To recap on the main point s of part 1 of this two part treatise on the 'do-it-yourself' type of training first invented by the Swedish coach Gosta Holmer called 'fartlek' in Swedish and dubbed 'speed play' by the Americans. Fundamentally the athlete is decides the velocity and duration of a faster effort, and the length of the interval between faster efforts for recovery. It can be completely free, or more programmed as in the original fartlek session Holmer gave his athletes, or in the Portsea fartlek session outlined below.
Being a mixture of aerobic and anaerobic, and can become a session for resistance to lactic acid, so it is good to introduce fartlek at times of the year when you want to start working of the process of coming to your peak form e.g. in the spring cross country championships, in July and August on the track or for road races.
Now some more summarising, with extension of knowledge for you to draw the greatest benefit out of this type of training.
Tactical Applications
In terms of serious racing, Fartlek is very useful because when a rival puts in a sudden hard and searing burst, you can go with him, you will be ready for it, you will be able to do it your self, and you will be able to hold your own in a sprint finish. Indeed, you could structure your Fartlek sessions to develop a tactical armoury.
Psychological Benefits
Continuous running and repetitions running laps of the track can make the runner stale, so a session of Fartlek for a refreshing change when you are stale or jaded is very beneficial psychologically.
If you're not a serious runner, fartlek is still good fun and will spice up your enjoyment of running.
How much and long to do Fartlek for?
Since fartlek is multi or poli-functional, it can be adapted to the needs of runners of all ages and abilities. So here are some ideas:
In terms of heart beat, you are looking at 160 to 180 beats per minute in the faster efforts, and restarting when your heart beat has fallen to 120 beats per minute or below.
Please note carefully that the ideas in this table are basically a type of training called interval training which I will deal with in next month's article. Please compare the table above with the original fartlek in part 1 of this two parter. They are rather structured and the athlete is not left to the completely free 'speed-play' fartlek can be. Now a good session you can do is the Portsea fartlek, which in essence is interval training.
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