Spending time training at appropriate intensities is important for developing your ability to ride at different paces or intensities in an event. For a half-Ironman event, you will spend most of the event riding and then running at Level III (about 90-94% Threshold Pace). This session is great for a taper week leading into an event. Even though this workout is designed for a half-Ironman athlete, runners especially those doing a marathon or longer can also benefit from it.
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 runners often use and it means speed-play. See a previous post about training intensity (levels) to know how hard to work.
The inspiration for this week’s workout comes from an Article by Gale Bernhardt in the May 2001 issue of Triathlete Magazine.
Gale Bernhardt’s Half Ironman Run Intervals #5
- 10min WU Level II;
- 4-5x 90sec Level III, 3min Level II RI;
- 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 is made up of four or five reps of running at Level III for 90 seconds. Take three minutes jogging at Level II between reps for your Rest Interval (RI).
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.
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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Prior to using this plan, you should be able to run for greater than 60 minutes.
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When purchasing use the discount code “web25” to claim your 25% discount.