During a cross-country race, it is very unlikely that you will run the same pace throughout the whole race. You'll probably run fast, then slower, then fast again. This variation in your pace is do to the terrain, and the race itself. The best runners are the ones who can respond to mid-race surges from their opponents even though they are in a lot of pain. One of the best workouts to prepare yourself for the varying pace is the fartlek. Here are some pointers about this workout.
What is a Fartlek?
A Fartlek (swedish for "speed play") is simply sprinting and jogging off and on during a run. For example, an normal fartlek workout be a 40-60 minute training run. However, instead of keeping the same pace through the whole workout you sprint, then jog, then sprint again whenever you feel like it. You can customize the fartlek workout to how you feel. If you feel sluggish, limit the number of sprints you do, and take more time to recover. If you feel great, run the sprints hard, and sprint again maybe when you don't feel totally recovered.
One good way to run this workout is to pick out objects ahead of you, like a telephone pole and sprint from that pole to the next and then jog. One reason that the fartlek workout is so popular is that it is so flexible.
Before starting a fartlek, make sure that you warmup at least 10-15 minutes to ensure that your muscles are loose enough to handle the accelerations. Also, cooldown 10-15 minutes after the workout. The fartlek can be a difficult workout, and if you don't warmup and cooldown, you could have some very sore muscles the next day.
Structured Fartlek
Although the fartlek's popularity is partly due to its flexibility, many coaches like to make the workout more structured and give it more of a track interval feel. For example, a structured fartlek might be: 10-15 minute warmup, 2 minutes hard, 2:30 easy, 3 minutes hard, 2:30 easy, 4 minutes hard, 2:30 easy, 4 minutes hard, 2:30 easy, 3 minutes hard, 2:30 easy, 2 minutes hard, 10-15 minutes cooldown. This workout is stated easier by calling it a: 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 2, with 2:30 rest. A structured fartlek is great because, since it is run on trails or roads, it gives you the benefits of track work while also providing you the chance to run hills.
Fartleks in Your Base Training
Check out my section on speed training on my base building page to see how often you should do fartleks.
The general rule is that you should be running at least 30-40 miles a week, and have a good month's worth of base running before trying these.
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