Posted on August 26, 2015 by Jenny Cromack

Fartlek training is great for improving your 5k time, but what is Fartlek training? 

Fartlek is the Scandinavian word for ‘speed play’, it is a technique used improve speed and pace by adding small bursts of faster running but at varied paces into your normal run.

How does Fartlek work

A lot of runners get stuck in a rut and struggle to increase their pace, Fartlek is ideal as it will help you understand and trial the variety of paces you have, You can be structured and plan your speeds or you can be spontaneous and just inject varying speeds and paces into your runs throughout the distance.

Here are some Fartlek protocols-

3 min, 2 min, 1 min

If you want to prove to yourself that you do have more than one pace then give this mixed pace session a go.
Ensure you are warmed up by running for 10-15 minutes at an easy intensity.

Run the 3 minute block at your half marathon race effort, run the 2 minute block faster at 10k race effort then the 1 minute at 5k race effort.

Recover with a steady 1 min run between each interval.

Repeat each interval 2 to 4 times dependent on your experience.

Your aim is to run a 45 minute run including between 6 to 10 fast pace intervals depending upon experience.

Vary your terrain
Complete your fartlek sessions on different terrians such as hilly, undulating and off road route in order to maximise strength, your conditioning and reduce the impact of running on tarmac or treadmill. This will make you a lot faster when you come back to road running! Try sprinting uphill, running at 75% effort on the flat and ‘coasting’ on your downhills to add some variety

Training with a friend

Warm up with an easy jog, then one person choose the speed and distance for the first interval for example they may choose to run at 85% effort for the next 6 lampposts, jog until you have recovered. Then the other person chooses the next ‘hard’ interval, so they may choose to sprint 100% effort for 20 seconds.

Fartlek sessions with friends are a great way of keeping each other motivated during an interval session!

Fartlek really doesn’t need to be complicated and can be successfully achieved if you stick to these golden Fartlek rules:

• Keep the recoveries as easy jogging rather than walking
• Ensure you vary your paces and challenge different energy systems.
• Don’t keep each block the same length – variety of duration is key
• Push yourself