Modifying the Norwegian approach to lower mileage

Yes. Also part of his post.

I was curious about this as well. He seems to average a race every 6-7 weeks, based on what I can see. I would say that is pretty normal? I think he's done six 5ks in the past year. The rest 10k( X2), a HM or 10 miler. I race more than that and I'm in my late 50s. I don't think you can race yourself into shape really unless it's every other week or every third week, in my experience.

So, for a solid four months straight, I stuck to this training routine gearing up for a half marathon. Then, in the fifth month, I tweaked it a bit to prep for a full-on marathon. Like I mentioned earlier, I simplified things while keeping the core structure intact:

Monday: Easy jog for 8-11 km
Tuesday: Did 10 x 3min intervals, cruising at a pace between 10 km and half marathon pace
Wednesday: Another chill run, 8-11 km
Thursday: Hammered out 5 x 6min intervals at a half marathon pace
Friday: Took it easy again with 8-11 km
Saturday: 3 x 10min intervals, just a tad slower than half marathon pace
Sunday: 75-95 minutes long, a bit quicker than usual but still cruising in Zone 2.

For intervals days I had 3km warm up and only 1km chill down. Rest between intervals 60-90 sec.

Come February, I was all set for a half marathon, aiming for at least 1:18:xx. But man, did things go south after the halfway mark. Looking back at the data, it was clear I wasn't in top form that day. My heart rate was way too high from the get-go compared to my training days from a week ago, and I used chest strap for precise readings. Hit a 3:43 pace at the halfway mark, but the second half turned into a survival mode slog, finishing in 1:21.

After that disappointing half, I had a mere four weeks to gear up for a full-blown marathon in Rome. I decided to tweak the plan by easing up on the Saturday run and stretching out the long run to over 30 km, keeping it slightly below marathon effort for 15-20 km of it.

This was my third crack at a marathon, with my last one clocking in at 2:58:45 about a year and a half ago. My heart rate in those previous marathons averaged 162 bpm, so this time, I capped it at 160 bpm until the 30 km mark.

Crossed the finish line in 2:54:09, and boy, did I still have some gas left in the tank. Last 700 meters, I was flying at a 3:29 pace. And get this, all of this was done with just three long runs - 30 km, 35 km, and 32 km.

So, yeah, turns out this method isn't just good for up to half marathons - it works pretty well for the full marathons too. I was smashed after my first 2 marathons, but this one went butter smooth. I had no idea marathon could be that easy on the body. I was back at full training mode on Tuesday.

My advice? Stick to the base training, like I did for the first four months, then maybe start prepping specifically for the marathon about a month earlier than I did to get in more long runs. But hey, I was dead set on smashing that half marathon PR just two weeks before the full marathon, so there you go!

I got my next attempt at setting new half marathon PR in 3 weeks. I hope that it won't be too warm, since I am pretty temperature sensitive

Well you can build up your sharpness through racing. There’s a notion that the SirPOC results are crazy because he never runs faster than 15K pace (or whatever it is). While not ideal for sharpening and why in racing season Jakob and others do more specific sessions, he obviously gains some more race-specific work from racing itself. For myself, going to do some hills and a couple speed sessions. But that’s also because I’ll be racing the mile too. But I don’t think in the 5K those sessions will make a huge difference, though they will make some. The fitness from consistent threshold will be more important.

I don't care if Oregon starts churning out results or stays dogsh!t, as others have said Jerry is laughably bad for the sport. The reclusive coaching genius shtick needs to die and athletes should race, simple as.

I thought I was posting in the Jerry should be fired thread -.-

Makes sense about using time, rather than pace, going forward. As you get faster, 5×6min at HMP will get faster but it sounds like you want it to feel the same :)

Right now on 3.24.24 my HMP is around 7:35 but by doing the training by feel and consistently in a few months (June, before starting a full marathon block?) it could be faster.

That might be a good idea if you’ve had any difficulty recovering from any runs.

This thread just needs to go away. Hopefully there isn't too many people who have fallen into the trap of trying this load of crap. I see some of the example weeks some people out up and wince at the absolute horribleness of it.

Smashed my college PRs after ten months of this training (now 14:19 5k, 29:46 10k). Seems to work fine for me and other hobby joggers – times dropped so much quicker than they did when I did four years of race pace intervals.

Does anyone know how old sirpoc is? That makes a big difference I think to how good sub 16 is. Big difference being say 25 or 40. I gathered not college guy but not sure age. Sorry if covered.

One other situation, maybe covered but is really no race preparation phase? I find hard to understand this and leave some money on table.

Race prep phase for a 5k parkrun? Is this a serious question?

He is 39 or 40

Good job. Works for you.

And so is a 13:31 (quality stuff, race pace, quite low mileage guy from the club in the next town in my area) or a solid sub 17 at age 50 on just three quality runs per week with some moderate crosstraining added.

Kenny B did brutal intervalls year around at 3k-5k pace. Also his marathon training includes short and fast sessions.

People are different.

I am curious to try this but will probably race 5k-HM. With a 5k PR of 21ish min so am on the slower side so am curious if anyone has tried this. I currently run 20-25 mpw and I think this schedule would put me near 30 mpw

i have to do the workouts by time, here is what i am thinking

mon off

tues 5 x 6 min @ marathon pace

wed 30-35 min easy

thu 10 x 3 min @ threshold pace

fri 30-35 easy

sat 2 x 10 x 30s hills in morning, weights afternoon

sun 70-90 min easy long

Any reason you aren't trying to get your mileage to 50mpw+ before trying intervals?

Perhaps read the thread again or at least the start of it.

None of those workouts are what are suggested.

Am around the same speed, even slower. I'm seeing why going a little slower on these will help, in terms of repeatability. I know it is obvious but until you slow down and realize it....

Did 7x5 min sub-thresholds today (7:50-7:55) and felt great. 1m jogs between, 9:30-9:40. Didn't overdo it. Have read tons in the last few days about how people who do these too fast early on get overcooked 2-3 weeks in.

Overall, did 8 total (including w/u and c/d) in 69:xx (1 up, then the threshold, then 2-ish down). But the best part was my HR was 147! And it was quite warm, near 70'F in Ohio.

You’re right - I just read the first spoc post. I pretty much just copied the standard Norwegian schedule and removed the doubles