When I began running it wasn’t uncommon for it to be known as jogging. Being a jogger or going out for a jog was the standard term. Yet somewhere in the last decade or so, this term has almost become pejorative and insulting. Everyone now wants to think of themselves as a runner.
In his book Better Training for Distance Runners, which was first published in 1991, Peter Coe describes jogging as “very slow running – 7 to 8 min/mi for talented young-adult men (4:21 to 4:58 min/km) and 8 to 9 min/mi for talented young-adult women (4:58 to 5:36 min/km). For runners not so talented, as well as for older runners, these paces would be slower.” (p.177)
It’s always stuck in my mind that he put a number on it yet revisiting the quote I notice he actually defines jogging relative to ability (or expected ability). He doesn’t simply say “anything slower than 7 minute miling is jogging” he qualifies it. He sees jogging as a slower version of running.
I have to say I don’t find moving at 7min/mile pace to be easy or what I think of as a jog but then I am neither talented nor young!
Even so the idea of jogging is one I feel is underrated. My recovery days are all jogs as I define them and which I suspect Peter Coe would agree with. Very easy runs that barely feel like I’m putting in effort. On a good day this is currently around 8:20/mile, on the bad days it is slower and still feels a little struggle due to soreness or tired muscles.
A while back I was working on building my stride length by running sprints on the flat and hills. I did this through May and then my right hip-glute area felt fatigued. I put the sprints on hold and went jogging. After a week or two the hip area felt good enough to resume the sprints. I then upped them to twice per week and felt the creep of fatigue coming back into my right hip area. After five weeks, there came a point when I knew I’d done enough and I went back to jogging. This time the jogging was very slow by my standards – slower than 9 minute miling and on one run averaging 9:50/mile. It doesn’t really matter whether this is objectively fast or slow, it was jogging and felt very easy at my current level.
I am a big proponent of jogging, without looking at your watch for pace or heart-rate, to aid recovery. As I write above, sometimes I think this needs to be for an extended period until the body feels good. One of the extra benefits is you can still go out for a ‘run’ every day and mentally tick off the exercise box.
For some reason, the vast majority of ‘runners’ don’t seem to embrace jogging these days. They always feel they have to be doing some kind of session. They might throw in the occasional easier day but more often they take a rest day instead. When they have an ache or pain they never see it as worthwhile to go with a period of easy running until the body recovers. I think they are missing out.
Big Red Running 