Fartlek VS. Mandessa

I actually had to look this up because I didn't know what the heck it was.  On my training log it says:

"These are shorter sessions made up of jogging, walking and some fast running. They offer a nice change of pace to continuous running and they can help improve aspects of endurance such as VO2max and anaerobic threshold. You don't need to know what those terms mean, I've just added links if you're interested.
Here is the format for our Fartlek sessions...

• Warm Up with 5-10 minutes of light jogging
• Run for 4 minutes, jog slowly for 1 minute. This one cycle
• Repeat for the prescribed amount of time (see chart at bottom). A 20 minute session would consist of 4 cycles
• On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 is a very fast run, 1 is a leisurely stroll) aim for a level 7 to 8 on the runs
• Cool down for 5-10 minutes of light jogging"

Then, I looked up the word "fartlek" on Wikipedia because I wanted to know where the word came from.  My first guess was that it was some foreign kid who hated his last name of Fartlek and felt he had a score to settle with the entire planet for poor treatment on the playground (I mean, really, any child with a last name of Fartlek could NEVER grow up as a "normal" child).  Anyway, so Wiki said:

"Fartlek, which means "speed play" in Swedish, is a form of conditioning which puts stress on the whole aerobic energy system due to the continuous nature of the exercise. The difference between this type of training and continuous training is that the intensity or speed of the exercise varies, meaning that aerobic and anaerobic systems can be put under stress. Most fartlek sessions last a minimum of 45 minutes and can vary from aerobic walking to anaerobic sprinting. Fartlek training is generally associated with running, but can include almost any kind of exercise.... Fartlek training was developed in 1937 by Swedish coach Gösta Holmér (1891–1983) and has been adopted by many physiologists since. It was designed for the downtrodden Swedish cross-country teams that had been thrashed throughout the 1920s by Paavo Nurmi and the Finns. Holmér's plan used a faster-than-race pace and concentrated on both speed and endurance training." ( so Holmer was the one who had the axe to grind...)

All I know is that it was the hardest day of training for me yet!  Part of the problem was that I started off too fast and that it was already pretty hot outside by 10 am (curse you, stupid humidity & heat index!). I was trying to keep an eye on the boys, my timer, and not die all at the same time.  Now, I can multitask fairly well, but holy cow, this kicked my big, old tail severely!  The ONLY part I liked was that I was done in 20 minutes.  The next time I do this, which is next week, I will wait until the hubby gets home and has the kids before I do it again.

On the good side, the new eating is going well.  I'm down to drinking only one cup of coffee first thing in the morning, and not drinking any more caffeine for the rest of the day.  I'm also really enjoying more fruit, veggies, and especially wheat pastas & breads.  The boys even ate the pasta without a word of complaints, and I didn't tell them it was different... :)  And while I was at school starting to get my classroom ready yesterday (and that is a HUGE job, in case you didn't know), someone said that whatever I had been up to over the summer it was making me look fantastic!  I'll pay Lisa her dollar later... ;)

Well, it's off for more "cross-training" in the house, i.e. cleaning floors & bathrooms (doesn't that sound lovely--almost as bad as a Fartlek training).

Until next time...