Somebody posed the question on Slowtwitch what the difference is between jogging and running. Someone said perhaps 8 min miles is the cutoff. I’m not so sure an arbitrary time standard is what it’s about. Maybe the best response on that thread was the description of what happens when each is stopped at a crosswalk — a jogger bounces waiting for the light to change while a runner stands there looking pissed. Funny. And probably true.
There are certainly those of us who would be pleased to be called a “runner” but pretty miffed to be called a “jogger”. Admittedly, I’m one of those. I’m fine with being a runner who might be jogging because I’m tired, piling on mileage, or just doing a recovery run (if those indeed do exist). Another reason a runner might be jogging is if she were, say, anemic. Running would require too much effort, but jogging can be slogged through. Jogging. Slogging. There’s probably etymological rationale for why the two words sound so much alike.
I know I haven’t provided an update on how the anemia recovery is going, and I wanted to, but I haven’t gotten my bloodwork tests back yet and it would have been better to have that data as part of the update. I need to call the doctor again. I was supposed to have these by last Monday. So far, I’m taking more iron, eating more meat, eating spinach daily, plus all sorts of other iron-containing foods like lentils, raisins, dates and so on. I also changed when I take the iron to be with food and at least once with orange juice, since vitamin C improves absorption.
After a couple weeks of this, the improvement has been gradual. This weekend, I felt almost normal, except on a few climbs. The biggest news is that my post ride run today wasn’t a jog. Even after two big days of riding, I took shoe soles to road and discovered that I could actually RUN and not feel woozy. Oh, this is good. Should I slow down so I can go a little longer? Heck no!!! I’d rather RUN a short 3 miles than slog a couple extra. OK, maybe I wouldn’t be slogging, exactly, but I felt decent and wanted to go. Not race fast or even tempo pace, but a good, solid RUN pace. Sweet.
I just realized that I never defined my difference between jogging and running as I personally distinguish the two. I don’t know I can do that, but can say “I know it when I see it.” Or, when I experience it, more accurately. It either feels like a jog or it feels like a run. That’s how I tell the difference.
If 8min miles is the cutoff…I don’t know if I will ever be a runner! Yet I sure as hell am not just slogging!
[...] I said I was still running, but that might not be technically accurate. For the ease of communication and continuing to use the word “run” to describe what I’m doing, my run form has changed somewhat. I haven’t video taped or anything to verify (and not that I will), but I feel like my nice high knee long stride has diminished to something closer to a shuffle. Shorter steps, trying to stay lower to the ground and the forward lean is probably ancient history. I might be landing further back on my feet too– mid foot instead of forefoot. I figure my body knows to do whatever it needs to do. I’m told to not be surprised when my 9 min miles continue to devolve into 10-11-12 minutes each. Whatever. As long as I’m still moving. If I have to switch to powerwalking at some point, that’s OK too. [...]