Fartlek, tapering, negative split. Let’s unpack the runner’s secret lingo — a language that bonds us, but makes our friends yawn.
- If you’re a runner, you speak a specialized language that sounds like gibberish to almost everyone else.
- Say something like “Yesterday I did a fartlek” and watch confused stares pop up on your friends’ faces.
- This lingo serves a double purpose: it creates a strong sense of belonging to the runner “tribe”…
- … but at the same time builds a wall, cutting us off from non-runners.
- Let’s break down some iconic terms like fartlek (a speed-play workout) and tapering (the art of going crazy while resting).
- Learning these words is a true rite of passage that marks your entry into the community.
“Yesterday I Did a Fartlek, Today Just a Recovery Run.”
You’re having coffee with coworkers, and someone asks, “So, how’s running going?” And you, without a second thought, reply: “Great! Yesterday I did a killer fartlek, my legs felt amazing. Today just a slow one because I’ve got my long run Sunday and don’t want to be toast.”
Silence.
You can see their eyes wander. Someone nods awkwardly, trying to figure out whether “fartlek” is a new IKEA furniture piece or a Swedish curse word.
That right there is the moment you realize you’re part of a tribe with its own secret code. A cryptic language that lets us describe our struggles with surgical precision — but to anyone else, it sounds like the buzzing of a mosquito near their ear. At best.
The Secret Language That Connects Us (And Makes Our Friends Zone Out)
Every social group, profession, or hobby that hits a certain level of complexity ends up developing its own jargon. It’s inevitable. It’s efficient (saying “Threshold” is quicker than “that hard-but-sustainable pace for about an hour where I feel the lactic acid bubbling but not exploding”) — and more importantly, it’s identity glue.
Jargon is how we recognize each other. When you overhear someone at the next table talking about “intervals” and “active recovery,” you know: that’s one of your people. It’s a language that creates belonging — that makes us feel part of something shared.
Of course, there’s a flip side. This shared code also isolates us. It turns us into “those weirdos who talk weird.” It’s the flip side of the article “Yes, I Run. No, I Haven’t Done a Marathon”: we not only have to explain why we run, but also how we talk about it. So we end up censoring ourselves to avoid boring people and reduce our epic workouts to a bland “Yeah, I went for a jog.”
The Runner’s Mini-Glossary: 5 Words You Need to Know
If you’re new to this world — or if you’d finally like to understand what your partner means when they come home looking wrecked but euphoric — here’s your essential survival dictionary.
Fartlek (The Swedish “Speed Play”)
Nope, it’s not an insult. It’s Swedish for “speed play.” It’s the opposite of a structured workout — it’s organized chaos. You run how you feel: speed up when you see a tree, slow down to recover, then sprint to the next lamppost. It’s the kind of run that makes you feel like a kid again and reminds you that running should, above all, be fun.
Tapering (That “Rest-Time Anxiety”)
Tapering is that period — usually one or two weeks before a big race — when you drastically cut your training volume. Sounds great, right? “Time to rest.” But it’s a psychological minefield. It’s when phantom pains show up, two coughs convince you you’ve got pneumonia, and you develop performance anxiety that makes you question if you’ve ever known how to run. It’s the art of slowly losing your mind on the couch.
Negative Split (The Runner’s Holy Grail)
The negative split — running the second half of your race faster than the first — is the Holy Grail of pacing. It’s the sign of wisdom, control, and perfect self-awareness. It’s also, for most of us, pure fantasy. The reality? A tragic “positive split” where the first half is world-record pace and the second is a painful shuffle toward the finish line, begging for mercy.
The Long Run (The Weekly Totem)
To a runner, it’s not just “a long run.” It’s the long run. An entity. A ritual. Sometimes a sacrifice, often performed early Sunday morning while the rest of the world sleeps. It’s the cornerstone of every marathon plan. It’s a multi-hour journey where you test your legs, your mind, and your stomach’s tolerance for energy gels.
Threshold (The Right Kind of Pain)
“Today I’ve got a threshold workout.” The anaerobic threshold is that “comfortably uncomfortable” pace you can hold for about an hour. It’s where real endurance speed is built. It’s the kind of pain that burns your muscles and shortens your breath — but you can (barely) manage it. It’s friendly pain, the kind that tells you you’re improving.
Speaking “Runner”: A Rite of Passage
Learning this vocabulary isn’t just a technical need. It’s a rite of passage. It’s the moment you stop being someone who “goes for a run” and become a runner.
It’s the sign that you’ve moved beyond the “gonna jog for five minutes to stretch my legs” phase and entered a world of goals, training plans, sensations — and a shared dose of healthy madness. It’s our mother tongue — the one that lets us truly express the joy, struggle, and absurdity of our favorite sport. And if others zone out, so be it. We’ll just go for another lap.