A Running Glossary of Terms
by Anthony Famiglietti on December 13, 2013 in Anthony Famiglietti, Athletics & Training
As you begin a running training program , there’s some lingo that the running community uses when describing aspects of their training. Here are common running terms to get you started:
RPE: Rate of perceived effort. This is used to determine your effort on a scale of 1-10. 1 being very easy, 10 being an all-out run.
Interval: A series of fast paced runs broken up by pre-determined periods of rest/recovery. Example: A set of 4 x 400 meter runs on the track with 2 minutes of standing recovery in between each.
Fartlek: Translated from Swedish to literally mean ‘speed play’, it is a continuous run with intermittent periods of running hard and running easy. For example: Alternate 3 minutes of hard running followed by 2 minutes of easy running on and off for 30 minutes.
Tempo Run: A continuous run of anywhere from two miles to 20+ miles at an effort that is hard enough not to be able to speak, but not an all-out effort.
Time Trial: A time trial is a simulated race effort that can be run at varying distances depending on the race you are preparing for.
Dynamic Stretches: These are stretches done with a continuous movement as opposed to standing in place. Examples would be leg swings, mock hurdle walk-overs and skipping in a running motion. We’ll discuss these in detail as we move forward each week.
Strides: Strides are short, speedy running efforts usually run at a brisk sprint effort. They are typically 100 meters long or slightly longer than one football field length, but can vary by preference from 50 meters to 200 meters. A full standing recovery or jog recovery can be done between each stride. Strides are used to help get the ‘junk’ or remnant stiffness out of your legs after early-week hard efforts. They’re also a simple way to help you utilize and activate fast twitch muscle fibers on a weekly basis. I’ve found that activating these muscle fibers/groups and reinforcing efficient sprint running form/bio-mechanics during weekly strides can assist speed and leg turnover growth over time.
Leg Turnover: Leg turnover is basically the speed at which your legs are moving. To make yourself go faster, you can take shorter strides at a faster rate to increase your leg turnover. Since most of us have a natural stride distance, the way to increase your running speed is to improve your leg turnover rate.