What is the best training schedule to run a marathon in 4hours?

Question

I'm going on my 3rd marathon, I run 3 to 4 times a week, about 6 miles. I usually do 10k's twice a month. I'm running the Bank Of America Chicago Marathon in October.

Answer 1

eat stuff and run places

Answer 2

Your schedule sounds good, but you need to get some long runs in!  By that, I mean you need to run 4+ hours so that your body gets used to running longer distances--that's what will give you the endurance and strength to get to the four hour mark.  You don't necessarily have to run the whole 26 miles, but you should be up in the 15-20 range so your body gets some practice.  

Because October's a long way away, you could work up to these runs.  The 10k's are great, but won't be enough.  I would say about once a month do a good long run like I mentioned.  Maybe do the same route each time and try to pace yourself faster each time.  Or you could work on doing 9 min miles or whatever your target is for the actual marathon.  The more accustomed your body becomes to running that far, the faster you'll be able to do it.

I'd also throw in some tempo runs (runs at about 80% of your race pace) to get some speed in there.  10K races would also work for those.  You need to remind your legs what it feels like to go quickly.  With a proper mix of distance, longer speed work like tempos, and maintenance runs, you'll be down to four hours no problem.  Good luck!