Fartlek Running

Fartlek running

Fartlek running can be structed or completely random. The fartlek session is running with added surges, once you have completed the surge, your aim is to return to the previous pace you were just running at.

Such training can be excellent in races, imagine for example you are racing besides someone and you are able to suddenly increase the pace for a set period and then drop back to the pace you were just at.
After a few surges, your opponent will feel the pressure and let up, giving you control of the race.

A popular fartlek session in Australia is the mona fartlek which involves – 90seconds x2, 60seconds x4, 30seconds x4 and 15seconds x4. This session equals 20 minutes. So after warm up/down you are looking at covering up to 40 minutes of training!

You can also pick landmarks, sprint between telegraph poles or streets, the choice is completely up to you.

Some further examples-

#90seconds x10 with 90seconds recovery totaling 30 minutes.

#1minute on/off, 2minutes on/off, 3minutes on/off 4minutes on/off, 3min/on/off, 2minutes on/off, 1minute on/off totaling 32minutes.

Also you can try to remember how much distance you travelled, then try to beat that doing the same session next time. For example, the mona fartlek people try reach 5km or if your much more experienced, 5.5km+.

You can vary it however you choose, the important part is aim to be running at a decent pace for your off and then surge on top of that for the surges.

Fartlek sessions being high intensity should only be done once fortnightly to maintain the session quality. A massage the following 1 or 2 days will help your body recover quicker which will get you those big PB’s sooner!

Reach your Full Running Potential

With the success of parkrun in Mildura, Id like to give a few tips to assist you with reaching your full potential. Mixing up some of your training runs to work towards getting your personal goals is easy and can be a really fun journey. Whether your goal is to break 40 minutes or 20 minutes a few simple tips can help get you there.

Increasing weekly volume without causing injury- The main priority is to increase training load while avoiding injury. A general rule is no more than 10% weekly increase per month. So if you’re training 20km/week, every 4 weeks increase roughly 10%. This becomes very important when people are covering 100+km weekly. Another option is 3 week cycles. Being 2 weeks of hard training followed by 1 week of rest and recovery. Consistent running will equal those big rewards!

Thershold run- Thershold running is maintaining a uncomfortable pace for a set period of time or distance.

Speed work- Working on overall speed so you can hit at and above the pace you wanna run to break your pbs. Such session might include- 3x1km reps at current 5km pace. 5x200m sprints at your upper limit.

The Long run- once every week you should be aiming to include a long run. The important part here is its easy running! You don’t wanna go breaking your body covering the long run. Everyones long run will be different, some might be 30 minutes at 6min/km pace and others might be 2.5 hours at 4:30min/km pace.

Rest and maintaining yourself. Rest days are the most important part of your training! Also remember to get those massages/myotherapy to assist your body with recovery. Keeping on top of your well being is the most important part to being able to train consistently.