Health knowledge made personal
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I am in Denver conducting a training for DPS today. I got to my hotel yesterday and ran an easy 3.0 miles because if I don't run, I don't sleep at night. I followed up with a great TRX workout after I put the finishing touches on my presentation. As I was going through my Powerpoint slides, I started thinking about Fartleks. If you aren't using them now, you need to start. They are a very easy way to get some speedwork jimmied into your workout schedule.
 An Explanation "Fartlek" is Swedish for "Speed Play" or something like that. I have also heard people I trust translate it into "Speed Work", but it really makes no difference. It differs from the other types of speed work in its basic design. In track workouts or even your tempo runs, the pace should be pretty similar. In a fartlek, you vary the pace to put stress on both your aerobic and anaerobic engines and improves your ability to accelerate quickly during a race, either to put the hurt on someone else or to push your pace up a hill. How to Do It These are very simple workouts. I would suggest if you have a 3.0 or 4.0 mile run, start out and run the first mile easy, taking time to make sure your body is really warmed-up. Pick up your pace to your 1/2 marathon pace and cover the next 0.5 miles at that pace. Your heart rate should be pretty stable by this point. Now I want you to start picking out landmarks that are about 20 yards ahead of you and literally accelerate until you are under your 5K pace. Once you pass the landmark, slow back down and run steady at a comfortable pace until your heart rate comes back down. If you want to push it, only give yourself about 2 minutes to recover. Get that time down to 1 minute over time. Repeat that process over and over again until you have about a mile left in your workout. Spend the last mile running at your marathon pace and let your body wind down. Especially after this workout, make sure you stretch and get your hamstrings opened up. This step will help you maintain your stride even after this tough workout. Structured Fartleks There are several types of fartleks that provide us OCD types with the structure that we crave. Here are my favorites: Watson Fartlek Spend a mile warming up and the speed up to :15 seconds faster than your 5K pace for 4 minutes. Spend one minute recovering and bringing your heart rate down. I like to repeat this workout anywhere from four to eight times. I then like to spend a mile cooling down. Hill Fartlek Spend a mile warming up. Find yourself a hilly course that is set up with rollers that is preferably about 4.0-5.0 miles long. Spend the entire hills section running the uphills hard, focusing on cresting and running through the top of the hill, and taking it easy on the downhills. Make sure you spend at least a mile cooling down. There are several other fartleks that you could use, but these are the two structured that I like to use. Which do you include in your workout schedule? |
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