RUN
STAPLE
BY ST E V E JAC KS O N
SET
2 x 90sec
4 x 60sec
4 x 30sec
4 x 15sec
With equal recovery
Equals 20 minutes
T
here's no point re-inventing the wheel and when it comes
to running, as it’s one of the simplest of sports, but there's
a few staples. Drop into most run clubs and the Sunday
long run is almost a given, and there's another session
that has become a bit of a staple, not just in Australia but
universally; “Mona Fartlek”. It's a run set you can use at any time
of the year or throughout the year, as part of training for a range
of distances, good for triathletes, runners and multisporters
alike. It's bite size too, so you can include it in a longer session or
squeeze it in with a short warm-up and cool down on your
lunch break.
Steve Moneghetti, one of Australia's finest runners, was on the
phone to his coach, Chris Wardlaw, who directed Moneghetti
(Mona) to complete 15-20 minutes of fartlek for his training.
Moneghetti who, by his own admission, is 'particular', probed
for more specific time frames. Ironic, given the very term 'fartlek'
is Swedish for 'speed play' and is not, by its nature, meant to be
defined. Wardlaw, when pressed suggested that he should do 20
minutes, and off the top of his head, rattled off the suggestion of
two 90-second efforts, four 60-second efforts and four 30-second
efforts, all with equal recovery. Moneghetti, who has a civil
engineering degree and is good with numbers, quickly noted that
this only totalled 18 minutes and asked if a further four 15-second
efforts would be ok to make up the 20 minutes. Wardlaw,
exasperated by this stage, was happy enough and in doing so, this
off-the-cuff session came to existence and its journey to
fame began!
If you're half as particular as Moneghetti himself, you're already
spinning the question in your head; "what pace?" One given is
that there should be distinct changes in pace. A bystander or
coach should be able to see when you move from an interval into
recovery and so learning to 'pace' this session will be a skill you
develop with repetition. The pace/intensity of both efforts and
recoveries may alter throughout the year based on the purpose of
your particular session. It can be a great little taper session 10 days
out from race day or can be a good speed maintenance session in
a heavy training block.
But to answer the question; the pace of the recovery should
ideally be a 'float'; a pace that is slower than your effort, but
still much faster than what you could term a recovery jog. A
be wilder · play wilder · perform wilder
good, solid float would be run at close to your half marathon
or marathon pace. This may alter if you're just starting out, your
efforts may simply be jog and recovery may be a walk. And often a
measure of your fitness won't be the speed or distance covered in
efforts, but in your recoveries.
As for the pace of the efforts, if you're chasing a high intensity
effort, the pace of the efforts could be as quick as your 1500m
pace (if you're like myself, it will likely to have been a while since
you did one of these, so you can use a pace predictor to work out
a pace or if you're experienced enough, can run these on feel) or
if doing it as a recovery or maintenance session, then the efforts
could be around your 10km pace. It goes without saying that you
should adjust these paces if recovering from injury or as alluded to
above, if you're just starting out in running or multisport pursuits.
Moneghetti himself moved between mid-2.30 per km pace for
efforts and closer to 3min k's for his recoveries and hovered
around the 7km mark in the 20 minute block at his best. And whilst
that may be beyond you (although if you're reading this Eliud
Kipchoge or Vincent Luis, take that as a challenge) it's a great set to
measure objectively throughout your year.
It is intended that you run these sets at a good pace with
minimal recovery. For those at the pointy end of races, it can help
you deal with or hopefully, initiate surge. For all levels of runners, it
will also steel you for the extra demand of hills mid-race. For those
who prefer the longer stuff, it's a great quality session for your
training and can also be a great break from the monotony of heavy
mileage. Triathletes and multisporters have even been known to
throw it in as part of a brick session. I encourage people to do this
session in the same location so that the outcome is measurable.
The terrain and surface can be moulded around your pursuits;
road runners and triathletes may prefer to do it on the hard stuff
whilst the trail and adventure racers may chose to find a great trail
although personally, I love a good golf course (with permission of
course...or run really early)!
Left to the sport scientists and coaches, there's a raft of sessions
that can be picked apart for missing their intended outcome
and point to its deficiencies and Mona Fartlek has fallen prey to
criticism for its brevity. Clearly they never ran it hard! At the end of
the day, if it challenges you and excites you then that's enough for
me, and if I recall, that Moneghetti bloke ran ok too....
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