You know how kids today have all these wild new words like "skibidi," "brat," and "sigma"? As an adult and parent, it can drive you crazy trying to figure out what they mean. What are they even saying? Am I not cool anymore? It feels like a secret, tribal language of the younger generation that’s meant to leave us adults scratching our heads.

 

I’m sure we had our own slang back in the day too, for those of us who aren’t so young anymore! (I’m definitely in that group now—lol.) Every generation has its own lingo, and if you’re not in on it, it can make you feel a little out of touch.

 

But you know what? We runners have our own secret language too! We throw around words like "tempo," "fartlek," "threshold," and "lactate" like they’re common knowledge. For us, these terms are second nature. But for the uninitiated, I bet we’re met with the same confused looks we give when kids start talking in their new lingo.

 

Tempo runs, for example, are a staple in most training plans. We know that it’s about sustaining a comfortably hard pace, just below the point where you’d really start to struggle. But imagine how that sounds to a non-runner!

“Comfortably hard?” It’s like saying “hot ice”—it doesn’t make sense unless you’re in the tribe.

 

The same goes for "fartlek." It sounds like a joke, but it’s actually Swedish for “speed play,” a fun way to mix up your pace during runs. And then there’s "threshold." It’s all about finding that sweet spot where you’re pushing yourself without tipping over into full-on exhaustion.

 

The next time you find yourself lost in the slang of the younger generation, just remember: we’ve got our own runner’s code.