My First Fartlek Friday!

Before I get started on my fartlek talk, I just gotta tell you the best thing that happened to me this morning ... I realized that my hair is FINALLY long enough to put in somewhat of a ponytail under my hat!!!  Doesn't sound like much but not having that hair on my neck when I ran this morning made a world of difference in my body's heat index!  Was so excited that I had to take a picture before I started running.

And now we can talk fartlek.  :) 

(FART-lek)

noun
A method of training, originally developed for runners, that involves intense activity interspersed with low effort. For example, sprinting and walking.

Etymology
From Swedish 'fart' (speed) + 'lek' (play). 

So I guess it's 'fart play' if ya think about it!  :P  In any case, it's fun to say and fun to do.  I have never done a fartlek run and this morning was really cool.  I warmed up for about half a mile then sprinted some whenever I felt like it then cooled down and then did it again.  The lengths of the fast runs were really random.  And then when I would cool down, I got out my camera and took some pictures.  During some of the sprints I was running so fast I was gasping for air and then I just walked or jogged slow til I could breathe normal again.  And it was a good workout too!  Couldn't believe how sweaty I was when I got home.  I was only supposed to go 6 miles but ended up going 6.68.  Guess I wasn't really thinking and I took one turn that I didn't need to.  My fastest pace was 6.01 which I held for about a tenth of a mile.  Most speed bursts were between 6:30 and 8:30 depending on the length.  Average overall pace was 10:32.  Not too bad considering how many pictures I took.

The water park and baseball fields are about 2 miles from home.  Did some sprints in the parking lot then took some pictures.  I really like the picture with the baseballs.

Then I headed across the railroad tracks and out to the country.  I love that most of the fields around here have just been plowed and there are big bales of hay in them.

This little Methodist church is so cute!  I run by it most Sunday mornings on my long run and I've seriously thought about stopping in for the service.  Wonder if they would notice some crazy sweaty girl sitting in the back pew in her running clothes?  :)

Then down to my favorite cemetery.

Then by my donkey friend.  He always comes up to me when I run by so I usually stop and talk to him for a minute.  Loved the way the sun was shining on him today.

WARNING!  Ugly feet alert!! 

I had to laugh when I got home and took off my running shoes.  I have only been training hard for 4 days and my feet already look terrible.  On Wednesday, my blisters were killing me so I put on some blister band-aids.  Those things are so expensive but they are magic!  Not only do they heal blisters but they also cushion your feet while you run and prevent new blisters.  So for anyone prone to blisters, go out and get ya some Band-Aid Advanced Healing Blister!

 

(Sorry for the ugly picture of my feet.  Scroll back up and look at the cute donkey!)

Tomorrow's run is a steady, easy 4.  I'm ready for that.  Haven't trained this hard in a long time.  And I'm really gonna have to get used to training 6 days a week.  Maybe I'll just stay in bed all day on Mondays to recover!!  :)