Continued from the previous installment is our dictionary of terms-slang or otherwise-that all runners should know, if for no other reason than to understand what we are talking about when it comes to running. Let’s pick up right away, from the letter H, also because it’s a long list!
HIIT
An acronym for High Intensity Interval Training, this is a workout that alternates between exercises in an anaerobic condition (thus high intensity) and low-intensity defatigue exercises. It serves to accustom the physique to endure exertion and to raise its own threshold of endurance.
Intervals
It is a type of training aimed at improving speed and the ability to withstand effort. The name indicates that it consists of fractions of a length during which the speed increases in different ways. In other words, it is about running harder over certain predetermined lengths.
Long
It is a particular type of training that, as the name implies, involves higher mileage than usual workouts, generally to be done at a slightly slower speed than usual, to test endurance above all. Or it can also mean “The LongOne,” which is our weekly podcast!
Master
Category of athletes who are over 40 years of age.
Maximal
Type of shoes with a very wide footprint and a very wide midsole. Born in opposition to minimal footwear (which instead involved very little use of midsole material, zero drop, and a wide toe box to comfortably accommodate the toes.
Marathon
The queen race, run around the world over the length of 42,195 meters. Here is his story.
Mesopod
It is the central part of the foot between the toes and the heel.
Minimal
The opposite of maximal shoes: they have little midsole, zero drop and wide toe box.
Wall
It is that phase of the race during which energy supplies are depleted and, if not replenished, cause a physical and mental collapse, so much so that it is precisely configured as a wall that does not allow the road to continue.
Negative Split
Race strategy consisting of dividing the race into two halves, the first of which is covered at a slower pace than the second.
Overtraining
Overtraining condition that causes excessive fatigue and possibly even injury.
Pacer
In a race it is that runner or runners who sets the pace, maintaining a certain gait so that those who can express similar speeds can follow, regardless of checking the GPS for speed. In Italian it is also called hare.
Step
It is a measure of speed as a function of how many minutes it takes to travel one km and is measured in min/km.
Personal best
Literally translated it means “personal best (time),” that is, the best performance achieved by one or a runner. Generally, PB (as it is commonly abbreviated) is assumed to be the one recorded in the race, but it can also be an individually recorded time. It is not worth cheating.
Recovery
One of the most neglected parts of training: that of rest, including sleep. The purpose is to allow our body to regenerate muscle fibers compromised during training and, through sleep, rebuild them.
Split
Division of a length traveled into uniform intervals, usually kilometers or miles.
Stretching
Set of activities designed to lengthen muscle fibers to prepare them for running or to recover at a later stage. Not to be performed close to training or competitions as they put stress on the muscles and can promote injury.
Time run
Type of gait performed at a speed that raises the lactacid threshold, so as to better withstand the efforts and delay the production of lactic acid, which, if not disposed of, causes exhaustion and muscle pain.
Triathlon
A sport discipline that, as the name suggests, is composed of 3 different disciplines: swimming, biking and running, to be performed in that order in three sessions arranged seamlessly and over varying distances depending on the type of traithlon (up to the highest and most challenging version: the Ironman, which involves 3.8 km of swimming, 180 km of biking and a marathon, to finish in style).
Ultramarathon
Any race whose length exceeds that of the classic marathon.
VO2 max
It represents the maximum amount of oxygen that can be transported and utilized by the body.