Workout Wednesday: The Fartlek Run
Your mid-week speed burst from coach Aj Baucco.
Workout Wednesday – The Fartlek Run
Before I start working “speed” into a running program, I always give a fair amount of Fartlek running first. Fartlek, which is Swedish for “speed play”, is a way to blend higher intensity run training with continuous aerobic training. The key to Fartlek running is to never go too easy on the recovery and never go too hard on the intervals. I like to progress the pace slowly when I am on the interval portion of the Fartlek. Going out too hard, too early in this workout will hurt your pace on the “recovery” portion. If the recovery portion gets too slow or even turns into a walk, this workout quickly turns into a normal speed training session and not a fartlek run. The keys to a successful Fartlek run are control and progression.
Warm Up
15 – 30 minutes aerobic running
Main Set
4 x (75 seconds at your Half Marathon pace + 45 seconds at your aerobic pace)
2min easy jog
4 x (75 seconds at your Half Marathon pace + 45 seconds at your aerobic pace)
**These are 8 minute continuous efforts with 2 minutes recovery between.
Cool Down for 5 – 10 minutes.
AJ Baucco is an established long course professional triathlete from Cleveland, Ohio. He founded AJ Baucco Coaching LLC, whichn currently coaches nearly 50 age group triathletes from all over the country. He also runs an age group triathlon team called the “Baucco Squad”. In 2014, AJ Baucco was crowned the first ever Kona (Beer Mile) Champion. He has since been given legendary status on the Big Island.
Contact – ajbaucco@gmail.com
Websites – www.baucco.com, www.ajbcoaching.com, www.bauccosquad.com
Twitter – @irunshirtless
Instagram – @ajbaucco
