It is sometimes referred to as the “runner’s high”. Other times it is called being in “the zone”. Either way, it is the feeling you get when you are firing on all cylinders… and loving it. For me, it is a rare feeling. Others may never experience it, but if you are one of the lucky ones who know what I’m talking about, there really is nothing like it, is there?
Scientifically, it is characterized by a release of endorphins in your brain when your body senses that you’re in pain or otherwise exerting yourself. The resulting hormones just feel good; make you feel like you could run forever. An odd way that this “high” manifests itself in my runs is that it makes me feel hungry. Not painfully hungry, but with an appetite that feels ambitious. It’s kind of like the feeling you get right when your meal arrives at your favorite restaurant. Your body knows that what’s about to come is going to be good.
It also makes me feel overwhelmingly optimistic and creative, like the whole world is set before me with limitless possibilities. Often times throughout my day I worry about silly things like money or the future, but when this feeling hits, you know that there is nothing that you aren’t capable of handling.
A final characteristic I sometimes feel through this runner’s high is a great feeling of accomplishment and thankfulness. By the end of a great run, I’m sometimes amazed at how far I have come from just a year ago, and in awe of how awesome it is just to be alive. It’s not at all uncommon for me to be in sincere prayer by the end of a run through the mix of both pleasure and pain.
All that being said, I can’t exactly tell you how to achieve a runner’s high. It isn’t exactly a straight forward process, and as I mentioned, some people never experience it. Actually, I probably have just as many bad runs as I do great ones. I simply say all this to let you know one potential benefit to running and that it doesn’t always have to be an unpleasant struggle.
