7 Tips for Running Tip # 5 (Fartlek)

Once you have developed your aerobic engine, you can aim to improve your economy, strength endurance and speed by incorporating a few quality workouts into your training. A change in training adds renewed focus, but training for a road race ( or IM/70.3) is very different and there are many added stresses, so be careful of going too fast, too soon.

There is no real need to try and become the next Haile Gebrsellasie or Raynard Tissink, but taking yourself out of your comfort zone will improve your running tremendously. At this stage I would like to emphasise the need for a ‘vision’ of what it is you are aiming for (Bill Hybels defines vision as “A picture of the future that inspires passion”), because you need to be really passionate to want to transform yourself, as moving out of your comfort zone requires determination and perseverance, as it can get tough at times. Hence, it’s best to try and do this with a couple of like-minded friends so you can motivate each other.

Training with Kyle Buckingham and Jamie in Kona, Hawaii

The Swedish word, ‘Fartlek’, meaning playing with speed, is perhaps the safest way for runners or IM athletes to improve their economy and speed, as it eliminates clock watching and racing in training.

‘Fartlek’ can be adapted and incorporated into many sessions, but here are a few suggestions;

• Speed Endurance: Instead of running your regular 60min loop at a steady state,  break it up into 5 sets of 6min steady and 4 min easy, where the steady portion is faster than that of your normal steady state run and the easy portion (keep running but not a super slow jog) ensures you recover before the next interval.  (10 minutes warm up)
• Speed Work: Go to a golf course (or similar) and have fun playing with speed, running ‘hard’ to the green, jogging to a tree, before pressing on to the next target. You may build up to 10 intervals of 60-90 seconds (with similar recovery), but don’t start off too fast, progressively build up your speed. Also watch your footing! (remember the warm up)
• Hill Work: Another great ‘fartlek’ type session is doing pyramids with the lamp-poles on a gradual hill and you will find that counting the poles takes some of the pain away. You might do a session of 4/8/12/8/4, alternatively 10 by 10, where you work hard for a specified number of poles followed by a jog down for recovery. (remember the warm up).

Progression: Remember the goal of training is to prepare and to condition athletes physically & mentally to execute a projected goal pace in their targeted race. The body has amazing adaptability, so start off with a few & start off within yourself and build upon that and you will be surprised at how well you progress. The key with running is not to try and force it!

The aim is to have a bit of fun, while the focus is on getting out of your comfort zone, but don’t overdo it, as 1 or 2 killer sessions could lead to injury, or illness, so err on the side of caution and aim for gradual improvement. Utilize the principle of progression during your preparation. You may think it’s too tough to train hills, but if you start with one and add one extra hill a week, within 2 months you will have progressed to 8 hills and probably not noticed it. (Progession)

I view training for a Marathon or Iron Man like a Jigsaw puzzle. Keep your eye on the vision or goal (the picture on the box) and gradually build the pieces. As fun as it is working on the intricate pieces (above), don’t forget what I call the blue sky days, which for many are monotonous and time consuming. Those are the foundation blocks and you cannot build a good jigsaw puzzle without them and you certainly cannot produce a good 21km or marathon without them. And just like building a house, you do need the foundation (base work) to be laid first, otherwise something will give.

One final tip, remember a good week or month’s training is the sum of many parts, so be careful of trying to smash one particular session!

A good warm up is vital