the fartlek

[Southern fried XC]

whats up guys, so this winter i'm kind of doing things on my own and was thinking about incorporating the fartlek.. what are your guys' thoughts on the fartlek?
how early in the season should i start fartlek-ing?

also, whats a good balance for you guys in between neuromuscular stuff, threshold stuff or other early season "workouts"?

lastly, for a guy thats gonna be running from 50 up to 65-70 mpw how long would you recommend a fartlek/tempo to be?

much appreciated

[wokthatway]

at 65mpw, a good tempo(i'd say) could be anywhere from 4 to 7 miles, depending on what kind of runner you are. When i'm doing base, i like to get in 2 days a week that are "faster," be it a tempo, a fartlek, or some light intervals. on the other days, if i'm feeling half decent i tack on 4 to 8 strides letting them get quicker as i go. That's what's worked for me. Hope i had something useful somewhere in there.

Also, are you actually Chad Hampton?

[g2g4gold]

The thing about fartleking is that it doesnt have to be a structured training run. I think it is interesting when people refer to workouts such as 6x(3 on 2 off) as a fartlek. I have never seen this as falling under "speed play" because that looks like a pretty specific set of instructions. What is the difference between that, and just doing 6x1k w/ 2 mins rest?

I would say the difference between fartleks and [cruise]intervals are that they are more arbitrary and you play it by ear. Just run as you feel and make up different times to press and not. here is a good fartlek workout

15 minutes easy
sprint to the 3rd mailbox
cruise to the school
steady to john's house
sprint the hill
jog the curve
press to the corner store
15 minutes easy

I like fartleks during base work because you will hit and use so many different systems and paces. During base, it is useful to keep in touch with faster paces; cause hey, "if you don't use, you lose it," right?


Also if you want some early neuromuscular stuff, just do some hill sprints or strides after easy days 2-3 times a week. Make sure you are taking plenty of rest (2-3 minutes) in between each rep. As you get further into base, doing some longer strides or half workouts after one run a week is a viable option. Really simple, slow 200's, 300's for about a mile worth of work.

[kang6789]

The thing about fartleking is that it doesnt have to be a structured training run. I think it is interesting when people refer to workouts such as 6x(3 on 2 off) as a fartlek. I have never seen this as falling under "speed play" because that looks like a pretty specific set of instructions. What is the difference between that, and just doing 6x1k w/ 2 mins rest?

I would say the difference between fartleks and [cruise]intervals are that they are more arbitrary and you play it by ear. Just run as you feel and make up different times to press and not. here is a good fartlek workout

15 minutes easy
sprint to the 3rd mailbox
cruise to the school
steady to john's house
sprint the hill
jog the curve
press to the corner store
15 minutes easy

I like fartleks during base work because you will hit and use so many different systems and paces. During base, it is useful to keep in touch with faster paces; cause hey, "if you don't use, you lose it," right?


Also if you want some early neuromuscular stuff, just do some hill sprints or strides after easy days 2-3 times a week. Make sure you are taking plenty of rest (2-3 minutes) in between each rep. As you get further into base, doing some longer strides or half workouts after one run a week is a viable option. Really simple, slow 200's, 300's for about a mile worth of work.

Great post! In the winter, I would say a good structure for you would look this (if you don't like doubles, just do this all in singles):

Sunday: Long
Monday: Easy double with 6-10 strides
Tuesday: Unstructured fartlek running fast when you feel like it and slow when you feel like it, maybe only 20 minutes to start off and an hour by the end of winter. Easy shakeout after?
Wednesday: Easy double with strides
Thursday: Moderate double with 6-10 all out 8 second hill sprints with full recovery
Friday: Alternate a five mile fast tempo with an 8-10 mile moderate pace tempo. Easy shakeout after?
Saturday: Easy double with strides.