Ask the Coach: Conquering the 4-hour marathon and midlife strength training

Hi Mike, the 4-hour mark feels like both a mental and physical barrier. What strategies do you recommend for overcoming that mental hurdle? Also, how crucial is strength and conditioning for a midlife runner like me, and which specific exercises would have the most impact?

Janette

Running coach answer: Conquering the 4-hour marathon and midlife strength training.

There are a few questions in here. 

Confidence and positivity are important in running. The first strategy I use with runners is to ask them if they can run a mile in 9 minutes. If the target is a 4-hour marathon, the answer will be ‘yes’. So, I can explain that you don’t have to run any faster than that, you are essentially learning to run at that pace for longer – if you can, the result will be a sub-4. 

A phrase that is used a lot now is ‘building resilience’. For me, that is developing the ability to maintain the target race pace for longer, particularly as you start to get tired. This can be done by practising the race pace tempo in some of your runs and by doing it in ‘progressive pace’ long runs. 

The progressive pace long run strategy is, in the last 3 or 4 long runs before the marathon, start at a comfortable steady pace, and gradually build up the pace so that you run the last 25% of the run at your predicted ‘marathon pace’.

Getting used to running at your race pace at the end of the run, when you are fatiguing, which builds that resilience and develops a neuromuscular memory of finishing fast, rather than how it would feel if you started fast and finished the run slowly. That would be a poor muscle memory to take into the marathon. 

Most strategies, I believe, come from starting with the confidence that the training and fitness are there. When fatigue tries to slow you down late in the race, the neuromuscular memory developed will help you maintain your pace. You can use a whole host of mental tricks in the race, such as picking out small targets, like a drink station, or a landmark like Big Ben, on the London course, that you can focus on with the mentality that you will keep going strongly to them. Once you get there, look for another target. 

Strength training and general conditioning are good for all ages, but particularly as you start to get older. Keeping the relative strength of muscles and retaining bone density are important. Good strength also leads to improved running efficiency – while muscular strength may not aid endurance much (some say not at all, but I think it has its place even for the marathoner), it does promote good biomechanics and the maintenance of good ‘form’ as you begin to tire. 

For strength and conditioning, you don’t need much equipment – you can develop good strength from bodyweight exercises, such as press-ups, triceps dips, step-ups, bridges, etc.

However, I think some form of resistance training using weights is advisable, as your bone density and muscles respond well to the resistance. I suggest deadlifts, cleans, squats with dumbbells, and step-backs with dumbbells. See the article on strength training for runners on the CoachtheRun website. 

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