Lockdown Fartleks

Hopefully you are all keeping safe and being able to do what you can when you can.
Following on from work by your committee and suggestions put forward in order to soften some of the ongoing issues with Covid-19 for members, we have put out a few things this week to support you and for you to become engaged with. It’s also very pleasing to see the engagement on FB by members on a variety of subjects.
As we know everybody has different requirements due to lots of variations in their lives. We are trying to offer these ideas generically so they offer something to each of you. There are a few though who are finding it quite difficult to come to terms with the situation and aren’t always forthcoming with their worries. It was with this in mind that our welfare officer Brigitte Groves came up with her information sheet around support and also the idea of a buddy system. Have a think who your normal training partners were whether at one of our regular weekly training sessions or perhaps parkrun and give them a call or message them to see what their up to.
On top of all the ideas and opportunities being passed to you the coaches thought you might like a session put forward each week that you could try. We know most of you are experienced and have your own regime sorted and of course with no races on the horizon then your sessions may just end up as time on feet and get stale. The other thought around this idea was the knowledge that others will also be doing the same thing in the space they have which gives a thought of connectivity to your fellow athletes.
By setting sessions as a responsible club we need to emphasise you carry them out within the guidelines in place by the government at the time and respect the space of others you may come close to. Those of you who are tight for space where you live need to consider whether you should do the session or can jog to somewhere safe with better avoidance opportunities. Remember don’t just zoom across road junctions or dart out into roads to avoid people make sure you look twice or just turn and go back the way you came to get a rep in. All common sense really and respectfulness to others.
The session this week is set by Mark Stephenson and is an opportunity for all of you to do but also to feedback on it like where, when, benefits, improvements, challenges even pictures. This will allow us to adapt better for you in future weeks and also to get back to engaging with each other. Combined with the Arenatopia 5k set by Tris then this should be a good starter.
Don’t forget as coaches we are available to assist you so don’t be afraid to contact us.
Fartlek Training
This is a continuous run of between 30 to 60 minutes during which you should pick up the pace at different points to reach a particular landmark or over a time period. Distances, speeds and recovery periods can vary within the same workout. The quality of the workout is determined by the effort you put in.
So wait for a few minutes into your run to warm up, then run at a faster pace to reach a landmark such as a bench, gate, building, top of a hill, lamp post or road junction (then stop and take care crossing!). Then a slow jog recovery, resume normal pace, then commence a faster section and repeat the cycle several times over your run.
The faster sections should be between 1 to 5 minutes – I suggest 1 to 3 minutes for most runners.
At this stage, I recommend the duration, frequency and pace should be just based on feel. In future weeks we can introduce a more structured session for those who prefer but in the meantime just experiment with different pace, distances and numbers of repetitions.
Keep safe, supportive and sensible
The Arena Coaches