Nope, I haven’t made up a rude word!  Fartlek, which means “speed play” in Swedish is a form of training developed in……. Sweden – in other words, you ‘play with your speed’ with unorganized intervals.

The bulk of the training session is within your comfortable endurance (aerobic) zone but the intensity or speed of your cycling varies, meaning that aerobic and anaerobic systems can be put under stress. The important thing to note is that Fartlek is totally unstructured, meaning no set interval times or intensities or terrain limitations which makes this a very versatile form of training.

Group ride: Before you start your training ride, the group decides on an ‘acceleration marker’ ie. a red post box, speed limit sign or blue car. Depending on the group size, when an acceleration marker is noticed, any rider can accelerate away from the pack and lead the interval as long as she is able.  For road safety reasons, the riders behind don’t pass the lead rider, but sit in behind holding onto the wheel in front. When the lead rider is through, she will sit up to begin recovery, and the riders behind follow suit.  The next interval begins when the next rider accelerates.

Solo ride:  During a medium length bike ride of 1-2 hours surge for 1 minute every 10 minutes or so, or when an ‘acceleration marker’ is spotted. This surge is not terribly hard—perhaps only 2-3 mph faster than your normal speed, then simply return to your relaxed rhythm.