Exposing your body to your Threshold running pace will develop efficiencies whilst running at this intensity. This session is a great workout to start that exposure, early in the season or as a taper session in the final week prior to an event.
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 today’s workouts come from a Beginner’s Guide to Triathlon published by Triathlon Plus and was free with Issue 42 in the Summer of 2012. This session came from former five time, World Champion Simon Lessing.

Simon Lessing’s Run Intervals A
- 20min WU Level II;
- 5x 800m Level IV, 2:30 Level II RI;
- 10min CD Level II;
- 10min Stretching
Start the workout with a Warm Up (WU) for twenty minutes of easy jogging at Level II.
The Main Set involves running five reps at Level IV for 800m. For the Rest Interval (RI) jog for two and a half minutes at Level II.
The Cool Down (CD) is at a low intensity, jogging (Level II) for at least 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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When purchasing, use the discount code “web25” to claim your 25% discount.