Runner's Cheat Sheet #2: Racing Terms

Just like most everything these days, the world of running and particularly racing is full of unfamiliar words and acronyms to the new runner as well as the experienced. Below is the second in a series of Runner's Cheat Sheets that I'll be providing. Hope it helps!
• 5K—race with a distance of 5 kilometers (3.1 miles)
• 10K—race with a distance of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles)
• 15K—race with a distance of 15 kilometers (9.3 miles)
• 20K—race with a distance of 20 kilometers (12.4 miles)
• Bandit—a person who runs a race without paying the registration fee
• BQ—a Boston qualifying time or a race that's a Boston qualifier
• Carb-loading—eating a high-carbohydrate diet (60%-70% of the total calories) at least three days prior to a race to fill the glycogen stores
• Chip time—finish time that's recorded by a computer chip typically worn on the shoe or around the ankle. Tracks each runner's time from when they cross the start line and finish line.
• CR—course record
• DNF—did not finish
• DNS—did not start
• Elite runner—a person who has reached the highest level in his sport
• Gun time—finish time that begins when the start gun sounds until the runner crosses the finish line
• Half-Marathon—race with a distance of 13.1 miles
• Hitting the wall or bonk—a time during a race when your glycogen stores become depleted and fatigue overwhelms you. Typically happens around mile 20 in a marathon.
• Marathon—race with a distance of 26.2 miles
• Master—a runner 40-years-old or older is classified as a Master in the US. In other countries term used is Veteran
• Negative splits—running the second half of a race faster than the first
• NR—national record
• Pace—the measure of speed of running; usually thought of as the number of minutes it takes to run a mile during a race
• PB—personal best
• PR—personal record
• Road Race—running contest that takes place over streets
• Taper—reducing your mileage several days to a few weeks prior to a race
• Ultra—any race longer than a traditional marathon which is 26.2 miles
• USA Track & Field—the national governing body for running in the US
• WR—world record

Say Whatica?

Two of the most common and most painful running injuries are sciatica and piriformis syndrome. Some consider these conditions one in the same. The symptoms can be very similar but the underlying causes of the conditions are very different.

Sciatica is the irritation of the sciatic nerve usually resulting from a herniated disk or spine degeneration. A frustrating problem with sciatica is that you can't clearly see the nerve or the causes of the injury. But one thing that is clear is the pain which usually radiates down the back, to the buttocks, to the back of the thigh, and down to the outside of the knee. Sometimes it even extends all the way down to the foot.

Piriformis syndrome is pain in the buttocks resulting from a tight piriformis muscle pressing against the sciatic nerve. The symptoms of piriformis syndrome are very similar and may be indistinguishable from sciatica.

In some cases, piriformis syndrome may be causing the sciatic nerve irritation. The sciatic nerve may run underneath or through the middle of the piriformis. Contraction of the piriformis could cause enough compression of the sciatic nerve to produce nerve symptoms. This is one of the main reasons for the confusion over distinguishing true sciatica from piriformis syndrome.

Regardless of whether it's sciatica or piriformis syndrome, if you're experiencing any of these symptoms, you should be evaluated by a doctor. Common treatments inlcude ice, cross-training, physical therapy, strengthening exercises, orthodics, and/or anti-inflammatories. A good friend of mine has been dealing with an extreme case of sciatica for over a year and his doc has ordered an MRI to get a better idea of what's going on.

Adding core exercises to your regular workout routine to strenghten your back and abdominals may help keep sciatica and/or piriformis syndrome at bay.

Olympic Gold Medalist to Speak At NC Marathon!

Looking for a spring marathon? The City of High Point, NC is hosting the 2nd annual United Health Care North Carolina Marathon on May 2, 2009. The marathon, half-marathon, and family 5k feature scenic, rolling courses with a distinctive, exciting start, finish, and post-race celebration at Showplace!, home of the biannual International Furniture Market.

Proceeds benefit Foster Friends of North Carolina (FFNC), a local nonprofit organization working to improve the lives of children experiencing foster care.
Joan Benoit Samuelson, the first women's Olympic marathon gold medalist and one of the best long-distance women runners ever, will speak at the pasta dinner Friday night (May 1) before the NC Marathon, half-marathon, and 5K. Visit ncmarathon.org for dinner tickets and other ways to see Joan during race week.

