What is the term for involuntarily speeding up on a easy run when you hear someone coming up on you?

I never have to change my distance pace because I don't suck enough at running to have hobby joggers coming up behind me.

A Daniels alphabetical designation (based on his initials)-- either J (Jerkwad) or D (Douche) Pace. jtupper already used the letters E [Egotistical] and I [Insecure] for legit paces.

asseleration

legus speedum velocitas douchebagosis

A serious attempt at an honest and reasonable answer.

As a Runner who considers himself a decent local racer:

I need an ez run I ignore the urge in all cases or at least try to. Maybe even slow down some more and if the guy is obviously working hard to pass me I give him a look that makes is blood run cold.

I am just running and feel ok well then it depends on the person passing me. If they are working hard and look like they run over squirrels for fun then I have some fun. Warning this could be dangerous....use with extreme caution. Since I can hear these Fs approaching I very slowly increase my pace but not enough to discourage their effort once they get along side me I match their pace and start asking them friendly questions which since they are usually outta breath are difficult for them to answer but wait there is more I continue to slowly pick up the pace until they are beet red and ready to blow up then I back off just enough for them to recover a bit after a few of these most are demoralized.

Now if the person who is passing me is just doing their run and I can tell I just say nice job good run or wave or get outta the way.

so there

Any real runner knows that you can't gauge how good another runner is by passing them on any given day. If you pass me, you don't know if you are faster than i am, if i am doing a long run and you doing a tempo, or if you are in the middle if pick-ups on an easy run. If someone doesn't know this, i don't care if they think they are faster than me. It doesn't matter if people are faster than you.

Likely, if you speed up, the other person will think you are a douche anyway.

It's an egoceleration.

Of course I once noticed a group of Ironmen in training on my local hill towards the end of one of my easy runs. I jetted towards them and then slowed down a bit but, purposefully started passing them on by one. I was tired from the dash to get towards them. Their pace setter at the back of the pack noticed me and started picking it up. Near the top of the hill I was racing the pace guy and practically everyone else. It was comedy. At the top they beat me and gave me rude looks.

low self esteem

rsut wrote:

It's an egoceleration.

This. I like it.

And I admit to it. Not often (is there an opportunity or do I do it even when there is), and not that I'm good enough for anyone to care, but there are those EZ-runs when I'm almost done, and I hear the footsteps approaching just slightly faster, and I know with minimal extra effort I won't get passed.

And I know it doesn't matter on any given run (it could be one person's recovery/easy/jog between intervals and another man's tempo), but there is that natural thing about matching pace around other people, kind of a "wake up" from zoning out and thinking about pace again.

The only slight fun part of ego is if you catch up and the other person is working hard and breathlessly with an ipod, and you start some friendly chatter.

low self esteem

Try running in Rock Creek Park or the Capital Crescent Trail in Bethesda. It happens to me almost on a daily basis. I will be chugging along at an easy pace (7:00 to 8:00 mins) and some douchenozzle tries to play tough guy with me. Normally I don't alter my pace and sometimes I even slow down to get them out of the way quickly. But every once in a while something will strike a nerve with me and I turn on the tempo switch.

My favorite is the person walking who "coincidentally" starts running as soon as they see or hear me.

It is called, fear of tailgating. It is never nice to have someone come up on your behind.

STUPIDITY

If you are doing an easy run for recovery because you had a workout yesterday, you are doing it for a reason.

Speeding up because of ego when you need to have recovery will cost you on race day. Do YOUR training, not someone else's.

I'll hear them coming up behind on a windy trail and stay about 75 feet ahead of them. When I go around a bend I sprint for about 20 meters, then settle back into my trot pace. I do it on every turn and love seeing how pissed off they get because they cannot figure out how I am putting a gap on them. It's quite hilarious, actually, and yes, I am deeply insecure and proud of it.

It's based on a desire to not loose a soultron.

Whats' a soultron you ask?

There's an article here:

http://www.grinnell.edu/node/12447

ABSTRACT

The long-pondered phenomenon of “soul breaking” within a long-distance race can be explained by the existence of the soultron. The soultron represents the quantum particle of the soul, which is exchanged when a runner of a lower Race Energy Level passes another runner and assumes a higher Race Energy Level. Once released, the soultron is left suspended in the open atmosphere of the race. Soultron destination can be explained via soultron affinity, but the behavior of the soultron in the company of three of more runners has yet to be explored and determined.

You clearly have a very high soultron affinity, and so even during easy runs you refuse to let others pass you.

MoCo Runner wrote:

Try running in Rock Creek Park or the Capital Crescent Trail in Bethesda.

I grew up on that trail jumping on from Garrett Park. What's it like now? Is it still a great place to run? I haven't been back to the area in 15 years.

I'm not sure if it was true 15 years ago, but Dork Boy runs on the RCT. And to Ha LOL who thinks Dork Boy is faster than me, that's a bigger joke than Dork Boy.

I am out on a long run on a road where I never see other runners. It's a Sunday morning. I suddenly notice a guy in red up ahead. It seems like I am gaining. I pick up my pace. I am definitely closing in on him. This is great! I get about ten feet away. It's a mailbox.

"I hammered down the trail passing rocks and trees like they were standing still." - An old ultra running quote.