so hopefully i might be able to hang on a bit longer!

    plans for the weekend....
    tomorrow night - either run or turbo.
    saturday - 60 min coached swim am, gym pm, boyfriends running club christmas do in the evening :-)
    sunday - recover
  • Hi all,
    good weeks training so far.
    7 Miles sunday, 3 miles monday, rest tuesday, 400m reps yesterday and went for a 5 mile run with my 13 year old son today. He is a good runner and I made him run infront of me so I would have to run at a good steady pace.will have rest day tomorrow, My long run for Saturday will be 9 miles.
    Really have the motivation to raise loads of money. I hadnt chosen a charity up until now, but found out today that my younger brother has CANCER!. I feel pretty useless and dont know what to do. I am now determined to raise as much money as possible for cancer research UK
  • oh billie thats awful. raising money for cancer research is a fantastic idea though. its so hard to know what to do when you find out something like that.

    thinking of you
    M xx
  • Thanks for your kind words M,
    the whole family are a bit shell shocked to be honest. I feel positive that I will be able to raise loads of money as I am in the medical profession. It will give me something to focus on. My brother will need surgery and chemo, he's only in his 30's. Lifes a bitch sometimes. He plays loads of sports, drinks only a little and has never smoked a fag in his life!! wheres the justice eh?
  • i'm sure you'll be able to raise loads. cancer touches so many peoples lives these days. and you are right it definitely isn't fair. at work we've just done a christmas rag-mag and guess the baby photo competition for cancer research uk. people gave loads towards it. i guess most people realise by now how important their work is.

    get yourself a justgiving.com webpage.

  • M,i know it will be hard work..but worth it,all i can do is give it my best shot,

    Billie, sorry to hear about your brother,one of my work mates went through surgery and chemo at the start of the year ( he is only 27 ) and he is doing great now,
    im sure all will be ok!
  • Billie - really sorry to hear about your brother - I have a similar story in that my my best friend's little girl who is 4 has cancer. She has been having treatment for about 2 years and is undergoing a second go of chemo at the moment. Just thinking of her and what she is going through pushes me out the door every time now. No discomfort seems of any relevance compared to that. I'm also hoping to raise money for CHICS who have helped the family a lot - but I need to get my butt in gear and actually start!

    By the way, I asked above whether anyone knew how to find out what official target time you had if you'd forgotten what you put down! Anyone know?
  • not sure slowlegs. i'm pretty sure i put 4.30 but there doesn't seem to be any way to check.
  • hope things are ok billie

    getting ready for xmas now. b/f and i are running the sale harriers festive 5 after christmas then i've got 2 weeks off work so i'm hoping to get some good training in then.
  • Anyone still on this sub-4.15 thread or has everyone upped or downed their expectation?!

    I run halfs at about 1.50 which in theory means I can make sub-4, but as this is going to be my first marathon, I reckon a 4.15 will be a great result.

    Would be interested to resurrect this thread to discuss training if anyone else is on for this time too........anyone?
  • Hi bikingbird

    I'm definitely still aiming for this. My most recent race was a bit disappointing (club 10 mile handicap) but shorter stuff is going well and this weekends long run (15 miles) went ok too so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

    1.50 is a fair bit faster than me for a half though - my pb is 1.59. With the right training you should easily make 4.15.

  • Thanks M. Yeah, I know 4.15 seems a fair target, i just don't know how getting stuck in the huge pack, temptation to go off too fast or eating the right stuff at the right time may affect the result. I guess I've got weeks to try all that out though.

    If you're already on a 15m long run, then that's great and you'll be fine. I only got a place two weeks ago so 14 weeks feels like cutting it a bit fine. Am making sure I go out 5 times a week and this week's long run is up to 10. Did 8m last night and felt fine, so all is on track.

    Keep posting...
  • Mmmmm.....I'm lazy so don't know whether to promote myself from sub 4:30 to this thread! Half pb 1:52ish, 10k 49:27 - once!! But normally about 51mins. Last(ONLY) other FLM 4:39:27, so would be happy with sub 4:30. Don't know quite where I'd manage the faster bit as it was SO SLOW at the start - first mile after crossing line took 12 mins and there was NOTHING you could do about it, next mile took 11 mins, so your point re "getting stuck" is v relevant Bikingbird.

    I know I should be capable of 4:15.....need a pacer really and RW peeps only do the 4/4:30 pacing etc - i.e every half hour.

