Glossary of Running Terminology

Cross Training

Anything except your normal sport discipline: swim, cycle, yoga, hike, XC ski, snowshoe, row, aerobics, stair climb, etc. Easy to moderately hard effort: (RPE 1-6 on a scale of 10 (see RPE below). Avoid anaerobic effort. You can combine multiple modes into one workout.

Fartlek

Swedish word for speed play; a workout that mixes faster running with slower running. Add variety to training and this can be performed in any setting.

Interval (Repeats)

A type of workout where a set distance is run repeatedly with a recovery jog between: for example, 6 times 400 meters (fast) with a 100-meter recovery jog. Interval training builds speed and endurance.

Long Run

Long runs are easy runs that test your endurance boundaries. They are performed at a "conversational" pace, meaning that you can talk and run at the same time. They can be as short as 20 minutes or as long as 3 hours. It just depends on your ability level and time! While building up your long runs, feel free to take short walking breaks. Time on your feet is what's important, not pace. Heart rate target zone is less than or equal to 75% of HR Max.

Pace

• Recovery Pace - A very easy pace at which you can comfortably talk--if you cannot maintain a conversation, you are going TOO FAST.
• Comfortably Hard Pace - A faster pace, one at which you can still talk, but it is more difficult. Breathing is rhythmic and faster, but in control. You should be able to maintained this speed for 20 minutes or more when fit.
• Fast Pace - This is near the pace you would go in a 1- mile race. Faster than comfortably hard, but still with good form.
• Race Pace - Pace at which you intend to run your target race. This should fall somewhere between a comfortably hard and a fast pace.

RPE

Rating of Perceived Exertion. In determining workout intensity, it's often better to use a subjective training guide that takes into account your physical and emotional state than to rely on an objective percentage of age-predicted maximum heart rate.

RPE	Borg RPE Scale	Description
1	6	no exertion at all
	7	extremely light
	8
2	9	very light
	10
3	11	light
4	12
5	13	somewhat hard
6	14
7	15	hard (heavy)
8	16
8.5	17	very hard
9	18
9.5	19	extremely hard
10	20	maximal exertion

Speed Work

Short, fast intervals with recovery jogs or walks between; increases your leg turnover speed and maximizes your stamina and race confidence.

Stamina Workouts

Steady runs that will help you feel strong as you go long. These runs are "moderately hard" and slightly faster than conversational pace. A good stamina workout might alternate periods of running strong for 4-8 minutes with periods of jogging for 1-3 minutes, for a total of up to 30 minutes.

Strides

Short, fast, but controlled intervals of 50 to 150 meters. Used both in training and to warm up before a race, strides build speed and efficiency.

Tempo

A workout designed to improve the lactate threshold. Tempo runs are sustained effort training runs, usually 20 to 30 minutes in length, at 10 to 15 seconds per mile slower than 10K race pace (lactate threshold speed). Another way to gauge the pace is that it should be about midway between short-interval training speed and an easy running pace.