Fartlek Running Workouts

 
 

Fartleks are great because…

  • You don’t need to have a marked path or track, so you can do them anywhere

  • It’s all based on effort, so if it’s windy, hilly, hot, or if you’re feeling tired, just go however fast “hard” feels on the day

  • These are great workouts to get back into shape because they take the self-judgement out of hitting particular paces

What is a fartlek anyway?

A fartlek is a continuous run in which you have segments of faster, harder running mixed in with segments of slower, easier running. It literally means “speed play” in Swedish, so don’t forget to have some FUN with FARTLEK!

The basics

“Hard” is relative. So is “easy.” Listen to your body and try to be consistent. So don’t do your first couple of hard segments so fast that you can’t recover during the easy segments and you can’t replicate the hard pace later in the workout. On the opposite end of the spectrum, don’t go so easy that you end up going way harder at the end of the workout. The tricky part is finding the sweet spot where you are pushing yourself, but can sustain.

example workouts

Fartlek #1

Sets of : 3 min hard, 1 min easy, 2 min hard, 1 min easy, 1 min hard, 1 min easy

Try 2 sets to begin with, work your way up to 3 or 4 (you can take 2 extra minutes jog/walk between sets if needed)

Fartlek #2

Sets of: 90 sec hard, 45 sec easy

Try 6-10 sets continuously (no extra rest between sets)

Fartlek #3

Sets of: 4 min hard, 1 min easy

Try 6 sets with a 3 minute jog/walk break after 3 sets

Fartlek #4

3 set of 3 min hard, 1 min easy

3 sets of 2 min hard, 1 min easy

3 sets of 1 min hard 1 min easy

Try not to take any extra rest between sets, go continuously

What do you think?

Fartleks can be seen as an introductory to speed workout or a workout to get you in shape for race-pace workouts, but don’t get me wrong… fartleks are HARD! You will probably have the urge to stop and walk, but try to fight that and keep the “easy” part as a jog. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you can’t figure out the paces right away.

Remember: “speed play”

As long as you’re playing with speeds, you’re doing it right.

Have fun and drop me a line to let me know what you think if you try any of the workouts I suggested!