8 weeks to go, is sub 4 just a dream? Opinions please.

Hi,

Im running loch ness mara on 30th sept and have been working towards it since may. Was hit by a car in march so have had to take things a little slower than would like but here I am 8 weeks to go and need your advice.

Ran 20 miles today in 3.18. Felt good at the end, legs heavy but felt like I could have kept going but am aware its too slow. This is my fourth long run, 17,17,19 and 20.

Training week looks like this.

mon- 1 hour spinning, 1 hour boxing circuits.

tue- 6 miles with intervals

wed-day off

thus- 6 -8 miles with miles 2-5 run at a faster pace

friday-spinning 40 minutes

sat 1 hour spinning, 1 hour strength training

sunday- long run with hills. 17-20 miles

What do I need to change? Is it too late to change? Help.

Drop a spinning session for an interval/speed work session and you should do it. You will be tapered and rested on day so 3:18 for a 20 in the peak mileage of training sounds fine for a sub 4. Sounds like you have the endurance base ok so some speed work in the last 8 weeks will sharpen you up. Good luck!

Add a couple of 8 miles in to the mix at easy pace and it will help your aerobic engine.

Edit did not realise you were not doing a medium long run.   Do an 8 mile and 16 mile and drop the spinning.

Thanks for the replies. I was using spinning to avoid injury after the car squashing. ( I got pinned between 2 cars) so I have tried not to run on consecutive days and to use non weight bearing exercise where possible.

Using your advice am I right then in deciding to drop a spinning session and add in another easy run of 8 miles and use tuesday and thursdays sessions as interval training? How far would you suggest/long do you suggest, I do the intervals for?

Hi, I'm running Loch Ness too and currently following Hal Higdon's 4 hour plan. I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagine but have completed 5 marathons, the fastest being 4 hours 11. It looks to me like your long run speed is fine. I think that lots of people make the mistake of running their long runs too fast and taking too much out of their body before the day. Long runs more about time on your feet than speed and according to my training plan you can go as slow as 11 min miles and still be within target. Hope that helps.