Coach Sage Canaday discusses the ‘fartlek’ workout.
He’ll explain…
What a fartlek workout is
Why it’s one of his favorite types of workouts to do
A few workout examples to work with!
What Is a Fartlek Workout?
‘Fartlek’ is a Swedish word that translates to ‘speed play,’ which is fitting because it’s all about enjoying your running with unstructured intervals! A fartlek workout involves alternating between running fast and recovering at a slower pace, but without strict timing or structure. For example, you might sprint to the next lamppost or tree, then jog to catch your breath, and repeat this using various landmarks along your route. The sprint distance and recovery time can vary, making it a flexible, fun way to incorporate speed work. But overall, it’s a great way to add variety to your training while building speed and endurance.
Why The Fartlek Is a Favorite of Mine
Fartlek training doesn’t require a set pace, and there’s no need to check your GPS constantly. You run by feel and intuition, which is a key aspect of effective training—learning to read your body’s signals. You might choose to wear a heart rate monitor, or you might not. I personally love the fartlek workout because of how flexible you can make it: on an easy day, if you feel good, you might sprint on the uphills and jog the downhills, or vice versa. The intervals don’t have to be precise—whether it’s 30 seconds, 45 seconds, or a minute, what matters is that you’re getting a good heart rate spike.
In many of our Higher Running training plans for half marathons, marathons, and ultras, we incorporate fartlek workouts. You could even add a fartlek to a run spontaneously. For example, during a 20-mile or 18-mile long run, you might do some fartlek intervals in the second half.
Fartlek Workout #1
A structured example of a fartlek workout could involve six sets of three-minute hard efforts. For instance, you might run three minutes at your 10K race pace or effort, followed by a two-minute recovery jog. This workout consists of six sets of three minutes fast with two minutes easy between each, totaling 18 minutes of high-intensity work at around 85–90% of your maximum heart rate.
Including the recovery jogs, this 30-minute workout keeps your heart rate elevated for most of the session. If you check your heart rate data afterward, you’ll see spikes where your heart rate rises during the hard efforts and drops during the recovery jogs. This pattern also appears in your leg turnover, as you develop speed, stimulate fast-twitch muscle fibers, and improve running economy at your 10K pace. Furthermore, this type of workout helps improve stride rate, leg turnover, and reduce ground contact time.
Ultimately, this workout is a great way to keep your heart rate elevated over 75% of your maximum for 30 minutes with peaks over 90%. It’s an unstructured form of interval training that provides an excellent lactate threshold stimulus by helping clear lactate, similar to a tempo run.
I like to think of it as a ‘pre-VO2 max’ workout. It’s not excessively hard, and you can adjust the intensity on the fly. You don’t have to hit a strict 10K pace or specific speed; just go by feel. For example, if you’re tired from work or didn’t sleep well, you can reduce your effort instead, and this approach can be more manageable than facing tough splits on a track workout.
Fartlek Workout #2
It you are looking for a more structured, track-focused, fartlek session, you might run 400-meter repeats at 5K pace, followed by 200 meters at a “float” recovery pace. This means running 400 meters in about 90 seconds, then doing a lighter jog for 200 meters in about a minute. You could repeat this for a full 5K without stopping. Though more formal and measured, this workout follows the same principles, keeping your heart rate and speed oscillating, which provides similar benefits.
A continuous workout like this keeps you moving without stopping to catch your breath. You accelerate, ease off, and repeat, but it’s all fluid. That’s the beauty of fartlek training—you can do it on trails, up and down hills, using landmarks rather than constantly checking your watch. It’s a great lactate threshold workout that can even be added to the end of long runs.
In summary, fartleks are an excellent way to ease into more structured interval training while developing speed and running economy. They’re beneficial for any distance runner, whether training for a mile or 100 miles. Fartlek training provides a fun, low-pressure way to work on key aspects of your running fitness.
I hope this helps give you a better idea of what a fartlek workout is. Give it a try this week!
Happy running,
- Coach Sage