RunningAHEAD - Topic: Excuse me... I just Fartleked?

Penny_A

thumbs up!

posted: 11/12/2007 at 9:08 PM

I'm a newbie runner. Just wondering what a Fartlek is, and why/when I might do it.

2010 Goals
1. get to and maintain 20 MPW
2. sub 50 min Crazy Legs 8k -- April 10 (so close! 50:13... next year)
3. sub 30 min 5k
4. improved time in Madison half marathon -- May 10

littlem

posted: 11/12/2007 at 9:23 PM
modified: 11/12/2007 at 9:24 PM

it's basically choosing to sprint certain distances within a regular run-- like, you're running along and then decide you'll pick up your pace between the next two lamp-posts or from the first cutie-pie you pass til the next, etc. it keeps things fun-- it turns a routine run into play. and oh yeah, it builds a kind of speedwork into your running routine which trains your body to run faster, ups your lactate threshold, builds more muscle more quickly, burns more calories, gives you a differently colored bar in your graph, etc. you can make it as formal/regular or as random and varying as you choose. it's fun!

zoom-zoom

rectumdamnnearkilledem

posted: 11/12/2007 at 10:08 PM

And you can claim you speak Swedish, too! I have an "I fartlek'd" sticker on the back of my car, as well as an "uff da" sticker--gotta represent my Scandinavian heritage, ya know! Smile

k

Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.

~ Sarah Kay

Machine_

Anyone have pizza?

posted: 11/12/2007 at 10:56 PM

I love to do a fartlek when it's raining outside. No one is usually around. Trouble with those runs is like always, in New York, you have to really watch out for traffic. That's why I call those runs in particular.....SBD Fartleks. Silent But Deadly Fartleks (Duh,,,,as if I even needed to explain that! DOH!!!) Tongue

Alex
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Run To Win

#2867

posted: 11/13/2007 at 6:22 AM

Fartleks are a form of interval training where you never stop running throughout the workout, and will normally (but not always) run your intervals and recovery for a set duration rather than for a set distance. For example, you may run 10×1 minute repeats with 3 minutes of recovery running between each repeat. The name “fartlek” comes from the Swedes and means running play. Fartleks don’t need to be timed; one of my favorite runs is to just go out and randomly choose a target to run fast towards at regular intervals without rhyme or reason. I might sprint to a telephone pole or after a pedestrian up ahead of me or an intersection, with however much recovery between each interval as it takes me to find a new target that peaks my interest. (copied word for word from "Answers for the top questions about interval training")

Run to Win
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sakula

posted: 11/14/2007 at 7:00 AM
modified: 11/14/2007 at 7:01 AM

This topic is freaky relavent to me. Last night I ran my first fartlek... 1 mile warm up 2 miles fartlek and 1 mile cool down. IT WAS A BLAST!

Excuse me... I just Fartleked? (Read 939 times)