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Aerobic Workouts: Fartlek

Fartlek workouts are one of the simplest aerobic workouts and can be used at the start of a block of training, with both young athletes and older athletes.

Fartlek is a Swedish term that means “speed-play.” You simply oscillate between two or more paces in your run. The simplest fartleks should be done in 5-minute blocks. So you can do 2 minutes “on” – a pace that is challenging, but one you could do for 15-20 minutes. Then do 3 minutes “steady” – a pace that is slower than the “on” pace, but faster than your easy run pace. That is a solid 5 minutes of running. Do 4 sets and you have 20 minutes of running; do 8 sets and you have 40 minutes of running. So you can complete a 10-minute warm-up and a 10-minute cool-down, then do 4-8 sets in the middle, giving you 40-60 minutes of running. Simple.

The common mistake with fartlek workouts is to go too fast during the on and too slow on the steady. So, run VERY easy during the first on segment, but keep the steady at an honest pace. Again, the on portions should be at a pace you can do for 15-20 minutes, so running just 2 minutes at this pace is not that challenging.

This workout is the antithesis of 10 x 400m with 60 seconds of walk/jog. In that workout you go super hard, then walk/jog; in this workout you run a challenging, but not hard pace during the on portion, then make the steady portion fast enough that the 5-minute block is challenging, but highly doable. [Read more…]

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Aerobic Workouts: Introduction

Developing the aerobic metabolism is the number one goal of any distance runner. Why? Take a look at the percent energy contributions from the following three metabolisms, keeping in mind that aerobic means “with oxygen.”

Distance Aerobic % Anaerobic % Phosphogen %
1,600m 84% 15% 0-2%
3,200m 90% 10% 0-2%
5,000m 95% 5% 0-2%
10,000m 98% 2% 0-1%

The second key with the aerobic metabolism is that you can improve it year after year. This is why the best marathoners in the world tend to be older than the best sprinters in the world…and it’s why many masters runners, who come to running later in life, continue to run faster year after year.

The way I like to think about the aerobic metabolism is that you’re building your engine when you train aerobically. Now, you need a strong chassis to handle this engine (so LMLS and SAM work daily – videos here), but the key to your long term success as a runner, and the way you’ll run PRs at a variety of distances, is to continue to improve your aerobic system.

What follows are four fundamental aerobic workouts. They are presented in roughly the same progression that you would do the workouts, one per week for the busy adult and perhaps two per week for serious high school and collegiate athletes. The long run is the key aerobic workout of the week and I’m assuming that you’ll be doing a long run virtually every week that you’re training. [Read more…]

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