Quickly improve your speed with this 30/30 fartlek workout

Now that the holidays are over and your training for spring races has resumed, jumping back into workouts can be overwhelming. If you are looking to ease back into things and still want a quality speed workout, this session is for you.

The workout is called the 30/30 fartlek, and it can be done as a workout on its own, or thrown into the end of a long run to challenge your fatigued muscles. A fartlek is a unique speed workout (it’s Swedish for “speed play”) designed to get you comfortable with different paces.

The concept behind the 30/30 fartlek workout is not to destroy you, but to give you a quality session. Most runners will use fartlek training for continuous running to keep their heart rate (HR) at a certain level to improve their aerobic endurance in the quickest way possible. Fartlek running is also one of the best ways to incorporate speedwork into your mileage. 

Workout:

10 to 15 reps of 30 seconds fast and 30 seconds slow jog (continuous)

Each 30-second rep should be done at a comfortably fast pace (generally 5K-10K pace or faster), and the 30-second slow jog should be done at a pace slower than your easy runs.

If you need to walk between reps, you might be pushing too hard; try slowing down the pace of your fast 30s a bit.

Although the workout may seem like a lot of reps, it is only five to eight minutes in total. Doing this session once a week will quickly improve your speed and endurance, helping prepare your mind and body for faster efforts to come.