Fartlek Training = Unstructured Intervals

By Peter Butler, Forerunners Owner and 2:10:56 marathoner

A great workout that can improve speed and endurance is “Fartlek” a Swedish word meaning “speed-play”.

The workout involves periods of fast running, or periods of running at or above your race pace, coupled with periods of recovery. Fartlek is a random and unstructured form of Interval Training.

Why do we need speed workouts as part of our training regimen? Simply put, speed work improves the efficiency of the heart and lungs and prepares the muscles for additional work. Speed training prepares the body how to run “anaerobically” – efficient use of the muscles when there is not enough oxygen in the blood stream.

To run faster, and ultimately to race faster, an athlete may be required to push beyond their comfortable or “aerobic” capacity for short periods of time. Through random increments of faster running, the body is able to physically prepare for the anaerobic running come race day. Mentally, the mind is being trained to deal with the discomfort of pushing the body above what is comfortable. Fartlek being quite unstructured prepares for the unexpected. It also has the advantage over pure structured Interval Training to be less boring.

A Fartlek workout is just one example of speed work. Speed work should be done once or twice a week to ensure peak performance for race day. Distances for each Fartlek “interval” typically vary from 200 meters to 1600 meters for most runners. “Just as your endurance can be steadily increased, your top speed can as well. Through regular interval training your body will learn to adapt to higher speeds and you’ll realize a gradual reduction in your finishing times,” says former 2:10:56 marathoner Peter Butler, founder of Forerunners.