Friday Fartlek Run: 5x 4min, 60sec RI

This interval session is great for developing speed with minimal recovery, really push the pace on this session and see what you can achieve (you might surprise yourself). This session is great for runners from 5km to half and full marathon, as well as triathletes.

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.

This is an extension of last week’s workout by doing the same amount of work with less rest:

Friday Fartlek Run – 5x 4min, 90sec RI

5x 4min VO2 Max Run 60sec RI

• 10min WU Level II;
• 5x 4min Level V, 60sec Level I-II RI;
• 10min CD Level II;
• 10min Stretching

Start the workout with a Warm Up (WU) for a minimum of ten minutes of easy jogging at Level II.

The main set is made up of five reps of four minutes at Level V, with a gentle jog for 60 seconds between reps at Level I-II.

The Cool Down (CD) is at a low intensity, jogging (Level II) for a minimum of ten minutes. See the chart below for recommended warm-up durations for various total durations.

Finish with 10 minutes of stretching to assist with the recovery.

This session is a key workout in Project 20 – Helping runners run a sub-20-minute 5km. If you are aiming to run 5km in under 20 minutes you should be aiming to run more than a kilometre with every rep.

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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Download the Garmin (.FIT) and Zwift (.ZWO) files for this workout for FREE

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6 weeks of training is all you need to do to smash your current 5km time significantly. On the average following, in this programme runners improve by 2 minutes and 51 seconds (7.5%) in the first month.

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Designed for Runners of ALL abilities who are wanting to run a 5km qwiker, the primary goal of this training plan is to make you FASTER. Chose the programme based on your ability. This programme is for runners that are comfortable running for greater than 60 minutes and want two run sessions per week.

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Lasting 6 weeks long this programme can start anytime. Each week includes 3 runs and a stretching session. Although not essential, I recommend using a heart rate monitor in conjunction with a GPS watch (such as a Garmin).

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Prior to using this plan, you should be able to run for greater than 60 minutes.

Purchase of this plan gives you access to my fortnightly coaching calls where you can ask me any training or racing-related questions.

When purchasing use the discount code “web25” to claim your 25% discount.