Fartlek

[runswithdogs]

Just got back from my morning run. I was in a rush and forgot breakfast which is a big no-go for me. So I decided to do a shorter 20 minute run but to try fartlek-ing. And on boy was that fun! It's really great to pick up the pace every once in awhile, and I haven't sprinted like that since grade school. I think I'll do these more often. My fast bits were very short, only a couple of light posts apart. Maybe I'll add a few longer ones next time.

If anyone had been considering running fast - go for it! I felt like I was six again!

One question though, should the sessions be shorter than a usual run? I was just as much of a hot mess as after my 35 minute long runs.

[AncientMum Graduate]

Miles_Yonder is the forum expert on fartleks, so he's the one to give you advice. I'd just say that it sounds like you had loads of fun, so I bet you end up doing them regularly. Enjoy yourself

[Miles_Yonder Graduate]

Hey there!

I do indeed love a good fartlek session; they are hard work but definitely worth it. That's the way to do it - post to post, whether the second post is a few feet along, or half a mile or more away. You can incorporate fartleks into longer runs, doing a fartlek burst when you feel up to it, or do a shorter run with more speed bursts and shorter recovery times. I sometimes do a few in an 8K run, just two or three, or will do nothing but in a 5K run, which is exhausting, so my advice, based on my own experience, would be to start out with, if you're intending to do many bursts of fartlek speed, make it on shorter runs, or perhaps combine a couple into longer runs.

Hope that's of help. They really are great though and have been effective for me so far, I feel.

Happy fartleking!

[poppypug Graduate in reply to Miles_Yonder]

Ha ha , tee hee , snort , snigger Sorry I must apologise for my juvenile sense of humour, it just cracks me up that word !

So , yeah Good Luck, Happy Fartleking ! xxx

[Hidden]

Nothing like a good fartlek in the park in the dark eh Miles?

[Miles_Yonder Graduate in reply to Hidden]

It's the fartleks up a busy high street early on a Saturday morning which raises the most eyebrows, Aus! Although a fartlek in the park in the dark is always unbeatable!

[misswobble Graduate]

You can do em Kitty! You just go for a run and then every so often just speed up for 30 seconds, or whatever you can manage to start with. Just go with the flow and see what happens. I'd pick somewhere flat