Running coach Fiona Bugler explains speed (or interval) and fartlek training, what the benefits are and how to them properly.What is it?It's a cliché, but true: If you want to run faster, then you need to run faster. Speed sessions usually refer to short bursts of timed reps and intervals longer reps measured over distance. Many schedules use the track when planning the distance for interval sessions, ie 400m is once around a track, and is roughly .25 of a mile. But you can plan speed work to time if you prefer, (between 90 seconds and 2 minutes would be a typical 400m rep). The Benefits Speed work will make you a stronger more efficient and faster runner and you will notice a big difference to your fitness and speed in short period of time. It will help take you from a jogger to a runner. Fitness rewards are gained because running fast will increase type-two muscle fibres (the ones that help you run fast); strengthen quadriceps; improve the strength of the ventilatory muscles (which will help you breathe more efficiently); and prepare you mentally for racing - whatever the distance. How to do itYou only need to work at a high intensity (at 85 to 95 percent of max HR, or eight nine out of 10 on a perceived rate of exertion, or one mile to 5k pace), over a series of short intervals to reap rewards. You will usually only need to do one or two sessions a week, and as these are high intensity, you must follow with an easy or recovery day.Different types of speed work are designed to improve different aspects of running. Short sharp sprints will boost your leg turnover and anaerobic fitness, and with these you plan in a longer recovery, for example two to three minutes. For marathon runners, who want to develop speed endurance, a general rule of thumb for planning interval training is to make the whole distance covered longer and the recoveries shorter. So for short 30-second bursts, you might do 20, with a 30-second recovery. You will also benefit from doing longer intervals.Try some of the following speed sessions for marathon runners, making sure you warm up and cool down for 10 to 15 minutes either side:
FARTLEKThis is Swedish for speed-play, a no-brainer speed session. You don't need GPS or a measured course, you simply run fast and slow - run between lamp-posts, or do timed bursts (30 seconds to 3 minutes). Or, try a pyramid fartlek session, for example, run hard five, four, three, two and one minute bursts with equal recovery time. This is a great way to run fast with no pressure and ideal when you're starting out.
Great stuff: thank you.
Not feeling the name so much but I will most definately be incorporating fartlek into my run
Point of interest: From what I have read, classical interval training, mainly for middle distance runners started in the 1930s. The initial idea(after a warm up period) was to run up to maximum speed over 100 or 200 metres and then stop until the heartrate had gone down to around 120bpm; then keep repeating this 10 or 20 times. The "interval" was the rest period between the bursts of sprinting(not the run itself) and was considered an essential part of the "training effect" on aerobic fitness. There was no easy jogging in these recovery phases, just rest for a few minutes. Previously, emphasis for longer distance runners had been on stamina training at no more than race pace(obviously a lot slower than sprinting pace). It was believed that the repeated fast sprints helped to improve aerobic fitness over and above what could be achieved by normal training alone, since the heart rate was pushed to higher levels. It was no doubt considered strange at the time(and scoffed at!) for longer distance runners to get involved in sprinting. However, aerobic fitness in terms of efficient delivery of oxygen is perhaps more important for distance runners than sprinters, the latter relying more on anaerobic energy production for the short duration of their races. It certainly helped a lot of middle distance athletes to significantly improve their performances and was soon universally adopted. Since then, interval training theory has been expanded and modified and continues to evolve up to the present day.
I've gone back to basics though. Since I live right near Newmarket, the home of horseracing, I call my interval training my "gallops" and find these are a good way to start the day, with fresh air and exercise. I do enjoy repeated 200m runs in my local sports field with proper rests between to get my breath back, and take my Garmin GPS with me to record the pace achieved. I do around 6 to 12 of these and start slowly, gradually building up my speed to maximum. I also do some as a warm up before going for a proper training run which is two or three times a week. I train for 5K and 10K events and have found my speed has increased. I almost feel like I'm running not jogging...... sometimes!