6 Mile Fartlek Workout

When I was back in Connecticut for Christmas, I was so excited to run at sea level.  I had visions of me sprinting through my old running routes blasting "How you like me now".  

Well, instead I came down with a nasty head cold and my sneakersdid not leave the suit case.  Although I was disappointed,  I knew that when I returned to the smog and altitude of Salt Lake City, that the show must go on. 

I went for a quick 3 mile run earlier in the week that felt pretty good.  Well, my legs felt good but my lungs were really bothering me after inhaling the dry smoggy air.  

Saturday, I decided to give my run another shot and Thatcher recommended I try the Jordan River Trail.  He even offered to come bike along for company.  

This park/trail system was pretty awesome and I will dedicate an entire post to detailing it's awesomeness.  But for the sake of this one, we started at the International Peace Gardens and the plan was to run a three mile total out and back.

I ran with Olive while Thatcher biked around and checked out the area.  

I knew I wanted to start the first mile slow because I have been getting some pretty serious running cramps and read that easing in to my workouts would help.  Throughout the beginning of my run, my legs felt great.  The route was almost entirely flat, the scenery was exciting and different, and I felt like a million bucks (lets say, 50 bucks, it is running after all).  At first I said maybe 4 miles, then maybe 5, and then I decided on 6. 

After my 1 mile warm up, I decided I was going to start doing some speed work and decided on fartleks.  

Fartlek means  "speed play" in Swedish.  Fartlek training is basically  periods of fast running intermixed with periods of slower running.  In this case, I "fartleked" the telephone poles.  I started with spring one set jog one set for the second mile.

Mile three I decided to sprint two sets of telephone poles, and jog one set.  Mile four and five I did the same routine but increased my speed during the sprints. 

The last mile served as a cool down.  

I was really excited every time I glanced down at my garmin.  9:13, to 9:27, to 8:12 to 7:52 were my fartlek miles.  I was really excited to see my fifth mile under 8:00.  

Including my warm up and cool down miles, my total distance was 6 miles and my average time was 8:56.  I set out for three, finished at six miles, and had some great mile times.  It is amazing what a flat route and new scenery can do for the runners soul.

One happy girl over here! 

And a pretty happy dog.