One-Hour Workout: Fartlek Run Fun
Learning to mix up run speed and intensity within a workout isn’t just good for your fitness, it’s great for keeping you mentally fresh and motivated, too.
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
This fartlek run session shouldn’t be too taxing on your legs – the longest intervals are three minutes – but will certainly help boost leg speed and turnover.
Begin with a smooth 15-20 minute warm-up, starting with a very relaxed and easy pace. Let your heart rate and breathing rate increase gently, and begin thinking about your form and how your body feels. Increase the pace and effort every 5 minutes or so throughout the warm-up, until such time that you feel ready to open it up.
When it comes time to hit the pyramid, up the intensity/effort to 8/10 RPE (rate of perceived exertion) and, as you get into the meat of the main set, feel free to drive it higher than that if all feels good. Aim to stay consistent with the pace, though, so that the 3 minutes on is a similar speed to the 1 minute on.
Keep your turnover fast and light, and certainly don’t force it. This should be a form-focused session as much as a speed workout. It’s best to think of this run as changing through all of your gears, learning to go from a slow jog to a solid tempo pace, and then bringing it back down.
Be sure to take 1-minute slow jog recovery between each interval.
Warm-up
15-20 minutes gentle build
Main Set: Fartlek Run
Follow this pyramid, always taking 1-minute slow jog recovery between each interval:
1 minute on;
1 minute off;
1 minute on;
1 minute off;
2 minutes on;
1 minute off;
2 minutes on;
1 minute off;
3 minutes on;
1 minute off;
3 minutes on;
1 minute off;
2 minutes on;
1 minute off;
2 minutes on;
1 minute off;
1 minute on;
1 minute off;
1 minute on;
1 minute off.
Cool-down
10 minutes easy and relaxed