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Whether you are new to running or just confused by terms like “speed workouts” and “tempo runs”, this series of articles is for you. We’ve distilled some of the most important terms related to running workouts, paces and lingo related to the track into a series of three short articles. Here in part I we tackle the different types of long-distance running workouts.

Long-distance Running Terminology Part I — Types of Workouts

By Coach Joe English with Coach Dean Hebert
(C) 2010 Running Advice and News

Introduction
Runners build fitness by doing a variety of different workouts. No matter whether they are training for their first 5K or to trying to qualify for the Olympic Marathon, a workout plan built on a variety of different types of workouts makes runners faster, more efficient and keeps them progressing toward their fitness goals.

Just like a diet built of many different foods will help provide the many different kinds of nutrients that we need to stay healthy, providing the body with a variety of different running workouts helps make a stronger and healthier runner. And, to take the analogy one step further, doing the same workouts over and over leads runners down a path toward diminishing returns. Too many runners force-feed themselves with a steady diet of slow miles run every day and this is like eating junk food for lunch every day – it yields little in the way of nutrition or happiness in the long-run.

To continue reading parts I, II and III of this article, click here.

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