Fartlek

I found this term hilarious the first time my PE teacher taught me about it. He explained that it was Swedish for ‘speed play’, and that it meant walking for a bit, then jogging, then sprinting, then walking again, and so on. A way to train the body in a more beneficial way than just going constantly going at the same speed.

While I’ve remembered the term, perhaps mostly for the funny name, it also stuck with me over the years for its effectiveness. I’ve used it countless times when running and cycling for fitness: Between lampposts, or trees in parks, or arbitrary landmarks in the distance. And while I’m not sure if it actually is more beneficial physically, it really helps me to pace myself and stay interested when exercise gets tedious.

With that in mind, I’m going to use the method on day 18 of National Blog Posting Month, to walk for a bit. Not that I’ve been sprinting or even jogging all month, but just because it’s Friday night, I’m feeling a bit under the weather, and I want to go to bed.