A Runner’s Lexicon

Wondrous Words Wednesday

wondrous memeWelcome to Wondrous Words Wednesday, a fun meme hosted by Kathy at bermudaonion.net. Please welcome my guest Nicole as she shares Wondrous Words from running and some awesome pinnable quotes!

 

A unique subculture, runners dash through life at a different pace.

Part statistician, we reel off numbers with ease.

Total weekly mileage. Interval paces. Race splits.

Part cartographer, we chart our runs around the best pit stops.

Cleanest public bathrooms. Tolerable port-a-potties. Emergency bailouts.

We know the exact location of every one within a 50-mile radius.

And we have a way with words.

Glycogen stores. Iliotibial band. Lactate threshold.

To the uninitiated, the runner’s idiolect is as exotic as the Khoisan click languages of Africa.

‘Did she just say fartlek?’

For Wondrous Word Wednesday, I’m getting word nerdy to unlock the secrets of the swift. Use these helpful definitions to decipher the excited chatter around the water cooler.

A Runner’s Lexicon

Black Toenail – Caused by downhill running or too-small shoes, this badge of honor often heals on its own within a few months.


Bonk –
To run out of energy during a training run or race. See Hitting the Wall.

Boston Marathon – The Holy Grail of marathon races. Runners must qualify for entry. See BQ.

BQ – Shorthand for Boston Qualifier.

Carbo Loading – Practice of increasing carbohydrate intake leading up to an endurance event. The reason Olive Garden has a 2-hour wait on race weekends.

Chafing – Skin rubbed raw by clothing or skin-on-skin contact. Often undetected until hot shower. Results in loud exclamations and prolific expletives.

Cramp – Painful, involuntary contraction of a muscle. Pronounced ‘Aaaaaaarggghhhhh.’

Cross Training – Training regimen incorporating other forms of exercise, such as swimming and cycling. Often ignored by runners.

DFL – Dead F***in’ Last

DNF – Did Not Finish

DNS – Did Not Start

DOMS – Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.

Endorphins – Chemicals in brain credited with producing sense of elation after completing an arduous run. See Runner’s High.

Fartlek – Swedish for “speed play;” variable pace running. Surefire way to make non-runners laugh.

Flopper – A runner who has a habit of collapsing in dramatic fashion in a non-winning position (usually second place) at the conclusion of a race.

Gu ­– Overpriced, barely edible, semi-liquid carbohydrate snack packaged in single serving pouches. Used as a fuel supplement during long periods of exercise.

Hill Repeats – A workout involving running uphill fast, jogging downhill slowly to recover, and then repeating the sequence. Also known as torture.

Hitting the Wall – A bonk so sudden and severe it feels as if you actually hit a wall. Energy levels plummet and negative thoughts skyrocket. Commonly occurs at mile 20 of marathon.

Junk Miles – Miles run at an easy pace to reach a certain weekly or monthly mileage.

Kick – Finishing burst of speed at the end of a race.

LSD – Long Slow Distance. Unexpected flashbacks to particularly brutal miles common.

Marathon – Long distance race run over 26 miles, 385 yards. Not for sissies. See Pheidippides.

Negative Split – Running the second half of a race faster than the first half. Requires superhuman strength.

Ninja Mama Runner – Fierce, fabulous woman who pounds the pavement and tears up the trails.

Pheidippides – Greek courier who ran from Marathon to Athens in 490 BC with news of a Greek victory. After delivering the message, he collapsed and died. Also known as Cautionary Tale. See Marathon.

PR – Personal Record. Term used to describe a runner’s fastest time over a certain distance. Also called Personal Best (PB).

Runner’s High – A feeling of exhilaration directly associated with vigorous running; related to the secretion of endorphins. Highly annoying to non-runners.

Snot rocket – Act of clearing nasal passages by blocking one nostril and blowing.

Stretching – To extend one’s body or limbs; something runners watch others do.


