Run Session

Friday Fartlek Run – The Half Roller

This is a perfect session for runners and triathletes running events between 10km through to the Marathon and longer.

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 modifying one I published back in 2020 it originally came from Lee McCarron of the Halifax Road Hammers, described in the Canadian Running Magazine, you can read the article here.

The Half Roller

  • 10min Level II WU;
  • 2x 15min (made up of below), 3min RI Level II;
    • 5min Level III,
    • 5min Level IV-,
    • 5min Level IV+,
  • 10min Level II CD;
  • 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 two sets that are 15 minutes long, with a three-minute Rest Interval between each set. Within each set, there are three, five-minute reps with no rest in between them. Start off with the first five minutes being at Level III (or your marathon pace), the second five minutes are at the lower end of Level IV (or your half marathon pace) and the final five minutes are at the higher end of Level IV (or your 10km pace).

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

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Starting 12 weeks before your 10km Run event , this plan progresses through phases to build you to your peak performance. Each week contains three runs. You will build up to running 1:20 hrs in a single session. 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 non-stop for 30 minutes.

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