SPEED WORK/FARTLEKS/INTERVALS

My essay for this week: November 8, 2008

SPEED WORK

It is time in our marathon training to do SPEED WORK to increase leg turnover and develop running speed. This is accomplished by doing Fartleks or Intervals. Fartleks are less structured, intervals are more structured. You can choose to do one or the other, or alternate between the two but not do both during the same week.

Fartleks can be done on any road, bike path or trail. Start your run at an easy, slow pace for a mile or two to warm up your muscles. Then pick two landmarks such as utility poles, mailboxes or trees that are 200 to 400 meters apart, and pick up your pace as you run from one landmark to the other. Your “faster pace” is around your usual 5K or 10K race pace. When you reach the second landmark, run easy for about 200 meters to allow yourself to recover. Then find another pair of landmarks and repeat the process.

You can run your first Fartlek session with 4 accelerations, then every second or third week, add two more accelerations until you can do up to ten. Later in your training, as you get stronger and faster and the sessions seem easier to you, you can increase the distance between landmarks by 200 meters every 2nd or 3rd week until you’re doing up to 800 meters. Don’t forget to run 1 or 2 easy miles afterwards to cool down as usual.

If you prefer a more structured speed workout, you can do Interval Training, where you pre-select a certain distance, usually 200 meters, if you’re new to doing speed work, or 400 meters if otherwise. Intervals are best performed at a track (with measured distances) or on a quiet road with a flat and straight section of known distance (I do mine on a relatively flat and straight, quarter mile (about 400 meters) cul-de-sac in my neighborhood).

After completing the usual one to two mile warm-up, run the 200 or 400 meter lap at your 5K or 10K race pace, then run slowly or walk for 200 meters. Repeat the process. Try to do four repetitions the first time and add two more reps every 2nd or 3rd week, working up to ten reps. As you improve your strength and speed, the 200 or 400 meter workouts will become easier. Now you can increase the distance by 200 meters every 2nd or 3rd week, up to 1600 meters (you probably will be able to do no more than four repeats at the maximum distance). After completing the last interval, run easy for 1 to 2 miles to cool down.

For a variation, when I get up to the 1600-meter interval distance, I like to do “ladder” intervals two or three times during my marathon training. I run intervals of 400, 800, 1200 and 1600 meters, then work back down, 1600, 1200, 800 and 400 meters. The total of 5 miles of fast running provides a challenging workout!

To increase your running speed during the “pick-up-the-pace” segments of the Fartleks or intervals (in fact, do this anytime you intend to surge), emphasize increasing your leg turnover rate rather than increasing your stride length. As your leg turnover rate increases, your stride length will invariably increase slightly as well, but it will not be exaggerated. It’s more efficient and less injurious to run as in a fast shuffle than by taking longer, loping strides.

A word of caution! If you find that you are having difficulty completing or are unable to complete the speed portion of the workout, this indicates that you are attempting to run the segment too fast or the distance is too long for your level of training. Ease off on the pace or the distance for a couple of weeks. Progress will come. I had a runner tell me that he hated doing speed work in high school because he often felt like throwing up after each 200 meter interval. His coach obviously was pushing him too hard. Speed work-outs are “hard work” and exhausting but you should not feel like throwing up or “falling over and dying” during or after the work-out!

Finally, during any speed workout, or during any run for that matter, always maintain good running form: head up; chest out; jaw loose; shoulders squared but relaxed; arms swinging straight forward and back with elbows bent at 90° and forearms parallel to the ground; hands loosely cupped and relaxed; and body tilted only slightly forward. As you tire, you may start to lose your form, so you must concentrate and always maintain good running form throughout your run.
George