Summer is on our doorstep and with it, the allure of the outdoors. Where colder months might make the idea of lacing up and braving freezing temperatures and strong winds sound like a suffer-fest you’d rather avoid than opt-in for, summer is made for running. This is the time for adventure, for taking new turns, discovering new routes, for getting a little lost and accruing experiences you can look back on when the blank page of the calendar draws a new year and with it, new goals.
But if you needed any further reason to get into running, consider the plethora of running festivals and events that now dot the calendar in the upcoming weeks and months. Where sporting events were placed indefinitely on hold during the pandemic, they’ve now returned in full force. One such event is the Nike Melbourne Marathon Festival, taking place on December 11 and 12. With a flat course designed to see you break PBs as you go hard and fast, the event is also one that speaks to the power of the running community. Some might consider running an individual sport, but to take your place at the NMMF is to witness the power of community; the opportunity to support others as they push their body to its limits and shatter what they previously thought was possible. So, just how to boost your speed for such events? Fartlek.
Regardless of whether you’re just getting into running or consider yourself a seasoned professional, the beauty of speed training is that it has benefits for everyone no matter your ability. If you haven’t heard of fartlek, it essentially involves playing around with speeds. The training method is beloved by many for its unstructured approach. Haven’t got a stopwatch or timer? No stress. You can even use distance as a means of measurement. And if you can’t gauge distance, consider something like a park where you run one lap hard, and half a lap slow.
Taking us through a fartlek speed session, Nike Run Coach and avid marathoner, Lydia O’Donnell explains why such training methods are so important. Designed to help you get fitter and faster as you work towards your fitness goals, speed sessions challenge the body to adapt to various speeds, conditioning you to become faster over longer distances. For this session, Lydia uses the audio guided run available on the Nike Run Club app, called “Two hard. One easy.” It involves two minutes of hard intensity, fast running, followed by one minute of easy recovery.
Unlike interval training, fartlek is continuous and doesn’t utilise a complete rest recovery. With that in mind, it’s crucial that you take that one minute easy, jogging it at a comfortable pace you could maintain a conversation at, so as to go hard during those two minute efforts and experience the difference in pace. Naturally, it’s also important to warm up properly and as Lydia shows, the best way to prepare for any kind of run is with some drills and an active warm-up that includes things like strides and stretches.
Check out the speed session below, lace up and enjoy! For more details on the Nike Melbourne Marathon Festival, visit the official website here.
