Thursday, June 11, 2009

I'm A Jogger

Another Wednesday tempo workout in Lynn Woods and another double run day. Once again I didn’t plan it that way but the weather was iffy all day so I went out for a short lunch-time run just in case the rain came later. Well, the rain held off and I saw no reason to skip the 3rd race in the Lynn Woods Summer XC Series. The race course for this week was a 5.5 mile loop on dirt fire roads. One on my least favorite courses in the series but it does provide a good workout with rolling hills from miles 3.5 to 4.5 and a few good climbs along the way.

I started out very slowly, chatting with other runners for the first mile. After mile one, I gradually started to pick up the pace and began passing runners that went out faster than me. I worked all the hills in the middle of the course and poured on the coals for the final mile to the finish. I felt very strong during the race and passed several runners without ever getting passed. Even though I wasn’t racing, having runners as “bait” to key on kept me motivated during the workout. Hopefully turning over the legs faster once a week will translate into some faster finishes in the Grand Tree and Eastern New England trail races I’m running in the weeks ahead.

I went out for an easy four mile run today during lunch and the plantar fascia of my right foot was pretty sore. This always happens whenever I run faster than a 9 minute pace and last night I ran sub 8:30s. Icing it for a few days usually helps. When I was running I ran past two young women who were walking in the park. As I passed, I heard one say to the other, “There are a lot of joggers here.” There was a time when I would have taken offense to such a statement. But that was back when I could run 56 minutes in a 10 mile race. Today, no offense was taken. As I slowly pulled away at 10 minutes per mile I just smiled and thought, “Yep, I’m a jogger.”

You got a problem with that?

6 comments:

  1. Ha, ha, a jogger who pulls off double runs!
    So, I am going to start coming to the Lynn Woods races in July (starting with July 8th). If the traffic is not too bad, I might make it there weekly. Hope to see you there! Ana

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  2. Ana, the traffic is always an issue for me too. Some weeks I make it and some I don't. You just never know with Boston traffic. Hope to see you there next month.

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  3. Huh - you were a real speedster!!!

    I also get injuries more easily when I run faster then jogging (!) just recently found out. Seems I'm not the only one.


    So here is to "happy jogging"!

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  4. Ana, you will love Lynn Woods. Dan hope your PF gets better. We got a long season ahead....!
    Fellow jogger

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  5. Funny, I actually "feel" better running faster. It seems I shift gears or something. Almost like I don't breath hard enough when running slower so I don't get enough oxygen....though I am a heavy breather as people have told me when they heard me coming a half mile away.

    Since training for the 50K, I must say I have learned to appreciate and actually enjoy the art of running slower.....I do enjoy it.

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  6. Doing doubles .. way to go jogger.

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