Unless you're already a runner, you probably haven't heard of fartlek speed training. Fartlek is a Swedish word which translates roughly to "speed play". Instead of running intervals, you just run at your normal pace and every now and then put in a short burst of speed. It's a lot of fun, and really gets your excitement going.
There are ways of creating a fartlek training pattern
similar to interval training, but for me that loses the whole point of
it. The point is simply to enjoy the feeling of running fast
occasionally on a regular training run. Fartlek gives you the thrill
of running as fast as you can whenever you feel like it, and is great
practice for when you want to pass someone in a race.
Instead of just running miles, you can replace some of the tempo runs in your half training program with fartlek speed training for variety. When your training running schedule gets boring, try a little fartlek.
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