Glossary

Terms as these models use them.

Aerobic score

Speed per heartbeat on easy and long runs in zone 2, credited for conditions (the Fitness Scores article).

Base period

The first period of a block: aerobic development, hills and short threshold work.

Build period

Threshold work and, for the shorter races, faster repetitions.

Cardiac drift

The slow rise of heart rate at a steady pace over a long or hot run.

Cutback week

A lighter week, at 80–90% of the level it interrupts, that lets training sink in.

Easy pace (Z2)

Comfortable, conversational running: the default Z2 pace in Settings.

Effort (E)

How hard a kilometre was, from its pace relative to your threshold and the conditions; 2.85 at threshold.

Fatigue (F)

Load from the last 21 days, each day weighted by how recent it is.

Ideal conditions

Flat, paved, windless, mild and dry. A run's pace converted to them credits fitness.

Interval score

The Effort at interval pace, with conditions, rep structure and heart rate, as a rate per km of quality work.

Key session

The week's main quality workout.

Lactate threshold (LT)

The fastest pace at which lactate is still cleared as fast as it is produced, close to the pace of a one-hour race.

Long run

The week's longest run, sized from your volume and training days.

Quality distance

The part of a session run at its hard pace.

Race equivalence

One race time predicted from another: time grows with distance to the power 1.06 (Riegel).

Specific period

Work at and around race pace for the goal.

Strides

Short, relaxed accelerations of about 20 seconds at the end of an easy run.

Taper

The last one to three weeks before a race: less volume, intensity kept.

Tempo score

How close a tempo run or race came to world-record pace for its distance, squared.

Threshold pace (T)

In plans, the pace of a race lasting about 55 minutes: the anchor of every training pace.

Training block

The weeks of training planned toward one goal.

Zones (Z1–Z5)

Intensity bands, from very easy (Z1) to very hard (Z5).