Now I Know

I thought running was just running and training was everything you did without wearing an official race bib, I thought wrong. There are so many fancy running terms and types of workouts and it all seems like another language. So today I gave myself a little vocabulary lesson...

5k- 3.1 miles
8k- 4.97 miles
10k- 6.2 miles
half marathon- 13.1 miles
marathon- 26.2 miles
ultramarathong- greater than 26.2 miles, typically 50k+

Fartlek- Is apperently interval work that is unstructured, meaning based on what the runner is feeling. Used in a sentence I imagine proper use would be: Everytime I run, I fartlek.

Intervals- A predetermined distance that is ran at a fast pace with walking in between. Used in a sentence: When doing 4x800, I always dread the last one.

PR- Personal Record or Personal Best. Used in a sentence: My PR is much slower that his PR.

PW- Personal Worst. Used in a sentence: If this is my first race of this distance I don't have to record it as a PW, because it is also a PR!

Recovery run- a slow to moderate run used to recover sore muscles after a harder workout. Used in a sentence: That 5k was not a PW, it was a recovery run from my training run.

Road race- a race run mostly on concrete. Used in a sentence: They found the one road leading up the side of this mountain to have a race on.

Training run- any run used to reach a goal. Used in a sentence: Don't record that time, this is just a training run!

Runner's High- the feeling of euphoria some runners experience due to endorphins. Used in a sentence: I am going to take a recovery nap while I wait for my runner's high to kick in.

Second wind- the feeling of more energy and less effort after around 20-30 minutes of running. Used in a sentence: I didn't even get my second wind on that 5k.

Tempo run- used to increase lactic threshold, typically 15-30 minutes of high speed running. Used in a sentence: I wish my hamstrings could hear the tempo in this beat.

Wall- the state of exhaustion felt when the body has drained its glycogen stores, usually occurs around mile 20 of a marathon. Used in a sentence: I slammed face first into the wall at mile 23.

Quit- a word not in a runner's vocabulary. Used in a sentence: I may have had to crawl, but I finished!

Now I know.

"The finish line is just the beginning of a whole new race"