Break Out of Your Winter Running Staleness with Fartlek Training

After a long winter of logging miles on the treadmill, any runner can start to feel stagnant. Not to mention steady aerobic running is just plain boring! With that in mind, there is a great workout to help you break out of your cold-weather rut: fartlek. Swedish for "speed play," a fartlek workout is simply a flexible form of "speedwork," or intervals. The great advantage to fartlek workouts is that runners of any ability can do them, at any time. Whether you're an experienced athlete looking to get ready for more intense workouts in the spring, or just a recreational runner trying to get a bit faster, a few fartlek sessions can be very beneficial.

Remember, any workout, even relatively easy ones such as fartlek, should begin with a nice and easy 10-15 minute jog to warm up. Once you complete that, here are some different types of fartlek sessions:

1) Time based: These sessions can be done on the treadmill or outside. Simply run a faster pace for a predetermined period of time, and slow down to a jog on the recovery period. If you are training for shorter races such as a 5k, you can try a session of 2 minutes hard, 1 minute easy. On each cycle, don't strain yourself-just try to maintain a faster than normal pace. Do as many cycles as you reasonably can. If you are preparing for longer distances like a marathon, you can increase the time.

2) Fartlek by landmark: Remember when you were a kid and you would race your friend to the end of the street? This kind of fartlek captures that spirit. Just choose random landmarks such as telephone poles, mailboxes, trees--anything-and try to get there as fast as possible. Jog till you recover, then repeat!

3) Hill Fartlek: These are perfect if have access to rolling terrain to run on. Charge up the hills and take it easy on the flat parts and downhills. These workouts can be especially beneficial if you participate in a lot of road races that are hilly, as they will get you mentally and physically prepared for the more difficult parts of the course.

Remember to always follow your fartlek workout with 10-15 minutes of cooldown time, and stretching if you prefer. The total workout time should then be 30 minutes to an hour. As your fitness increases, you can increase the length and intensity of your fartlek workout. Do one or two fartlek workouts per week for several weeks, and you'll be feeling much fitter and maintain your steady aerobic pace much easier.