Fartlek training

Say what?

Fartlek – Funny word, sounds like something my newborn does. Fartlek comes from the Swedish word for speed. Fartlek training involves varying your pace throughout your run. In other words, you integrate intense sprints into your workout, followed by a recovery run or slow jog slightly below your normal running pace.

For example, on my 4 mile run yesterday morning, every 3-4 minutes, I would increase my speed to near sprinting for 30 seconds, then slow down to just below my normal pace and slowly ramp back up to my typical training pace.

The idea here is that each time you increase your speed, you are putting stress on your cardiovascular system, which allows your system to improve its threshold. Thus, you will be increasing both speed and endurance. Give it a try sometime. It’s a nice little way to break up a monotonous run.

Yesterday’s Training:

4 miles in 29:19 (7:19/mile pace)

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