Are you a runner? Maybe a “fartlek” is what will take you to a new level.
How to use Fartlek Training?
Every runner, depending on the time availability and at which phase they are in their preparation, uses more or less the type of workouts. Those are usually easy run, tempo run, speed, speed endurance, hill work, long run and fartlek. In this article we will focus on the latter, the Fartlek.
Fartlek, which means "speed game", was created by the Swedish coach Gosta Holmer in 1930 trying to improve the methodology he used to train his athletes and consisted of running about 12 km on natural surface, running at least 5km at a faster pace than race pace.
This type of training, which was popularized thanks to the Olympic medallist Emil Zatopek (gold in 5000m, 10000m and Marathon at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games) is nothing more than what is usually known as interval training.
It basically consists of short or longer segments at a high pace, normally equal to or greater than the Maximum Lactate Stable State (MLSS) or, in other words, at “the highest exercise intensity at which the concentration of Blood lactate does not increase beyond the initial increase during exercise at a constant load” (Tegtbur et. al., 1993).
It is important to note that unlike repetition training, in the interval recovery periods there is no total rest. The pace only slows down.
For 5km to Marathon athletes, this type of sessions can be very interesting since Henriksson and Reitman (1998) suggest that interval training is more effective than continuous training to increase the rate of fatty acid oxidation despite having a lower energy expenditure.
Types of Fartlek
We can find all kinds of sessions.
The already mentioned E. Zatopek did 100x400m, the 400m at a fast pace and with 200m recovery between sets at a pace a little lower than the fast pace. Logically, few athletes in the world can do training like this.
Arthur Lydiard, a New Zealand athlete and considered one of the best coaches in history, included fartlek in his base period. Fast paces lasted 30 seconds to 5 minutes at 5k to Half Marathon pace with long recoveries. He was an advocate of running by feelings.
In the village of Iten, in the Rift Valley, Kenya, Tuesdays and Thursdays are fartlek day. Let's not forget that they are done on very irregular terrain and at 2,300 meters of altitude.
Tuesday is usually 20 x 1min fast and 1min slow.
Thursday changes:
- 20-30 x 1min fast – 1min slow
- 15-17 x 2min fast -1min slow
- 12 x 3min fast – 1min slow
- 8-10 x 5min fast – 2min slow
How to choose the type of fartlek
This will always depend on the goal for which we are training and the specific objective of the session.
For example, if our goal is to improve VO2max and running economy, Koralsztein and Billat (2000) suggest that longer duration intervals (4-6 x 4min -2min at 115% vVO2max) are more effective than short duration (30-40 x 15min-15min at 130% vVO2Max).
The most important thing is the time we spend working on our goal. Knowing that, it may be better to do 3 x 4min at 115% vVO2max than to do 2 x 5min at 115% vVO2max, since in the first example the total amount of work will be 12min and in the second example, 10min.
If our goal is to improve the lactic threshold, 5x800m with 400m jogging may be an option.
It must be clear that there is no training that improves just one thing, so for example by working on VO2max we are also improving the other two thresholds.
With athletes who use a training methodology based on race paces, a good recommendation is that as the competition approaches, the pace also becomes more specific to the target distance.
Thus, a way to organize them for a marathon runner could be the following:
1min half marathon pace – 1min at a pace slower than marathon pace
2min half marathon pace – 1min at a pace slower than marathon pace
3min marathon pace – 30sec at a pace slower than marathon pace
5min marathon pace - 1min at a pace slower than marathon pace
6min marathon pace – 1min at a pace slower than marathon pace
6min marathon pace – 30sec at a pace slower than marathon pace
Finally, we must keep in mind that each athlete is different. For beginners, it's about trial and error and find out what works for them and what doesn't. For more experienced runners, it is about introducing small changes to try to reach the level we want. The idea is to generate new stimuli so that the body requires a higher level of adaptation than the previous one and thus improve performance.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jakobsson, J., & Malm, C. (2019). Maximal Lactate Steady State and Lactate Thresholds in the Cross-Country Skiing Sub-Technique Double Poling. International journal of exercise science, 12(2), 57.
De Hegedüs, J. (1984). La ciencia del entrenamiento deportivo. Editorial Stadium SRL.
Volodalen.com: l’entraînement à la course à pied (2013).
Koralsztein, S. D. J., & Billat, V. (2000). Time limit and time at VO2max during a continuous and intermittent run. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 40(2), 96.
Franch, J., Madsen, K., Djurhuus, M. S., & Pedersen, P. K. (1998). Improved running economy following intensified training correlates with reduced ventilatory demands. Occupational Health and Industrial Medicine, 5(39), 237.
Henriksson, J., & Reitman, J. S. (1976). Quantitative measures of enzyme activities in type I and type II muscle fibres of man after training. Acta physiologica scandinavica, 97(3), 392-397.
Essen, B., Hagenfeldt, L., & Kaijser, L. (1977). Utilization of blood‐borne and intramuscular substrates during continuous and intermittent exercise in man. The Journal of physiology, 265(2), 489-506.
