Running 101: Fartleks, Tempos and Other Forms of Torture
October 16th, 2006
Have you ever heard the phrase “variety is the spice of life”? This saying is also true to running. Adding speed work to your regular running schedule will not only increases your speed, it will put a little something different in to the same old routine you’ve followed out of habit or convenience.
Fartlek
No, it is not an obscene word, but people - at least non-runners - may look at you funny if you were to say it really loud in public. Fartlek comes from the Swedish word for “speed play” – also known as interval training. Stripped down to its basic definition, a fartlek is a workout of varying intensity. The runner adds measured bursts of an increased cadence to an otherwise even paced run. Each period of high intensity is followed by periods of recovery. If you are new to this, start off your training by only one fartlek workout per week added to your regular running schedule. See the following workouts as examples:
Basic 5k Training Fartlek
(35 - 50 minutes)
- Warm up - 10 minutes easy run
- Run hard (80%) for 3 minutes with 1 minute jog recovery - repeat 5 -10 times
- Warm down - 10 minute easy run
Basic Hill Fartlek
(30 minutes)
Depending on the size and grade of the hill, you may want to adjust your hard/recovery run times. The hill I run is about 1 mile long and about 6% grade. I will give directions based on a similar situation.
- Warm up – 10 minutes easy run
- Run hard (80%) for 2 minutes with 1 minute jog recovery downhill – repeat 5 times
- Warm down – 10 minute easy run
You can probably see a pattern developing. Warm up, run hard, recover, repeat, and warm down. You can custom tailor a workout that best meets your needs and time constraints. Once you feel comfortable with the basic workouts listed above, you can do three things: increase the number of repeats, decrease the recovery time or you could increase the high intensity time.
Tempo Runs
A tempo run is a workout done at or slightly below race pace. Never raced before? Try running at a slightly uncomfortable but sustainable pace for 20-30 minutes. I have an odd little mantra I think to myself during temp runs: “faster than I wanna go”. That accurately describes the feeling of a tempo. It is not so uncomfortable that you’ll have to stop and catch your breath; yet, if you start to feel too comfortable, you need to speed up. You could also try running with a friend who is a bit faster than you are – you’ll find yourself out of your comfort zone with the benefit of ‘trying to keep up’ with your friend.
I know all of this does not sound like fun, but the benefits of increased speed, fitness, even weight loss are worth the discomfort. Besides, the experience can’t be that bad if you’re outside getting some fresh air, enjoying that feeling of freedom and being alive!