Friday Fartlek Run: Holly’s 4x 1000 & 4x 400

Combining both threshold and VO₂ max intensities in a single workout will build your finishing speed. This will pay dividends as you get towards the finish of your event. This session is great for runners and triathletes preparing for an event up to a half marathon 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 workout comes from Holly Wallace a runner I follow on Instagram. She is always doing interesting and challenging workouts.

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A post shared by Holly Wallace (@igniteyoursole1)

Holly’s 4x 1000 & 4x 400

• 10min WU Level II;
• 4x 1,000m Level IV, 2min Level I RI;
• 4x 400m Level V, 90sec Level I RI;
• 10min CD Level II;
• 10min Stretching

Start the workout with a Warm Up (WU) for a minimum of ten minutes of easy jogging at Level II.

There are two main sets:

The first set is made of four reps of 1,000m at Level IV, take a two-minute walking Rest Interval (RI) at Level I between reps.

The second set is made up of four, 400m reps at Level V. Take a 90sec walking Rest Interval (RI) at Level I between reps.

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 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) files for this workout for FREE

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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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Prior to using this plan, you should be able to run comfortably for 90 minutes.

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When purchasing, use the discount code “web25” to claim your 25% discount.