Taper – Cutting back mileage and intensity prior to a big race. Accompanied by phantom pains, mounting anxiety, and insatiable appetite.

Technical apparel – Clothing made of synthetic fibers that wick moisture away from the skin. Best known for increased stink factor with each wear.

Yasso’s 800s – Popular workout to predict a specific marathon time. Bane of every marathon training plan.

What terms would you add to the list?


Glacier_NGNicole Goodman is a full-time working mother of two and the caffeine-driven mind behind Work in Sweats Mama.

After business hours, you’ll find her chasing her fearless two-year-old, verbally sparring with her precocious four-year-old, avoiding housework, seeking an endorphin high on long runs, and slurping down gigantic fountain Cokes.

Julia Tomiak
I believe in the power of words to improve our lives, and I help people find interesting words to read. Member of SCBWI.

56 Comments

  1. Great list! I was familiar with all but the term ‘flopper.’ I think I could have guessed that one, though 🙂 I would add PDR to the list.

    PDR – Personal Distance Record. Something runners will talk about with anyone and everyone after it has been achieved.

  2. Endorphins are just not the thing – it’s endocannabinoid receptor stimulation that has been shone to elicit the runners high. That’s right, “pot receptors” mediate that amazing feeling during a run. Please no more about endorphins.

  3. Ha- this is fabulous! People should actually send it to their non-running friends so they know what they talk about half the time!
    I’d maybe add the definition of running naked (watchless/Garminless) so people don’t think we talk to others, and promote, running in the buff!
    And we reel off numbers with ease, until we hit a certain point in the race when our brains turn to mush and simple math becomes impossible 🙂

    1. I don’t know…it’s kind of fun to see people’s reactions to ‘Naked Running’ before we explain it! And, YES, even simple arithmetic becomes insanely hard after the midpoint of any race. Any kind of coherent thought after mile 20 of the marathon is downright miraculous!

  4. What a perfectly appropriate post for this blog! And DFL – I imagine that has to happen for someone. And not just an exaggeration. Someone is literally last out of thousands!
    But at least that means they’re not DNF.
    Snot rocket made me laugh. You would never do that – right???

  5. This needs to be bookmarked, even for a wait-til-summer-and-do-the-couch-to-5K runner like me. Shouldn’t ‘cheeseburger’ be on the list? Any time I run with Elise, she wants to go for a cheeseburger afterward.

    Or, is this just us?

  6. Love it! My daughter’s kindergarten assistant teacher is running the Boston Marathon (or should I say BQ?!) next month, and the whole class is so excited to celebrate with him when he returns! :)-Ashley

  7. This was awesome, Nicole!!!
    So funny on the marathon – one of my son’s teachers (middle school) sent home an “about me sheet” at the beginning of the year and mentioned that she had run a marathon. Last week we had a meeting and I said something about the marathon. She said, well, I only set out to run 12 miles but went ahead and ran 13.1.
    Ummmm…..”you know that’s only a half marathon, right?” I kept that last comment in my head but seriously????

  8. This was very educational for this non-runner, Nicole – thanks! Sometimes I need to google terms when I read a runner’s post, so this helped a lot! And Julia, I’ll even use on of these terms in a sentence the way you ask us to:
    My kids like to shoot snot rockets even when they are not running.

    1. Thanks, Michelle! Julia always has the best book recommendations and word workouts to keep us thinking! As far as your rocket skills, practice makes perfect (and thankfully gloves and sleeves are machine washable for the misses!).

  9. Love your humorous twist to your definitions! I would add “Sprint Photo Fartlek!” 😉

    I would also change GU to “an excuse to eat delicious icing without feeling guilty.”

  10. OMG Nicole I absolutely LOVE this!!! I can’t think of a single term to add…maybe speed work? But mama you covered it ALL!!! I was laughing at most of these – hill repeats aka torture! YES! Yasso’s ARE the bane of my existence right now too.

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