Friday Fartlek Run – Scott Defilippis’ 70.3 Fartlek A

This session was designed for triathletes to finish strong in the run leg of an Ironman 70.3 event but will be of equal benefit for athletes running as short as 5km to develop tolerance to lactic acid.

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.

This workout has come from an article by Scott Defilippis in the September 2015 issue of Triathlete Magazine.

Scott Defilippis’ 70.3 Fartlek A

• 15min WU Level II;
• 2x 15sec Level V, 15sec Level II RI;
• 2x 30sec Level V, 30sec Level II RI;
• 2x 45sec Level V, 45sec Level II RI;
• 60sec Level V, 60sec Level II RI;
• 2x 45sec Level V, 45sec Level II RI;
• 2x 30sec Level V, 30sec Level II RI;
• 2x 15sec Level V, 15sec Level II RI;
• 15min CD Level II;
• 10min Stretching

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

The main set is made up of a total of seven sets, although the intervals are short and sweet you’ll be finished this workout in no time.

The first set is two reps of fifteen seconds at Level V, with the same duration at Level II for your Rest Interval (RI).

The second set is also two reps at Level V, but the duration is now 30 seconds, with a 30-second Rest Interval (RI) at Level II.

The next set is now 45 seconds in duration at Level V for two reps, also with 45 seconds Rest Interval (RI) at Level II.

Next up is a minute at Level V, with a minute at Level II for your Rest Interval (RI).

Follow this with two reps of 45 seconds at Level V, also with a 45-second Rest Interval (RI) at Level II.

The sixth set is two reps of 30 seconds at Level V, with a 30-second Rest Interval (RI) at Level II after each rep.

The final set is made up of two reps at Level V for 15 seconds again, with 15 seconds at Level II for the Rest Interval (RI).

The Cool Down (CD) is at a low intensity, jogging (Level I-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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Download the Garmin (.FIT) and Zwift (.ZWO) files for this workout for FREE

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