Pyramid Speed

Friday Fartlek Run – Very Well Fit’s Pyramid Speed Interval Workout for Track

Building your top-end speed is great for developing your VO2 Max. This session is great 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 runners often use and it means speed-play. See a previous post about training intensity (levels) to know how hard to work.

This session comes from an article on verywellfit.com you can read the full article here.

Very Well Fit’s Pyramid Speed Interval Workout for Track

  • 10min WU Level II;
  • 400m Level V, 200m Level I-II RI;
  • 800m Level V, 400m Level I-II RI;
  • 1,200m Level V, 600m Level I-II RI;
  • 1,600m Level V, 800m Level I-II RI;
  • 1,200m Level V, 600m Level I-II RI;
  • 800m Level V, 400m Level I-II RI;
  • 400m Level V;
  • 10min CD Level II;
  • 10min Stretching

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

The main set in this workout is made up of seven reps. Each rep is done at Level V. The first rep is for 400m, followed by 200m at Level I-II for your Rest Interval (RI). The second rep is 800m long and is followed by a 400m Rest Interval (RI) at Level I-II. Each rep continues to increase by 400m per rep until you’ve completed the 1,600m rep. From here each rep descends by 400m back to 400m in distance. The Rest Interval (RI) after each rep is done at Level I-II and is half the distance you ran for the repetition. After the last rep continues straight into the Cool Down (CD).

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.

Share this post so your friends can benefit as well.

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

Get my 8 Weeks to a Faster 10km Training Plan with 25% off

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).

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

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

Purchase of this plan gives you access to my fortnightly coaching calls where you can ask me any training or racing-related questions.

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

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.