If you're training for a triathlon, you probably want to add "fartlek" to your vocabulary. Fartlek training can help you break up the monotony of long training sessions and increase your speed. The word is Swedish and literally means "speed play." The concept, frequently used by distance runners, is common in triathlon training programs as well.
Identification
Fartlek training involves inserting bouts of faster speeds into your workout. For example, you can accelerate to the next block or house during a run and then slow down to recovery pace, says Hermann Aschwer, author of "The Complete Guide To Triathlon Training." Though you can predetermine where you want to accelerate, the original concept is free of restriction and does not have prescribed paces or distances, so you can incorporate fartlek training into any workout. It is meant to reflect what you feel like doing on a given day.
It's Not Just for Running
Fartlek training is most often associated with running. However, you can apply the theory to swimming and biking as well. If you use it for a swim workout, you'd increase your speed for one to two laps at a time or between varying landmarks if in the open water. On a bike trainer, you'd add 30- to 90-second bursts of speed into your workout. On the road, you'd increase your bike speed at intervals of your choice, such as between certain landmarks.
Where to Do It
It's more effective to do your fartlek training on the road or in open water rather than on a track, bike trainer or swimming pool, so you are handling all types of terrain, just as you would in an actual race, according to "Dave Scott's Triathlon Training." Doing all your workouts in controlled environments and consistently using the same rest intervals won't prepare you as well for the diverse demands of your race.
When to Do It
You use fartlek training during the speed and technique phase of your training, which is the second of two phases. You use fartlek training as your key workout once a week during phase two for each discipline. For example, you'd do a 30-minute fartlek run once a week if training for a sprint triathlon or a 40-minute fartlek run once a week when training for an Olympic distance race, according to "Triathlon 101." During your first phase of training, you build your base, gradually increasing the length of your workouts. The third phase involves race simulation training in which you transition from one part of the race to another, such as swimming to biking, during a single training session.
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