The ability to run at your top-end intensities will enhance your performance. This session will develop your VO2 Max intensity, challenging your anaerobic, as well as your aerobic energy systems. This is a perfect session for runners and triathletes running events up to Half marathons in distance.
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 is often used by runners and it means speed-play. See a previous post about training intensity (levels) to know how hard to work.
The inspiration for this post came from a post on Instagram from Kylie Brown @swim.bike.run.mum about her recent fartlek session, you can see it in her highlights album here.


Kylie’s 1 Minute On, 1 Minute Off
- 10min WU Level II;
- 7km of:
- 1min Level V, 1min Level II RI;
- 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 7km long. Start with one minute of hard running at Level V, then take a one-minute jog at Level II for a Rest Interval (RI). Repeat this process for 18 reps for the full 7km. Kylie completed 18 reps to complete the 7km.
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.
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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This 8 week programme will take you through challenging sessions that will build your fitness and speed in order to run 10km faster at the end of the programme.
Designed for an intermediate runner aiming to run their 10km in the range of 35 – 50min. The primary goal of this training plan is to prepare you to RUN FASTER.
8 weeks long this programme can start anytime, this plan progresses through phases to build you to your peak performance. Each week includes 4 runs as well as a flexibility session. This programme includes a 10km time trial in the 9th week so you can see how much you have improved. Although not necessary, I recommend using a heart rate monitor in conjunction with a GPS watch (such as a Garmin).
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