Fartlek comes from the Swedish for 'Speed Play' .
A typical fartlek run....run for approx 20min at medium to hard intensity.Vary the pace , interspersing fast sections up to 200m , changing intensity to suit the terrain e.g. sprint up hills , slower running to recover.
The following is from Brian Mackenzies athletics sports coach pages ..an excellent source of fitness help.
Gerschler Fartlek
This is good training for getting fit quickly when combined with steady running.
10 minutes warm up jog.
Repeat 3 times - Stride hard for 30 seconds, jog 90 seconds. repeat with 15 second decreases in recovery jog e.g. 30-90, 30-75, 30-60, 30-45, 30-30, 30-15 and 30-15-30.
10 minute warm down jog
Whistle Fartlek
The coach, using a whistle, controls the session over a 1200m circumference grass area.
10 minutes warm up jog.
When the whistle is blown the athletes run hard until the whistle is blown again. Pyramid session of 4 min, 3 min, 2 min, 1 min, 2 min, 3 min, 4 min with a 60 second jog run recovery between each run.
10 minute warm down jog
For rugby players, the session should not just use running, but also jogging and walking to fit in with the demands of the sport ie the pace is varied.
The direction of work should not always be straight ahead.....the rugby player has to go forwards, backwards and from side to side as well as going to ground. This must all be taken into account if the training session is going to mimic accurately the pattern experienced in a match.
Below is a rugby league fartlek program from bob woods coaching pages
Continuous Running
originally the drill was set up for 21 minutes of continuous running, but modified it on the night with 3 sets of 7 minutes with a 1 minute break between the sets.
Drill
The Backs go around the field;
The Forwards go up and down the field.
Backs alternate between sprinting and jogging as shown in the diagram continuously for 7 minutes;
Forwards run up and down the field, jogging for 2 leg and then sprinting the 3rd leg, continuously for 7 minutes.
