Runner Dictionary
As coaches, we often resort to using terms that are very familiar to us, but may or may not be familiar to our runners. This runner dictionary is intended to be a living document, and we invite feedback on it to help us clarify definitions, and to provide definitions for terms that we haven’t thought of. We hope that this becomes a valuable resource for our current runners, and to those visiting our site.
Let’s begin!
Warm-up: Your warm-up can be a brisk walk or easy effort run, and should include some dynamic exercises to help get your blood flowing, and to wake up your legs. This is particularly important if you’re running in the morning, and have been laying down all night OR if you’re running after work and you sit at a desk all day. Dynamic exercises include things such as: high knees, butt kicks, high skips, side slides, and cariocha/grapevines.
Cooldown: Your cooldown can be a very easy effort run or brisk walk. After running a hard effort (track workout/intervals/tempos), you should not sit down right after. This will result in soreness and stiffness in the joints and muscles. Right after, you should continue to move but keeping it easy will allow your heart rate to come down, and keep your legs loose as they recover.
Rate of Perceived Effort or RPE: Generally, when we’re talking about the effort level(s) we want our athletes to hit in their workouts, we’re basing that off of the RPE scale of 1-10.
Level 1 - you’re at home, on the couch, debating between running and what to watch on Netflix/Hulu/Prime/Disney+.
Level 2 - you’ve put clothes on, shoes, out the door, and have started to walk or easy jog
Levels 3-4 - this is the heart of easy effort running. We also refer to these efforts as “conversational pace,” meaning you should be able to comfortably hold a full conversation (think full sentences) with a buddy, yourself, the dog running next to you. If you can excitedly point out and describe how cute the pup you just ran by is, you’re doing it right
Level 5 - Level 5 is also an easy effort, but is at the harder end of your easy effort range. For example, if your easy effort paces are 10:00-11:30 min/mile, levels 3-4 are closer to that 11:00-11:30 range. Level 5 is closer to the 10:00-10:30 range. You should still be able to hold a comfortable conversation at this pace.
Level 6 - we consider Level 6 to be your marathon effort. If you haven’t run a marathon, we also think of Level 6 as “brisk conversational.” You can still speak in full sentences, but there are some pauses to breathe in between those sentences. For example, “I had a really great day at work today, ‘breathe’, Greg from accounting brought me a coffee from, ‘breathe’, Gregory’s and it was delicious.” Essentially, the effort has started to affect your breathing, and your comfortable bordering on uncomfortable. Needless to say, it takes time and practice to figure out where this effort is so please be patient with yourself as you learn it.
Level 7 - this is your tempo effort. Tempo effort is the effort you can sustain for about an hour. Depending on one’s pace, this might be the effort you use for a 10k, 15k (9.3 miles), or 10 miler. Talking-wise, you’re getting out some words, but not full sentences. The focus is on maintaining form, and controlling your breathing. And odds are, if the person next to you is peppering you with questions, you want them to stop!
Level 8 - this is the first of the hard efforts. For a lot of the training we have you do, this is as hard as we’ll ever ask you to do. Starting at this effort level, you are not talking. Focus is purely on good form and breathing. If you’ve raced a 5k before, this is 5k race effort, not 5k fun run effort.
Levels 9-10 - rarely will we ask our runners to hit these efforts. This is your final kick/all out effort for that final finish. To borrow a phrase from a colleague and friend, this is murder pace - the pace you’d run to get away from someone trying to well, murder you.
Speedwork: For those training for a half or full, you’ll have at least one day of speed work, but what is it? Speedwork falls broadly into three categories: intervals/repeats, tempo runs, and hill work. All three types challenge runners in different ways with the ultimate goal of helping you to get faster.
Intervals/repeats - these workouts are typically done on a track though they can be done anywhere that is easily measurable. This type of workout has you work at varying effort levels, generally on the harder end with brief periods of rest in between sets. For example, if you’re running 4x800 meter repeats (4x0.5 a mile), after the 800 meters (1/2 mile), you would rest standing (passive) or easy walk/light jog (active) for 2 minutes (for example) before beginning the next 800 meters.
Tempos - tempo runs are a sustained harder effort run. Particularly for those running half/full marathons or longer, these workouts teach you how to sustain a moderate to harder effort in the long run literally. For example, a tempo run might have you start by running the first 10 minutes easy, then build into a level 6 for the next 10 minutes, and finish with a final 10 minutes at level 7 (this type of run is also called a Progression run). These runs are often great for practicing your race day strategy - starting easy, and finishing fast.
Hills - the hills are alive! Hills are a slightly more deceptive form of speed work. The short definition is that hills are hard. Incorporating them into your regular running routine at least once a week can help make you faster and stronger. Hill work will strengthen your calfs, glutes, and quads. You’ll also be taking more and shorter steps, which will work your cardiovascular system. While running hills, you also raise your knees a little higher, which will strengthen those muscles, and help to generate more power when on flat ground or downhill.