Running fast in a fatigued state will build resilience and lactate tolerance. This session builds your effort and fatigue and has you working hard at the end when you are at your tiredness. It is easier and less challenging than next week’s workout. This is a great session for all runners and triathletes, especially those running 5km & 10km events.
Each week I will be posting the Friday Fartlek Run Sessions that you can do to enhance your running. Fartlek is a Swedish term that is often used by runners and it means speed-play. See a previous post about training intensity (levels) to know how hard to work.
The inspiration for this post came from an article in the Canadian Triathlon Magazine written by Kirsten Sweetland, click here to read about it.
Kirsten Sweetland’s Good Old Half Build Run
- 10min WU Level II;
- 10min Level II;
- 10min Level III;
- 5min Level IV;
- 2:30min Level V;
- 10min CD Level II;
- 10min Stretching
Start the workout with a Warm Up (WU) of ten minutes of easy jogging at Level II.
The Main Set involves running four reps at a progressively faster pace. I’ve described it here as ten minutes Level II, ten minutes Level III, five minutes Level IV, and then two and a half minutes Level V to finish. Kirsten Sweetland describes the pace as 10km pace plus 45 seconds for the first ten minutes. The second ten-minute block at a 10km pace plus 30 seconds. The five-minute interval should be at a 10km pace plus 15 seconds and the final block at a ‘go for broke‘ pace.
The Cool Down (CD) is at a low intensity, jogging (Level II) for a minimum of ten minutes.
Finish with 10 minutes of stretching to assist with the recovery.
Use this chart to set some paces to target for this run based on Kirsten Sweetland’s recommendations.
| 10km Time | 10km Pace | Plus 45sec | Plus 30sec | Plus 15sec |
| 32:30 | 03:15 | 04:00 | 03:45 | 03:30 |
| 35:00 | 03:30 | 04:15 | 04:00 | 03:45 |
| 37:30 | 03:45 | 04:30 | 04:15 | 04:00 |
| 40:00 | 04:00 | 04:45 | 04:30 | 04:15 |
| 42:30 | 04:15 | 05:00 | 04:45 | 04:30 |
| 45:00 | 04:30 | 05:15 | 05:00 | 04:45 |
| 47:30 | 04:45 | 05:30 | 05:15 | 05:00 |
| 50:00 | 05:00 | 05:45 | 05:30 | 05:15 |
| 52:30 | 05:15 | 06:00 | 05:45 | 05:30 |
| 55:00 | 05:30 | 06:15 | 06:00 | 05:45 |
| 57:30 | 05:45 | 06:30 | 06:15 | 06:00 |
| 1:00:00 | 06:00 | 06:45 | 06:30 | 06:15 |
| 1:02:30 | 06:15 | 07:00 | 06:45 | 06:30 |
| 1:05:00 | 06:30 | 07:15 | 07:00 | 06:45 |
| 1:07:30 | 06:45 | 07:30 | 07:15 | 07:00 |
| 1:10:00 | 07:00 | 07:45 | 07:30 | 07:15 |
I am the Head Coach & Director of Qwik Kiwi – Endurance Sports Consultant.
I specialise in assisting first-timers and recreational athletes to achieve their sporting goals. I can be contacted at coachray@coachray.nz and 021 348 729.
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