Pull My Finger!

[ornoth_cycling]

I was reading an article about the Boston Marathon, where the author mentioned training via long runs, tempo runs, and fartleks.

Doubletake… Yup, fartleks.

The Wikipedia article says that’s actually Swedish for “speed play”, and describes it as long-duration, unstructured interval training that varies both speed and intensity so that it works both the aerobic and anaerobic systems. Fartleks combine tempo, sprinting, and active recovery pace work. it was designed for runners, but has been applied to numerous other sports.

But when I bring that idea to cycling, it just sounds like a good description of every club ride I’ve ever participated in, as well as most of my own solo training rides!

Fartleks are long workouts. Well, each segment of a bike ride typically exceeds 45 minutes, and there are often 4-8 segments in any given ride. On any given weekend, I’ll leave the house at first thing in the morning and spend the next 7 or 8 hours in the saddle. Cyclists are the masters of long-duration workouts.

Fartleks are unstructured workouts, varying intensity from time to time in no particular pattern. Okay. Even on solo rides, the ups and downs of the terrain create unplanned periods of varying intensity, from tempo pace on the flats to active recovery on descents to high intensity every time there’s a big hill. Or when I sprint for one of those radar speed readout signs along the side of the road! And sprints and breakaways are de rigueur for club rides, where every rider’s unspoken goal is to crush everyone else.

I’ve always resisted strict, formulaic interval training, believing that simply going out and riding hard was just as good a workout, and much better for one’s mental fortitude and well-being. The only time I do use structured intervals is during my wintertime indoor training, when ride time is shorter and there’s no terrain or stronger riders to force me to work at higher intensities.

Finding out about fartlekking merely confirms my felt sense that one should train in conditions that mimic the event(s) one plans to participate in. Train like you race, as they say.

In other words, ride your bike! Leave all that joyless, robotic interval work to others. If you spend a good percentage of your time working your aerobic base, hit some intensity (especially those hills!) to push your the anaerobic system, eat a high-quality / low fat diet, and then get adequate rest, you’re bound to improve, both within each cycling season as well as year over year.

So next year you can expect to see me fartlekking all over the place!