Feel like an imposter on here as a two-week graduate, but after a few post C25K runs, hitting my first 5k, but still sleeping badly and being somewhat work-stressed, I very definitely needed to find a reason to get up and out today before work - and the heat - hit.
Hence I "discovered" my first Fartlek. My Danish wife thinks Coach B on NRC is totally having me on with this "Swedish" word, but I've long known the Danish word for speed, so it could be that she's the one who's tricking me...
After 33 minutes and 5k last time out a 17 minute "play" with only 10 minute running seemed both a cop out and a actual way to get out of bed, run, AND have enough energy left to format half a play today.
The walk was pleasant with Coach B's amiable company. I wasn't absolutely bang on (to say the least) with easy, faster, and slightly faster running, but mixing the paces was interesting and today's fastest pace, though slower than my 61-year-old "sprint" was plenty fast enough to make a ten minute run seem longer whilst accelerating my heart rate nicely.
The pacing messed with my head a bit, but this is certainly something to try over and over - and a great way to run without thinking about distances. It was actually fun.
I'm sure there must be more Fartleks on NRC (?) - does anyone know if there's any Jeffing on the app? Because that could be another thing for me to dip into...
Happy running!
Written by
Gthants
60minGraduate
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The pacing is difficult and certainly not an exact science! The NRC app has a number of interval guided runs, not necessarily labelled as Fartleks. I think I did one recently called Triple 7s. I usually cheat a bit by conserving my energy for my mile pace and then going for it, knowing that I could never keep up that pace for a mile 🤣 It’s a good workout though and it’s so good to mix up your runs.
I’m not sure that there are any runs labelled as Jeffing on the NRC app. I did some research and just started playing with ratios. The idea is that you walk BEFORE you get exhausted and have to slow down! I set up workouts on my watch so that it vibrated when I needed to change from running to walking. I ended up with 30/30 - 30 seconds running, 30 seconds walking. You ‘glide’ from walking to running. It takes a bit of practice and that ratio may not be a good one to start with.
Yes, definitely. I did get some good results with Jeffing. Smashed a 5K PB on a 30/30 Jeff. But I ultimately decided that it has a place in my training schedule but not something I wanted to do all the time. I much prefer a slow paced long run or a varied interval run. It’s worth looking into thought to see what you can do with it. It’s also useful when coming back to running after illness or injury.
But what I generally do is set Runkeeper to give me the jeffing intervals, and then run a recovery (continuous) audio guided run in NRC. That works for me.
I've continued my day with exercising, shopping and cooking and am now working. I can feel I have run, but, though I'm (lack of sleep) tired, I have the first mini runner's high that I've had for weeks. My long Covid will almost certainly ensure I'll crash later, but as of now I am gently buzzy; a nice feeling!
Absolutely not an imposter but I totally get that feeling. I still feel a bit like that posting over on Marathon and Race Support even though it’s really lovely and inclusive over there! Keep posting and hopefully it’ll pass.
Great run! Those fartleks are fun. One annoying thing about Nike Run Club runs is they don’t have a five minute walk at the start so I usually start the podcast after I’ve done that. The speed runs all have a gentle jog at the beginning. I’m not out of the toxic ten at that point so I usually do longer. That really helps with making sure I’m ready to start the harder effort!
After 33 minutes and 5k last time out a 17 minute "play" with only 10 minute running seemed both a cop out and an actual way to get out of bed, run, AND have enough energy left to format half a play today.
I wonder if you might have misunderstood the directions-it’s supposed to be a seven minute gentle jog to get you ready for the harder ten minute fartlek run? That’s probably worth bearing in mind for next time. The other thing that’s worth remembering is that speedier runs are harder effort so they’re in no way a cop out! The one I had planned for this morning was only 6min45 of running, plus a five minute warm up jog. That would have been intervals running up a hill and much a harder run than a steady 5k.
The pacier runs are great for putting you in a great mood for the rest of the day. Sounds like you had a brilliant time with this one and you’ll be in a great position to enjoy your next one too!
I don’t think I’ve seen any jeffing runs on NRC but you could certainly jeff any of the continuous runs. There are lots of fans of jeffing here who can give you some great advice. I can see you’ve got some tips already!
I could well have misunderstood. It certainly seemed as though it was a 7 minute walk to begin with. I had done some stretching and then walked ... though admittedly my walking pace is pretty fast anyway. Whatever, it worked for me and my battery is now totally flat, so an extra 7 minute's run would have had me in bed today! 🤣
It sounds like missing that 7 minute gentle run was a happy accident that really worked for you today! I’d generally make sure to do it too though, even if that means cutting the fartlek itself a bit short. All the guides to how to do fartleks I’ve seen have had warm up easy runs at the beginning to cut your risk of getting an injury.
I had problems with post viral fatigue a few years ago and I well know that horrible feeling of exhaustion. I used to manage by pacing so on good days, I’d do less than I felt able to which helped avoid a massive crash the next day. Super frustrating but that was better than yo-yoing from great to awful and back again. It improved over time and now I’d say I’m 99.9% recovered.
You may find you’re best stopping some speed runs before the full speedy part has finished, especially if you try some interval runs. For those, you really, really do need to do the warm up gentle run first or the first few will be absolutely horrible. You can always knock down your effort so if the coach is asking for a 9/10, you do a 6/10. See what works for you.
You’ve done absolutely brilliantly to get to where you are with your long covid. Don’t lose sight of how far you’ve come. Hope you’ve had a restful rest of the day ❤️
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Nice run, naughty finish ;) 
Reasons vs Excuses 😓
It started with a run 😀
