Welcome 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?
Nicole 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.
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.
Interesting! I only knew a couple of them because my husband used to run. (I like “gu” the most.)
While I’m still a bit hung up on fartlek, because hahha, I think my favorite is Pheidippides, because wow – a cautionary tale for all, not just runners, right? ;D
Yeah, I still giggle at fartlek. I knew how poor Pheidippides felt around mile 20 of my last marathon. At least I had aid stations and Powerade to look forward to!
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.
Thanks for the enlightenment, Julie! For the sake of simplicity, do you think I should just add ‘pot receptors’ to the glossary of terms?
Hehehe. I LOVE this. There is a reason why I cannot sometimes communicate with non-runners. This is something everyone needs to comprehend! Thanks for the smiles, Nicole!
Angela from Happy Fit Mama had the brilliant idea of printing and using this as a handout for non-runners! That might help open up the lines of communication, Amy!
Loved this! every word.
I would be the DFL one for sure.
that is if I was not found DOR. (Dead on Route)
DOR…oh dear! Let’s hope not. Maybe a little DAFL would help you hang on. (DAFL = Drinks at Finish Line!)
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 🙂
Good idea to clarify running naked- although I have heard of “running in undies” races.
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!
I knew a few of these but not from running. I have quite a few friends who run and they’ve clued me in. I walk regularly and have been known to check out a porta potty on my treks.
A strategically placed Johnny on the Spot can be an absolute godsend, especially if there’s TP!
Bonus if there’s hand sanitizer!!
I think I need to print this out and pass it around to all my non-running friends and family the next time I start sputtering out running lingo!
A terminology cheat sheet! Brilliant idea, Angela! Wouldn’t it be fun to have a graphic designer come up with some funny icons and illustrations?
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???
Could we still be friends if I said I had?
haha! Yes. I am not a runner and even I have found relief in doing so..
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?
There could be a whole separate lexicon on called ‘Things Runners Eat After Long Runs.’ We get pretty hangry after tough runs & races!
Let’s see- beef to replenish iron stores, cheese for calcium. Sounds like a great post run snack to me 😉
Nicole, this is so fun and clever and AWESOME! I might add “foam roller” to the list. Also, this is my first visit to Diary of a Word Nerd, but I’m looking forward to reading more.
Foam roller should definitely be on list! See torture devices.
So glad you stopped by! Good addition to Nicole’s list.
I have another meaning for bonk but I shall not lower the tone 🙂 Great list! Thank you for widening my running vocab.
LOL! I’m thinking Four Weddings and a Funeral. “It’s like table tennis, but with slightly smaller balls.”
Haha! Absolutely 😉
Your definition for bonk is much more fun! Ha ha ha!
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
So cool that the whole class is celebrating his accomplishment. Boston is the mecca for runners! I can’t wait to go in 2015!
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????
Ha ha ha, I would have had a hard time biting my tongue about the marathon comment. Hopefully this wasn’t your son’s math teacher!
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.
Ha ha ha, way to get word nerdy and use a running term in a sentence! Snot rocket seems to be a popular term, even with the non-running crowd. I’m still intent on converting you to the dark side, Dana!
Oh gross! We love our children, don’t we? Excellent sentence, one that will stick with us for a long time. Thanks Dana!!
Loved seeing you over here since I just discovered Julia’s blog. I cannot and never have been able to do a snot rocket in all these years. haha
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!).
Neither have I Michelle! I’m sure I’d make a mess right on my pretty cool max/ tech shirt.
Brilliant as always Nicole! Love it and learned a lot.
Tara, thanks for visiting me here today! I’m glad I could enlighten you a bit, although I’m sure your hubby throws around tons of terms like these. I think triathletes are even worse when it comes to shop talk!
Oh I’m so into this! I don’t think u missed anything…snot rockets, oh my. Gross but don’t we all do it?
Yes, there are many gross things we runners do, and I don’t think snot rockets are even close to the worst! Ha!
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.”
Delicious icing? Can you please tell me which brand/flavor of gel you’re slurping down because I’ve obviously got the wrong kind!
Vanilla Bean… But then I do have a very sweet tooth that I have to keep tamed!
There are far better ways to tame a sweet tooth, Debbie! And with all your running, you can indulge!
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.
I was so glad my last marathon plan didn’t include Yasso’s 800s!! Yuck!
Julia, thanks for letting me get word nerdy with you! Maybe someday we can meet up for a run. We’d have so much to talk about – the miles would fly!