Something for the weekend? 🙂
Fartleks are not only fun to say out loud, but they’re fun to run. Fartlek is the Swedish for “speed play,” and that is exactly what this run is all about. It can be effective in improving your running speed and endurance The fartlek was developed by Swedish track and field athlete Gustaf HolmĂ©r in the 1930s and has been adopted by many physiologists since. It was designed for the downtrodden Swedish cross country running teams that had been thrashed throughout the 1920s by Paavo Nurmi and the Finns.
Unlike tempo and interval work, fartlek is unstructured and alternates between moderate to hard efforts with easy efforts throughout. After a warmup, you play with speed by running at faster efforts for short periods of time (to that tree, to the sign) followed by easy-effort running to recover. It’s fun in a group setting as you can alternate the leader and mix up the pace and time. And in doing so, you reap the mental benefits of being pushed by your peers through an unpredictable workout. If you’re running solo, you can use it as a playful way to pass the time by targeting random markers as the finish line for the hard efforts. The goal is to keep it free-flowing so you’re untethered to the watch or a plan, and to run at harder efforts but not a specific pace.
Benefits of Fartlek: A stress-free workout that improves mind-body awareness, mental strength, and stamina.
More on Fartleks later.
Riddle of the Day:
You find me in the past, and I can be created in the present, but the future is never mine. What am I? [Answer on Monday]