Further, faster, fartlek

Photo by RUN 4 FFWPU from Pexels

​Last Thursday, I hosted a Run For Your Life session which combined walking, jogging and running - a type of session called fartlek (Swedish for "speedplay"). I was asked by one of the participants whether this is what they should be doing during a race. Great question! Let's say you're at Parkrun and you know can't run continuously for 5 km, then it's absolutely fine to intersperse your running with the occasional walk to catch your breath. This is a great way to make longer distances achievable, particularly if you are new to running, or to that distance. However, if you know you can run the distance and want to maximise the speed overall, then you will find it best to run either at a steady pace, or run slightly faster in the second half of the race than the first. In practice, most people tend to run a bit too fast at the start, and steadily slow down during a race. This means early exhaustion, and spending most of the race tired! If you can learn to pace yourself early on in the run (which is much harder than it sounds), you will have the energy left to speed up in the second half.

So why do we often vary speed in training? Going for long, steady runs according to the distance you are training for is great, and is something that any long distance runner would want to have as the mainstay of their training programme, but there are several benefits to adding speed intervals:

• It teaches what different paces feel like, and what speeds are appropriate for different distances. 
• Running faster for your full target distance may not be realistic (yet), but running faster for a shorter distance can get you accustomed to the feeling of your legs turning over faster. This can help an experienced runner push past a plateau or a new runner build fitness towards being able to run continuously for 25-30 minutes.
• Speedplay adds interest to your training schedule.
• Running faster for short distances builds strength and power as well as endurance - improving overall fitness.
• Having a reserve of speed that you know you can draw on is useful in racing - to catch up with a runner in front, or for a sprint finish, for example.

I love the results I get from varied speed training, even if I don't always like it at the time! If you want to join me for some social runs suitable for beginners, register for Run For Your Life Cambridge and sign up for the Thursday runs in Eddington. Personally, I find speedplay much easier to achieve in a group situation, with the support of my coach and fellow runners, but if you like to run solo, here are some suggested plans to get you started:
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Runners World:
www.runnersworld.com/uk/training/motivation/a775858/4-interval-running-sessions-for-any-race-goal/
Runners Blueprint:
http://www.runnersblueprint.com/interval-running-workouts-for-speed/

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