Today's training session was a Fartlek. While it may sound like a body malfunction, Fartlek actually means "Speed Play". I haven't done a lot of these because I don't really enjoy them. I prefer a constant speedy (tempo) run than the burst of speed that Fartlek calls for. I'm not even sure if I do them properly, looking at my pace chart I'm kinda satisfied that I did some burst of speed. I may try to sustain the bursts for longer periods next time I get around to doing another speed play session. I shortened the duration a bit since I didn't have enough time to do the entire distance prescribed by my training plan.
I think that the out of breath and close to collapsing feeling is normal for this type of workout. If there were two things I would like to see on my next chart is a more constant pace for the easy sections and a longer burst duration. Other than that I'm fairly happy with ~49 minutes for 10 kms. One thing I never know when I do these types of speed workout is how the total time is supposed to compare to a tempo run.
How weird street fair in the mix.
I think that the out of breath and close to collapsing feeling is normal for this type of workout. If there were two things I would like to see on my next chart is a more constant pace for the easy sections and a longer burst duration. Other than that I'm fairly happy with ~49 minutes for 10 kms. One thing I never know when I do these types of speed workout is how the total time is supposed to compare to a tempo run.
Not sure if I'm doing them right either but my fartlek workout paces and intervals are usually VERY irregular. I might decide to run hard for a bit every time I see a car go by, or a person approaching (on a bike, foot, roller blade), or when I'm passing something (a pole, fence, tree). Usually I can't predict them in advance so I just have to GO hard. If I didn't have much rest beforehand, I might not be able to go as fast but sometimes I'm so pooped that I might have to walk to recover. One thing I like about fartleks is it keeps me very much in tune with my surroundings in case I ever have to run away or defend myself from an attacker again (has happened to me twice while out running, one guy in a car, another guy on a bike).
ReplyDeleteNice job on the run! I haven't run many fartleks myself... I operate better when I have to run a certain pace for a set interval.
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