Modifying the Norwegian approach to lower mileage

To be fair, from the beginning it maybe was not a method for people jogging that slow? I would never suggest this approach for a guy slower than 45 min for 10k (50 for a woman). There is so much easy gains in the beginning with just go out and run. Run som more. Run progressive tempos and so on.

It started of as a thing for ambitious hobbyjoggers that maybe was stuck and been struggling for years.

Why? I guess he does not plan to stay at 39 min in the future?

The total mileage is more a function of the fact that I just like to get out and move for about an hour a day then something I've tied to my performance. If is too much running for some for my results, so be it. Unless there's an argument that it's a net negative to do that much easy running compared to my current race paces, I'm content to keep it as I enjoy the time spent and feel good.

And yes, as a slowpoke it would be nice to be faster and that's generally the plan since I started mid-2023 (beyond just stay on my feet). There's a nagging feeling that I'm in better shape than I've raced, but the results are what they are I suppose.

WashedAF, thanks for the encouragement. Garmin actually estimates my 5k at about 18:30 right now and I feel like that's miles away from my performance, but I'm up to give it another few goes before changing anything radically. I read the recent posts about some people revisiting the 400 reps and having some success with them if they can find the right balance with recovery.

Male 38, running for 6 years and terrible. Best is a 46 minute 10 k previously. Very modest, but you have to remember that is still around the middle of the pack in a generic 10k. Ran by just running, tempos, coaching books, just about anything and always around the same time over 5-10k. Some structure, sometimes not.

Started this method in October '24. Recently ran a 39:30. By running standards, still a slowpoke. But, much less of a slowpoke than I was. So, give some love for us talentless guys who even when it's not registering on anyone's radar, we have still improved as regular runners, but training like this.

Ps can't wait for the book, thanks for the update sirpoc.

I'm not saying to do it indefinitely, I say do it for a few weeks, see if that feels OK, then add a second sub T if that's the case. Also the active total duration of sub T can be manipulated. For instance, I did 4x4 quite some time before turning this session into 5x4. The idea is to ease into your new training method, not to jump directly into it. People who can jump directly into it are people already running 6-7 days a week with 60k volume, and have been doing so for several mounths or years.

hehe, fair enough. ofc there is a long range of running capability. But I class myself as untalanted. I took my 2 months from starting to go under 45 min for 10k. But then i played soccer everyday until i was 20. So maybe that was only my youth training.

I just dont see the point going out for easy jogs at 8 or 9 min/km. Thats almost powerwalking. However, I wish i had the NSA thing when it started to feel hard to improve att around 41 min for a 10 k for me. I have wasted a lot of time on small injuries, ultrarunning and other nonsense=)

I ran for 4-5 months building on this method. Also slow. Ran a lot of my runs at 7:30-8:30/km which was painfully slow, but in time I finally improved. This was truly easy pace, so I could recover from workouts. Previously all my easy running at been at 5:50-6:10/km with one tempo and one vo2 session a week. I never improved like that, but jumping into NSM after 5 months I massively improved. Now almost a year on, I'm so much faster I can run around 5:30/km easy pace. I always smile when I hear people say "I cannot run that easy" when I spent 5 months having anyone with a heartbeat run past me.

If course in slow in comparison to most serious runners. But, I think so not be concerned with how slow you go with this method. You have to check your ego at door.

Gonna hoard 50 first edition sirpoc books when they drop. This will be like purchasing a 1st edition Harry Potter or iPhone 1.

Expect great things!

That is a huge improvement in easy pace. What sort of weekly mileage?

I know it has probably been discussed a number of times, but I wanted to know the consensus about working a sub-t session into my long runs.

Currently, I am doing sub-t sessions Monday, Wednesday and Friday with easy runs between and a long run on Sunday. I am thinking I would like to move the sub-t days to Wednesday and Friday with a sub-t session incorporated into my Sunday long run (3km intervals).

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Sirpoc posting the front cover on Strava. Looks slick and professional. "Norwegian Singles Method" but with it crossed out on cover, strike through. Very clever.

Looks like a foreword from Marius Bakken.

Ok I'm hyped. Can't wait to add this for my running book collection!

Damn. Bakken foreword, god damn. This is no joke. You have to give it to sirpoc, he doesn't do things by halves. Shouldn't really doubt the guy at this point. Genuinely looks good. Maybe or hopefully we can get a look inside , genuinely excited for this!

It's probably trash. Like this thread.

Yeah I'm sure Marius Bakken, one of the most respected and influential people in recent running history, decided to write a foreword to a piece of trash. Get real.

Beat me to it. Hilarious to think even the trolls might think Bakken just randomly writes a foreword to garbage.

Give us the sirpoc and Bakken podcast please.

NGL, the whole Bakken foreword is kinda shocking to me. I grossly underestimated the influence and importance of this thread. Chapeau to sirpoc, credit where its due, Cover alone looks good, clever title with the strike-thru to leave the naming open and you can only imagine at this point it'd going to be better than just decent.

We’re getting a book. Begging for a podcast is like asking Raphael for a finger painting

It's wild really, sirpoc posts for reasons that have never been really fully explained and we hit this point a matter of about 2.5 years later and we have a book going to market. I think in the middle, someone suggested a book and a few people pushed it and he said no. Then, peer pressure, and here we are.

I wonder who jma is and what would have happened if he never posted. I know I would be worse at running still, having improved massively thanks to this thread.

To be honest, I just assumed this would be a little put together pdf. I don't think I was ready for this to be done properly.