I've been reading the Jack Aubrey novels, which means I've inadvertently learned a lot of 19th-century naval vocabulary.

Some of it is completely foreign to me. Aubrey will order someone to haul in the mizzen topsail or make some adjustment to the foretopgallant, and I mostly just keep reading and trust that the HMS Surprise is going to end up pointed in the right direction.

But I've also started noticing something strange: a lot of naval language isn't foreign at all.

We use it constantly.

When something begins, it's underway. When you're learning something new, you learn the ropes. An unpredictable person is a loose cannon. Surprising news leaves you taken aback. You can give someone a wide berth, batten down the hatches, be high and dry, or try to stay on an even keel.

All of those expressions came from ships and sailors.

Some old nautical words have even made the jump into modern brands. A cutwater is the forward edge of a ship's bow that cuts through the water. Spindrift is spray blown off the tops of waves.

Today, you can drink both of them.

What about running? We certainly have our own language. Fartlek. Bonk. Taper. Kick. DNF. PR. Tempo. Negative split.

A couple have already escaped. A marathon can be anything that takes forever. Companies work in sprints. Those are layups. 

I'd like to nominate another running term for general use:

Negative split.

As you know, in distance running, a negative split means running the second half of a race or workout faster than the first. Negative sounds bad, but not in this instance. It's actually one of the best feelings in running. You start under control. You don't spend everything just because you have it. Then, while everyone who went out too hard starts slowing down, you get faster.

Why should runners get to keep that phrase?

"How's that project going?"

"We're negative splitting it. Slow start, but we're moving now."

"How's your year going?"

"First half wasn't great. I'm going to negative split it."

Which seems particularly appropriate right now.

We're into August. There are fewer months left in 2026 than there are behind us.

Maybe January didn't go the way you expected. Maybe neither did February, March, April, May, June or July.

Fine.

The first half doesn't determine your finishing time.

Let's negative split this year.