Samuelson has celebrated many victories in her running career and she's running strong as ever. Last year, at age 50, she ran in the Olympic marathon trials and beat her personal goal of 2:50, setting an American record for women 50-54.

Lisa Watts, a longtime runner and writer who's serving as Assistant Race Director for the NC Marathon, shares thoughts on running, race preparations and more on her blog, On the Run.

Stretch It!

A very important but often ignored part of running is stretching. Sure it's dull and no fun and we'd all rather be hitting the road than standing still trying to touch our toes. Nevertheless, if you stretch, you actually can become a more efficient runner, experience less soreness after a run, and help keep numerous running-related injuries at bay.

Having said that, stretching is a lot more than touching your toes and if done improperly, can cause some of those injuries you're trying to prevent. Here are a few basic stretching tips to keep in mind:
• Do an easy warm-up 5-minute jog; then do your pre-run stretch.
• Don't bounce. The stretch should be slow and gradual.
• Hold the stretch for 15 to 30 seconds
• Do not "push-through" the tightness and never stretch to the point of pain. (Over time, you'll be able to stretch further than you did initially.)
• Stay relaxed and breathe while you stretch.

Newer thinking about stretching involves doing active stretches before running and saving the traditional static stretches for after the run. Active stretches stretch the muscles and tissues and prepare them for your run by simultaneously stretching and strengthening the joint throughout its range of motion. During an active stretch, the muscle develops tension while the overall length of the muscles increases. Lunges and squat stretches are good examples of active stretches.

For more stretching techniques and information check out this video clip from ExpertVillage.com.

How to Stretch Before & After a Run -- powered by ExpertVillage.com

Get Movin' With A Workout Mix

Are you like one of the millions of Americans that are hooked on the hit TV-reality show, The Biggest Loser? I have to admit, I am. My 13-year-old daughter and I have a ritual each Tuesday night at 8:00 to sit for two hours and watch extremely overweight people learn about exercise and diet. I have to admit it really is a great show. The little fat boy that's still in my head may be why I like to root on the contestants. You see, I was an overweight child. Lost weight in high school and then discovered running and a healthy lifestyle as an adult. So, if you haven't seen it yet, check it out on Tuesday nights, 8:00PM, on NBC.


On a recent episode, they mentioned that you could order several different workout mixes on The Biggest Loser Website. So, I checked it out and actually ended up downloading songs from two of the mixes—Top 40 Hits Vol. 1 and Top 40 Hits Vol. 2. During the winter I run a lot on the treadmill and I hate it. So, I thought maybe these workout mixes would help and surprisingly enough, they did! The performers are so young and hip, that I'm familiar with only one on the whole mix, but that doesn't really matter. The music is really upbeat and I have to be careful not to start waving my arms around and shaking my bootie while I'm on the treadmill! My kids would be so embarrassed.

So, if you need to stave off boredom while on the treadmill or need some extra umph to get you going, try downloading some of these tunes!

Speed Work 101

In the posting "Stuck In A Rut" I mentioned adding speed work to your weekly runs. Speed work is exactly that, adding speed to a weekly run. This can be done as fartleks—mixing slow and fast running in a workout—or it can be more formal as in running intervals at the track. Whether fartleks or intervals the total distance usually isn't more than 3 or 4 miles. The purpose of these runs is adding the increased speed, not distance.

This posting is going to focus on running intervals. If you didn't run track in high school or college, you may be wondering what the heck is a 200m, 400m or 800m? Well, you're not alone. All I knew when I first started running intervals was that 4 laps around the track equaled a mile. To save you the frustration I went through, here's a little cheat sheet:

• 200m = 1/2 lap (~1/8 mile)

• 400m = 1 lap (~1/4 mile)

• 800m = 2 laps (~1/2 mile)

• 1000m = 2.5 laps (~5/8 mile)

• 1200m = 3 laps (~3/4 mile)

• 1600m = 4 laps (~1 mile)

Usually intervals are run at a 5K or 10K race pace. So, now you're probably wondering how in the heck do I figure out what my 5K race pace would be for a 400m? Well, you can calculate it out, or you can go to McMillan's Running Calculator and let it do the work for you. Once at the site, simply select 5K (or 10K) and enter your best time and then voila! you have every imaginable distance/time calculated out for you. It actually varies the times for middle-distance runners and long-distance runners. For example, for your speed workout (if your best 5K time is 22:00) you'd run a 400m at 1:34.7 to 1:38.8 (middle-distance runners) and at 1:36.6 to 1:42.2 (long-distance runners).

