From Coach Toby….
I hope you’ve been enjoying the holidays. After two strength-building hill workouts, including our annual “holiday hustle” lights run, we’re now transitioning to flatter ground with a fartlek session in the Panhandle. It’s New Year’s Eve, so come get your run in before heading out to celebrate!
Before we jump into the workout, I want to give a big thanks to Spencer for organizing our first Run Club SF gift swap. It was a super fun way to celebrate the season and spend quality time together. On that note, if you’d like to grab a bite and hang out with your run club buddies one last time for the year, join us after this week’s run at Crepevine, 624 Irving St. It’s a short 3-5 minute walk from the park.
This Week:
For the uninitiated, fartlek translates to “speed play” in Swedish. In simple terms, it’s a workout where we alternate between periods of faster running and slower recovery. There’s no need to worry about exact timing or pace, just listen to your body and enjoy the rhythm of alternating between easy and fast.
Here’s the plan:
- Faster efforts: Pick a pace that’s noticeably quicker than your usual run pace. You should be breathing harder but still able to maintain control. These intervals should last around 30 seconds.
- Recovery: Slow down to an easy jog for about 1 minute to catch your breath and recover before picking up the pace again.
If you want a more structured approach, we can also use heart rate zones to guide the faster and recovery intervals. If you have a heart rate monitor, aim for Zone 4 (threshold) during your faster intervals, and Zone 2 (easy) during the recovery periods. More details on this below.
Whether you’re focusing on feel or zones, the goal is to keep things playful and fun. You can choose which approach feels best for you today.
Meet-up: 7th Ave and MLK Jr Dr (our normal location)
Warm up: Range of motion exercises and 1 mile easy jog to Stanyan and Oak Streets (west end of the Panhandle).
Strava route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3305973463824683464
Fartlek Workout:
Start/Finish: Intersection of Stanyan and Oak Streets
Continue at an easy pace to Oak and Masonic, then start your fartlek intervals after crossing Masonic. You will run fartlek to your turnaround (see below) and then all the way back to Stanyan and Oak.
Turnaround Points & Strava Routes:
- 1 mile: Baker and Fell https://www.strava.com/routes/3306005367492106240
- 1.5 miles: Fell and Masonic https://www.strava.com/routes/3306004927433522898
- 2 miles: Fell and Clayton https://www.strava.com/routes/3305993875522358994
Feel Approach: The faster pace should feel challenging but not all-out. Use the “talk test”—if you can still speak but it’s more difficult, you’re probably in the right zone. Recovery should feel like a comfortable, easy pace.
Heart Rate Zone Approach:
- Faster intervals: Aim for Zone 4 or Zone 5 (80-90% of your max heart rate).
- Recovery intervals: Aim for Zone 2 (60-70% of your max heart rate).
Cool-down: From Stanyan and Oak, we’ll retrace our steps and return to 7th and MLK Jr Drive (1 mile) at an easy to moderate pace.
Understanding Heart Rate Zones
- Zone 1 (50-60% max heart rate): Very easy effort, easy to talk.
- Zone 2 (60-70% max heart rate): Easy to moderate effort, comfortable pace, able to carry on a conversation, builds endurance.
- Zone 3 (70-80% max heart rate): Moderate effort, slightly challenging, starting to work harder.
- Zone 4 (80-90% max heart rate): Hard effort, conversation becomes difficult, pushing towards your limit, and tough to maintain for long periods.
- Zone 5 (90-100% max heart rate): All-out effort, maximal intensity, used for short bursts, interval training to build power and speed.
Article: Understanding Heart Rate Zones and How They Impact Your Training
https://stories.strava.com/articles/understanding-heart-rate-zones-and-how-they-impact-your-training