Friday Fartlek Run: Goater’s 40’s

This session is great to improve your speed for runners aiming for an event between 5km and a half marathon.

Each week I will be posting the Friday Fartlek Run Sessions that you can do to enhance your running. Fartlek is a Swedish term that runners often use and it means speed-play. See a previous post about training intensity (levels) to know how hard to work.

Goater’s 40’s

  • 10min WU Level II;
  • 4 sets of:
    • 4x 40sec Level V, 1min RI,
    • 3min RI between sets
  • 10min CD Level II;
  • 10min Stretching

The Warm Up (WU) should be done at an intensity that is steady, but not overconsuming at Level II for ten minutes.

The main set is made up of four sets with three minutes of Rest Interval (RI) between sets. Each set is made up of four repetitions of 40 seconds at Level V with a one-minute Rest Interval (RI) between each rep. For these Rest Intervals (RIs) just gently walk making sure you are ready to start again at the scheduled time.

The Cool Down (CD) is at a low intensity, jogging (Level II) for a minimum of ten minutes.

Finish with 10 minutes of stretching to assist with the recovery.

I adapted this workout from one found in Julian Goater & Don Melvin’s book The Art of Running Faster – Improve Technique, Training, and Performance. This is a really good book that is jam-packed and full of great advice.

If you would like further advice feel free to contact me.

I am the Head Coach & Director of Qwik Kiwi – Endurance Sports Consultant.

I specialise in assisting first-timers and recreational athletes to achieve their sporting goals. I can be contacted at coachray@coachray.nz and 021 348 729.

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Download the Garmin (.FIT) & Zwift (.ZWO) files for this workout for FREE

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