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February 06, 2005
Runner's high?
Andy added a link to an article on this topic in the comments on a running journal entry the other day. Today I finally took the time to go back and read the article by Sarah Willet in its entirety.
I have not yet run far enough to experience what people call a runner's high. Maybe I'll feel that way March 27 when I run 32 km (20 mi), or April 17 when I run my first marathon.
What I do feel when running is moments of exhilaration. Usually those happen not because I'm going fast, but because I'm going smoothly. When everything works right, you feel you could keep going a long, long way. In those moments of exhilaration you are in touch with what is happening in your body and its interactions with the environment, which are mainly your footfalls and breathing, but also how warm or cool you feel, the way things look to you, the light, etc.
You're focusing closely on your running. That focus clears your head and takes the stress away. It's like sitting in the forest or on the water's edge on a nice day and not thinking about anything, just observing... except you could be feeling that way running down the side of a relatively busy, salty winter street with the temperature in the low single digits (below 40 F). You're also doing something that's probably good for your body if you don't try to force it.
Posted by Mark at February 6, 2005 02:05 PM