Fartlek Training
What is Fartlek Training?
Fartlek training is a widely used training method by athletes all over the world and is designed to enable the body to adapt to various speeds, conditioning the body to become faster over a longer distance. The term fartlek is derived from the Swedish term for ‘speed play’ and was developed by Swedish coach Götsa Holmer for the struggling Swedish XC teams of the 1920s who were regularly humiliated on the racecourse by ‘The Flying Finn’, Paavo Nurmi, and his entourage. Fartlek training is a form of interval training where an athlete runs continuously at varying speeds/intensities, which can be as loosely defined as ‘walk/jog/run’ all the way up to the more technical bounds of heart rate or pace zones a coach may prescribe an experienced athlete.
Why should I Fartlek train?
One of the things that makes fartlek training so attractive is its simplicity. A lot of people are drawn to the romantic side of running, the fact that all you need is a pair of trainers (not even that sometimes) and you’re off. Whilst fartlek training at its most basic can be carried out anywhere, with no watch or way to keep track of time, there will be training sessions recommended in this article that require a watch. However, if you prefer to run naked, simply choose an object or landmark on your run and change the intensity until you reach it. This could be a tree, streetlamp or building, whatever takes your fancy. If you do decide to take this approach, run 5 to 8 intervals at a pace faster than a jog, and make sure you take plenty of time to jog easily between the next one.
Now on to the more detailed fartlek sessions, the ones in which athletes incorporate into their weekly training schedule to help them improve for an upcoming race. As I previously mentioned, fartlek training is great because of its simplicity, and can be carried out on any type of terrain, because the important metric is time as opposed to distance.
Fartlek training is also great because it can be applied year-round, from cross country season through to the summer track and triathlon races. These sessions can be carried out on grass or trail over the winter to prepare for cross country courses, and the aerobic benefits along with the ability to change pace which is developed from fartlek training is perfect for cross country, where the varying terrain means a constant tempo is never kept to. Likewise, in the summer, the wider range of paces used in fartlek training can be applied in races to combat surges or launch attacks of your own, especially for track meets or Sprint/Olympic distance races.
Fartlek Training Examples
Winter : ‘Grass Session 1’
Carry out this session on either grass or trail, wearing cross country spikes are optional.
Depending on age group complete 6 x 3-minute intervals @ cross country race pace with 90 seconds float in between (U17 and younger) or 8 x 3-minutes @ cross country race pace with 90 seconds float in between (U20 and older).
Float = Best Aerobic Pace i.e., the pace you would run your long runs at, or the pace most commonly known as sub-tempo.
Summer : ‘The Michigan’
This session can be carried out on the track or on the road with a GPS watch, and is widely regarded as one of the hardest sessions to complete when executed properly. Some people choose to run this session with rest intervals, but it is most beneficial when the recovery mile rep is ran as the recovery period.
1) Run 1600m on the track at around 20-25 seconds slower than your best mile pace.
2) Run 1600m recovery interval at around 60 seconds slower than the first repetition, e.g., if you run 5.00 for the first repetition, your recovery mile should be done in 6.00.
3) Run 1200m on the track at the same pace as your first mile repetition.
4) Run 1600m recovery interval.
5) Run 800m on the track at the same pace as your first mile repetition.
6) Run 1600m recovery interval.
7) Run 400m all out, to mimic kicking at the end of a race.
This workout is not for the faint hearted, with 9.6km (6 miles) of high intensity work ran continuously, but when executed properly once or twice per training cycle is very beneficial.
The World’s Longest Single-Day Triathlon Launches – 255 Triathlon
Fartlek Training’s Hidden Use
Whilst a lot of people may regard Fartlek training as a tool only to be used by the most serious of runners, it is actually a great way to either a) get started in running or b) return to running from injury when the training paces are dictated to allow this. Many people insist that Fartlek training should only be limited to different speeds of running, but by recognizing a walking interval as an accepted level of intensity, fartlek training’s horizons are broadened.
Below is a two-week programme, entirely based on fartlek runs, with the aim of building up to a 15-minute continuous run by the end of the 14 days. It’s perfect for someone who is getting started in running, and is the exact programme I used to get back into training after I spent two months without being able to run due to injury.
- Day 1 – 6 x 1 minute run/1 minute walk
- Day 2 – 12 x 1 minute run/1 minute walk
- Day 3 – Rest
- Day 4 – 6 x 2 minutes run/1 minute walk
- Day 5 – 6 x 3 minutes run/2 minutes walk
- Day 6 – Rest
- Day 7 – 10 x 3 minutes run/1 minute walk
- Day 8 – 6 x 4 minutes run/1 minute walk
- Day 9 – Rest
- Day 10 – 5 x 6 minutes run/1 minute walk
- Day 11 – 3 x 8 minutes run/2 minutes’ walk
- Day 12 – Rest
- Day 13 – 2 x 10 minutes run/2 minutes walk
- Day 14 – 20-minute run
I hope you find a way to utilise fartlek training and have fun over the Christmas period. It’s a great way to break up a run and enjoy putting your legs through the motions. If you’re feeling really daring, or perhaps just a little guilty after Christmas dinner, why not give the Michigan a go as a Christmas present to yourself?