    Billie - really sorry to hear about your brother. Very sad - hope treatment is going well.
  • My first post on this thread, as 4-15 seems a good target for me and this is my first FLM. I've never run more than a 1/2, but my last one was 1hr 50.

    I'm loosely following the "Ideal World" schedule from Marathon News with a few modifications. Did 8-miler last Sunday at 10 min/mile pace and that felt comfortable. Weekly mileage is up to about 20 at the moment. During the week I've been doing a variety of quicker runs, hills or interval training up to 30 mins per session. I've been running with a HRM and haven't been too concerned about my speed to date. I hoping that as I get fitter, my pace will increase without an increase in heart rate.

    I'm doing Wokingham 1/2 on 13 Feb and Reading 1/2 on 6 March. I will probably enter one other 1/2 after Reading, but undecided so far.
  • Would like to join this thread too.
    have had a bit of a patchy racing history, did a 1/2M a year ago on the basis of v little training in 2.11, then a 10m about 9mths ago, also without too much training in 1.29. Predictor suggests 4.09 marathon, but I think i could maybe do a bit better than this if i actually manage to train consistently
    I have been following the RW sub 4 programme, in a fit of optimism, but suspect I will struggle to run 5x per week every week as I have job where i work highly variable hours. My plan is to make sure I get 4 quality runs in, and do the recovery run in the programme, if I can. Hopefully this should mean I get a good training base. My only other worry is that I get injured. I have had a series of overuse injuries (shin splints, patellar tracking etc) so am trying to be careful, but am then constantly worried with every little ache and twinge!
    Also have the normal 'marathon fear' I can't help wondering how I will get through 4hrs of running and how bad I will feel. Am sure everyone feels the same way before their first marathon though?
    Anyway, looking forward to hearing how everyone else is getting on - hopefully this thread should keep us all motivated!
  • hi happyrunning and mad jonny!

    With all your speedy 1/2 times you guys should have no problems!!! My only previous marathon was Rotterdam last year which took me 4.41. Mind you I was very happy with that - I made it to the end!!!

    I'm not really following a schedule as I'm trying to stick with tri training through the whole marathon build up so that I don't wreck my tri season! So I'm only running 3 times a week and doing a long run every two weeks. Anyway - I'm well ahead of where I was last year - I looked at my diary and my first 15 miler wasn't until the first week of March last time!

    I know what you mean happyrunning - a 4.15 pacer would be lovely - they had one at Rotterdam - I just wasn't able to keep up!!!

    Wokingham and Reading sound like a good plan. Venom and I haven't finally decided races yet but might do Friskney 1/2 and maybe Oakley 20.

    Train well everyone!
    M xx

  • oh - sorry - hello too newbie 1 - you must have posted that while I was typing!

    i recognise the "marathon fear" from last year - and this year too to be fair!!!

    loads of time to train and prepare though

  • I've just had a quick look at events taking place after Reading 1/2 on 6th March. There's only 3 weekends after that where I plan to do long runs before tapering off.

    On 13th March there's a Banbury 15 miler - but I was planning to do 18 miles that day. There is also a Finchley 20.

    On 20th there's loads of 20 milers - Oakley, Hemel, Worthing, Cranleigh (15 or 21) & Kingston (16 - and 8.20am start!). I'm scheduled for a 19 miler, so most of the above should be suitable.

    27th is the Easter weekend and there doesn't seem to be a lot of long runs organised for then. I'm planning to do a 21 miler that weekend.

    So if anyone plans to do one of the 20 mile events on 20th March then let us know. We could try and get a group together and try to pace ourselves at around 9.5 to 10 minute miles.
  • Signed up for the Worthing 20. I've heard its a bit boring,but its just down the road and I train on a lot of it. Besides, exciting races can wait until the 17th April!
    For those that dont know, theres a great cafe, on the seafront bit of the course. Great for spectators, and after-race meet-ups. We can also accomodate travelling runner or two.
  • I'll be at oakley 20 that day.
  • Having had a closer look - I think I will probably do the Cranleigh 21 - as it's only £6 and there's an option to drop out at 15 miles if things aren't right - safe in the knowledge that I still have another week to get a 20 mile run in. The event thread gives positive feedback & it's only about an hours drive away for me.

    I'm just off to go and buy my running shoes. It will be the first time I've had it done properly, instead of picking a pair that look nice.
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