Hello and welcome to Runner’s 101. Here, you will be introduced to basic terms used in the running community. When you first get into the sport, you hear about all sorts of fancy terminology and may have no idea what any of it means! Like, what’s the difference between miles and kilometers? Trying to convert that one can certainly be a whirlwind! Come with me as we break down some info for you.
Let’s start with distance. It can be a bear to learn, especially since there’s a lot of back and forth between the metric and imperial system. Down below are the typical distances raced. There are many other unconventional distances put on but for the purposes of this article we will stick with the most popular ones. However, feel free to experiment with the others as well.
Running Distances:
1km~.62 miles
5k: 3.1 miles
10k: 6.2 miles
1/2 marathon: 21 km/13.1 miles
Full Marathon: 42 km/26.2 miles
Ultra Marathon: >42km/26.2 miles
Next we’ll break down some common terminology used in running data analysis along with some everyday vocabulary you may run into within the community.
Runner: Someone who runs. Racer or not, long distance or not, if you run, you are a runner.
Cadence: The number of steps per minute you take while running (ideally 170-180 for most runners)
Set: The amount of repetitions you do at a given effort for a specific exercise. There is typically a rest period that separates sets, unless you are doing 2 exercises back to back.
Rep: The number of repeated attempts you do for an exercise. For example, if you are performing a bench press and are doing 3×10, then you will perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions of bench press for a total of 30 repetitions of the exercise with a brief period of rest between each set of 10.
Intervals: A set distance or time period you are running at a given effort. An example of intervals could be one mile repeats or 10 minutes at 5k pace. These are often used in a run “workout”.
Consistent Pacing/Even Splits: The ability to run at a steady pace over a given distance/time. For example if you are doing a distance based interval workout like ½ mile repeats and your pace is 4:00. You are aiming to hit 4:00 or get within a very small margin for every ½ mile rep you do. If you are doing a time based workout like you are running 5 min repeats, you are aiming to hit the same distance for each rep.
Splits: the amount of time it took you to run a certain distance. For example, in a 5k race, you are looking at the time it took you to run each mile. The individual mile is the split
Negative Split: A negative split occurs when you run the second half of a race faster than the first half. You will also hear runners refer to a negative split when they run each progressive repetition of a workout faster than the last. It is an ideal method to racing when one wants to reach a new personal fastest time
Positive Split: The opposite of negative split, running the second half slower than the first half. You may also hear this referred to if, in a workout, each repetition is run slower than the last.
Personal Record/Best: Your personal fastest time when running a certain distance.
Warm Up: Drills and running lightly as a means of getting blood moving to the muscles in preparation for a workout. This aids in preventing injuries by slowly getting the body moving and not shocking the system by jumping into hard and fast exercise.
Cool Down: Drills and running lightly as a means of allowing the body to slowly come to a rest after a workout and preventing muscles from tightening up and injury.
Strava: Social media platform for runners and athletes. Many use this as a training log to track their workouts/activities. (Join the TCTC Strava group here.)
Speed Training: A type of workout that is focused on improving speed. (i.e. interval, tempo, fartleks, etc)
Hydration Pack/Bladder: A “vest” or “backpack” that is worn on the torso and used to carry fluids for a runner to consume as they run. Inside the hydration pack is a “bladder” that is used to house the fluid (typically water or electrolytes) this container is typically made of thick plastic and specially designed to fit inside of the hydration pack. The bladder usually contains a hose that is used by the runner to consume its contents. Hydration packs also typically contain pockets to hold fuel, keys, phone, or anything else the runner feels important to bring along on the run.
Lactate: A chemical that results as a product of carbohydrates being broken down in the muscles for fuel during running.
Fatigue: Tiredness resulting from mental or physical exertion or illness.
Acclimation: Adapting to different aspects that impact running/pace such as heat, elevation, humidity, etc.
Elevation Gain/Loss: Total vertical ascent/descent over a run.
Cross Training: Activities and sports outside of running. Cross training is beneficial and crucial to running success as it aids massively in injury prevention. Running is a very repetitive sport, some muscles are worked hard day in and day out and others are not. The body needs to work together as a whole. If parts of the body have a substantial difference in groups being strong or weak, that opens you up for injuries. On top of that, pounding pavement constantly is bound to wear you down to some extent eventually, sometimes it’s good to just get off your feet for a bit. Cross training also brings some variance to your training. It keeps things interesting.
Wall: The feeling of hitting exhaustion during a long run or race. This is also referred to as “bonking”. When you hit the wall, it is hard both mentally and physically to keep going.
Overtraining: At first glance, overtraining may sound good because you can think, oh I’m over prepared for this race! That’s not what it means. Overtraining is where you train so much, your body cannot recover, it is leaving your body too tired to recoup from the strain.
Runner’s High: The feeling of euphoria experienced after a run. Can be from any type of run, typically it is experienced after a race where one has achieved a PR, but it doesn’t have to be
Fuel: Food that is taken in on runs either in training or racing. There are products that can be designated for training runs, but if it’s easily chewable while running, you can use just about anything that is high in carbs. If you want to learn more about carbs and protein, you can read that article here.
This is barely the tip of the iceberg as far as subjects within the running community. The more you immerse yourself in it, the more you will find out about all the running community has to offer.