Glossary of Common Running Workout Terms

It can be a bit overwhelming to keep up with all the running and workout terms you’ll see in training. Use this glossary as your key to knowing what it all means:

Easy Run Pace: An effort that is easy, relaxed, and conversational (should be able to talk to your running partner at this intensity). It’s what most of your runs in a typical training week will be at. 

Recovery Pace: Same as easy pace, you’ll see this as a recovery between your workouts in your interval or repeat workouts.

Marathon Run Pace: This is not your marathon goal pace; this is the pace at which you can currently run a marathon at this moment. As you gain fitness this will get closer to your goal pace. You’ll find this pace in your long run day’s early in training, they’re used to help you get used to running comfortably fast over increasingly long distances. 

Threshold: This pace puts you at the edge of your aerobic capacity where your body is able to use mostly oxygen for energy production and let off Co2 (Carbon Dioxide). Threshold workouts are meant to increase your aerobic capacity and strength. They feel challenging, but doable over long distances. This effort will feel close to your current half marathon pace. There’s a few ways to train this pace, but the two most popular are:

Fartlek or Cruise Intervals: A Threshold workout where you run short bouts, about 2-5 min, of threshold pace with equal or slightly less rest. These workouts allow you to build up lots of time at Threshold pace without overreaching. 

Tempo: A Threshold workout where you run longer bouts, 10-20 min, of threshold pace. This is meant to teach you to extend your time at a threshold pace without rest. Most will only build up to about 20 min, as going much over would put your heart rate over aerobic threshold and into more anaerobic energy systems. 

Interval: Interval training challenges, and improves your body’s ability to use and deliver oxygen to your running muscles. Interval running involves alternate bouts of hard and easy work. Interval training improves aerobic power, so the intensity should be hard. This will feel similar to a 5k effort.

Repeats: These are work bouts that last anywhere from about 30 seconds to 2 minutes where you’re roughly running a pace equivalent to your current mile pace. Think of these as being fast, but controlled efforts with lots of rest…2-3x the amount of time. They build your speed, running economy (how much oxygen you use at specific running speeds), and running strength.