Fartlek anyone?

Writes Aidan:

"Fartlek training (Fartlek means 'speed play in Swedish') is a great way of improving speed and performance and is particularly useful if your short on time but need to get a good training session in. Fartlek is all about mixing it up and introducing variation in speed and intensity in to your running routine. Pick an object in the distance and run towards it as though your pants were on fire.

"How fast and how far you run is up to you. Following bursts of speed with recovery jogs. The amount of time allotted for recovery is up to you as well. Catch your breath, let your heart rate slow down, and jog the jelly feeling out of your legs. Then take off for another 30-second burst.

"It also helps you understand your body. You don't want to push so hard you injure yourself, yet you need to rise to the challenge of pressing past the point where you want to quit. For this reason, Fartlek sessions are great for developing self-awareness of what you're capable of as a runner.


"Here is a log of a Fartlek session, The good thing with the Suunto Training Manager software is that after you have finished, you can download your heart-beat and distances and see how hard you actually worked. The top graph is heart beat, the bottom line measures the 'Training Effect'."


Tip: Use the Foot POD to measure speed and distance, and click here to learn how to pair it with a t6c.