Keep in mind that it may take a few speed workouts before you're able to run the calculated speed. Also, keep in mind that you'll need to allow some time to warm up before doing your speed workout. Usually a lap or two is good. This will help prevent injury.

I think it's good to mix up the types of intervals you do each week. This keeps your body guessing. Listed below are some workouts for you to try. For the most part, the workouts increase in intensity. To begin with you might try doing workout#1 in week #1; workout #2 in week 2 and so on. Later you can mix it up however you want. Also for those who aren't savvy in track lingo, "4x800m" translates "run 800m 4 times."

Workout #1—5x1000m @5K race pace with 2-minute recovery (walk or jog) in between
Workout #2—6x800m @10K race pace with 90-second recovery (walk or jog) in between

Workout #3—Three sets: 1x1200m @ 10K race pace with 1-minute recovery, 1x400m @5K race pace with a 3-minute recovery (walk or jog) in between each set

Workout#4—4x1600m @10K race pace with 3-minute recovery (walk or jog) in between

Workout#5—8x800m @10K race pace with 90-second recovery (walk or jog) in between

Workout#6—400m @ 5K race pace (30sec recovery); 800 @ 10K race pace (90-sec recovery); 1200m @10K race pace (2-min recovery); 1600m @10K race pace (3-min recovery); 1200m @10K race pace (2-min recovery); 800 @ 10K race pace (90-sec recovery); 400m @ 5K race pace

Remember that it will take some time for your body to get use to speed work. So don't be discouraged if you aren't able to complete some of the workouts, especially early on. Just keep at it and you'll get there. Don't have a track nearby? I don't either. I found a large parking lot that makes a big loop. One loop equals 800m. Look around, maybe you can find a "makeshift" track near you too.

Running Term Cheat Sheet

I mentioned in my Febuary 12th post—"Stuck In A Rut"—that varying the intensity of your runs during the week would help improve your speed and endurance. If you were like me when I first started running, you probably felt a little lost from all the running terms and were hesitant to ask the more experienced runners you knew what the heck they all meant. Took me a while to get up to speed, but I finally became running-term literate. Hears a little cheat sheet to help you out if you need it. Keep checking the blog. Additional cheat sheets will be posted in the coming weeks.

Runner's Cheat Sheet #1: Training Terms

• Easy Run—a slow run done at a conversational pace

• Fartlek—a Swedish word for speedplay; workout includes faster running mixed with slower running; can be done in any setting—track, trail, or road

• Repeats or Intervals—type of workout where a set distance is run repeatedly with a recovery jog between; for example 6 times 400 meters with 100 meters recovery jog; typically done on a track

• Speed Work—short, fast intervals with recovery jogs between; increases your leg turnover and maximizes your stamina and race confidence

• Tempo Runs—workouts where you run at a steady pace that is around 70% to 80% of your max aerobic capacity; near race pace, but not race pace

• Hills—workouts where a runner runs up a hill fast and jogs down then runs up again; helps develop leg power and aerobic capacity

• Long Runs—longest run of the week; usually on the weekend

• Recovery Runs—slow to moderate running to recover from hard workouts or races and/or maintain aerobic conditioning

• Cross-Training—low- or no-impact activities such as swimming, cycling, and using the eliptical at the gym that increase conditioning

• Pace—the measure of the speed of running; usually quantified as minutes taken to run a mile; for example a runner may run a 7:00 per mile pace for a marathon

• PR—Personal Record or Personal Best; fastest time a runner has run for a given distance

• Junk Miles—runs used to reach a weekly or monthly mileage total rather than for a specific benefit