Fartlek

While it may sound like a gross bodily function or a healthy grain you should be eating (that would be farro, for those interested), fartlek is the Swedish word for “speed play” and is a common speed training technique for long distance runners.  I am not the speediest of runners and in order to finish the marathon in my goal time (5 hours) I need to increase my speed just a bit.  My goal is quite lofty, considering I need to get down from an 11:30 mile to a 9:30 mile to achieve it and that isn’t counting bathroom breaks (I may just end up wearing an adult diaper for this race, stay tuned for updates!). 

Yesterday I took the Hard Bodies class earlier in the day and it was a killer – lots of lunges, squats, frog jumps, etc. – and my legs were feeling it.  My co-worker/gym buddy Jaime and I decided to meet after work and jog to a nearby track to do some speed training.  Jaime has recently taken up running and will often come out on runs with me; the guy doesn’t look like your typical runner but he has the craziest calf muscles and at one point yesterday I thought he might start running circles around me.  But he usually humors me and stays at my pace, which makes him a good running partner.

The Weehawken track and field is pretty new and because it’s one of the nicest fields in the area, always busy.  The Zog Sports teams were playing soccer on the field, there were a few other people running and the weather was gorgeous – all of which made a perfect backdrop for the torturous sprints we endured.    We ran .7 miles to the track and then did 7 laps – sprinting the longer portions of the track (using light poles as the point to stop) and jogging the short, rounded portion.  My garmin couldn’t accurately calculate my speed for the sprints since they were somewhat short lived but since I had to walk the last two laps at the rounded parts I knew I had sprinted at a good pace.  We then jogged back to Hoboken, ending the day with 3.8 miles done.  I’m not sure if it was the most effective speed workout I’ve ever done but it was good for the first time and I will be doing more research into the sprints I can be doing.  In high school I was fortunate enough to go to a speed and agility coach and I’m pretty sure I remember some of the workouts from back then, so I will work on incorporating those into my routine. 

Today is Friday, which means I get to take the day off from training to prepare for my long run.  Tomorrow morning I will wake up at an ungodly hour to head into Central Park and run 5 miles with Team in Training.  I’m excited to meet my mentor and the other coaches who have been bombarding my inbox with emails since I signed up. The one thing I can say about TNT is that they provide you with so much information, it’s a little overwhelming.  Indulging in a little pasta tonight, very excited – Happy Friday!!