Runners High

Sometimes I feel so high from running, I wonder if some kind of drug was slipped into my Gatorade.

Today for example, I did what I guess you would call a tempo run. I ran a warm-up mile at a 10:20 pace which is already a fast warm-up pace for me. Usually I warm-up at an 11:00 minute mile. Then I decided I was on a roll, so I would finish the 5k at a 9:30 pace. Once I had to stop for a minute and walk to catch my breath and drink some water and it took a lot of determination to finish 2.1 miles at this pace, but I just kept telling myself how good I would feel when I was finished.

I kept saying to myself, "Just ___ more minutes and you can do whatever you want for the rest of the day." Which isn't completely true because I have to work today, but hey it got me through the run.

And feel good I did when I was finished. Whhheeewwwww I felt good! I walked for 5 minutes to recover, then I got on the bike and did a couple miles of hills while I listened to the instructor in the spinning class yell at her "students." Man was I glad I wasn't in that spinning class!

She was yelling so loud and energetically and calling people out, I kept thinking that she was going to look out the door of the room and start yelling at me to bike faster. I even had an answer prepared to give her. I was would say, "1) If I wanted your advice I would go to your class and 2) You have now idea what you're talking about. I can do whatever I want because I just did a 5k PR."

Yeah I was high. I was looking around the gym, seeing everyone working their butt off or pretending to work their butt off or being yelled into working their butt off and all I could think was, "I already worked my butt off. Now I get to sit here and watch you all."

Then I got in the shower. This morning when I got up I was dreading going to the gym and had no idea what I was going to do for a workout. And for some reason I was dreading the shower part after. I just wanted to go straight to the office. But I got in the shower after that 5k run and I just wanted to stand there all day under that drip of a shower. I was looking at the cream and green tiles on the walls and this one green tile just looked so beautiful, I couldn't stop looking at it.

I just stood there with the water running over me looking at that green tile.

It reminded me of when Claire and her friends get high in "Six Feet Under." Everything just looks so beautiful and amazing. Come to think of it there are a lot of scenes with people getting high in "Six Feet Under." But not to get off the subject.

So anyway...cheers to 30 minutes of running that provides hours of feeling high afterwards without any bad side affects.

PS. For you nerds out there, whether or not the runners high really exists is apparently a matter still under investigation by scientists.