Fartlek Training
I went on a group run this past Saturday with a friend, but we could not decide what we wanted to do. Usually the workout will consist of a long run on soft surface or maybe trail running, but this time we decided to do something different. The person I was running with suggested doing a Fartlek run. I had never really done this before and didn't know what to expect but I was assured that it would get my heart rate up and might challenge me. We started off with a 10 minute light warmup and then did two sets of 30 second accelerations, with a one minute cool down between. It definitely got our heart rates up and was quite challenging. The best part about it was being able to do something different that was both challenging and offered a great anaerobic workout. Another benefit of Fartlek training is preparing your legs for a variety of different paces and also enhancing your awareness of your ability to maintain these paces at different distances. Other than Fartlek training there are many other types of training runs you can go on. These consist of hill workouts, speed workouts, intervals, and endurance runs. Incorporating these workouts into your weekly running log is a great way to increase your mileage without becoming bored of the same old routine. Below I have provided descriptions of the different workouts to improve your overall run time:Hill Repeats
Hill repeats are fast-paced efforts up hills and are considered strength training because they are used after you have built a good running base. They will also reduce the risk of overuse injury by lessening the impact force during each stride on flat terrain. If you chose to do hill repeats try to maintain a 5K pace and then walk or jog slowly back down the hill.
Speed work consists of several runs of a mile or less at race pace or faster with slow recovery jogging between hard runs which can be done as intervals, fartleks, or tempo runs. Executing speed work properly will teach the legs to turnover faster and the heart to work more efficiently for a longer period of time, as well as help the body adapt to running at a faster pace.
Interval Workouts
Interval workouts are a set of short, faster paced runs from 220 yards to one mile, with light recovery in between each interval. You can either do repeats (1/2 mile hard, 1/4 mile light), pyramids (1/4 mile hard, 1/4 mile light, 1/2 mile hard, 1/4 mile light, 3/4 mile hard, 1/4 mile light, 1 mile hard, 1/4 mile light and then back down the pyramid) or a ladder (100 yards fast, 100 slow, 200 fast, 200 slow, etc.). These workouts are typically run on a track but you can also use a soccer field as long as you know the distance.
Endurance Workouts
These types of runs consist of longer lower intensity workouts where you are running at slower pace. For example, if you are training for a 5K then your longer runs will consist of 5-6 miles which will enable you to recover while boosting your overall endurance. This type of running will increase you glycogen stores which will delay your fatigue while racing and also enable you to rely on fat as a major source of fuel due to the lower intensity work.
