by GRP runner Andrew Tario

It’s no secret that long steady workout efforts are crucial for success in longer-distance road races. As someone who trains mostly solo, I understand the importance of these long efforts, but find it mentally taxing to stay engaged for an hour or more of steady running. By breaking my workout up into a fartlek—that is, alternating periods of fast and slow running— it can be easier to get through the workout mentally without sacrificing fitness gains. I’ll break down some example workouts below for different ways to do a 1- hour fartlek.

Example #1

An hour of steady running at a fast pace can seem very daunting, especially when you are training by yourself. If you feel that you may not be able to stay mentally engaged for the duration of the workout, try breaking it down as follows: 10min-10min-10min-8min-6min-6min repetitions of harder running, with 2 minutes of easier running in between each repetition. This adds up to 50 minutes of hard running, with 10 minutes of easy running spaced throughout. Not only does this make it easier to maintain focus for the hour, but the 2 minute rest also allows you to run a faster pace on your “on” segments compared to simply running an hour at a steady pace.

Example #2

15 sets of 3 minutes on, 1 minute off. 3 minutes is a fairly short time to be running hard, especially for marathon training, so it isn’t particularly difficult to maintain focus for any given repetition. What does become difficult, however, is the short 1 minute jog in between every repetition. By the time you slow down and start to catch your breath, it’s basically time to start running again! This workout can also be really helpful to prepare for races that have a lot of “yo-yo’ing” in the pace.

Example #3

30 sets of 1 minute on, 1 minute off. This is basically a more extreme example of the second workout, where the repetition is a measly 1 minute of hard running! Easy enough, right? Well, not really. It’s easy to get running much faster than goal half-marathon/marathon pace on these repetitions, since they are only 1 minute long. At first, it may not feel particularly difficult, but that short 1-minute jog rest will come back to bite you if you run the first few repetitions too quickly. Try running this and the previous example’s workout first at tempo pace. The goal is to complete the whole workout with the last “on” section being just as fast as the first one. This workout will work on some of that top-end speed while still delivering great aerobic benefits, since you are still running for an hour straight.

In conclusion, if you struggle with long tempo efforts in your half-marathon and marathon training like I do, try breaking the effort down into a time-based fartlek, instead. You may find it easier to focus, and enjoy a better workout than if you try to make yourself run steady the entire time.