Runner High

I received a new blog award and will post all about it later!  I am excited!  Thanks to Dr. F!

I've been running for a few years now and have never experienced that "runner's high" that other people report.  I am always happy when the run is over but that's because it is over and not some endorphin rush.   I am usually dragging my ass home and whining about how hard it was to complete.   I love to run and get really bored walking, so that is what motivates me to do it over and over again.  This all changed last night!  

I waited to run until late evening and had to finish in the dark.  It was a bit spooky; I ran faster!  I started out at a pretty good pace and wasn't laboring.  Wow, that is something I am pretty sure I would never say or put into writing.  I finished the first 5k in 34 min.  In the back of my mind I was thinking, maybe I can do all 6.2 miles tonight.  I kept going and was still doing pretty well (minor almost asthma attack from the wood burning smoke near the trail).  I finished 5.5 miles and was starting to feel jelly legs coming on but I persevered and finished 6.22 miles in 70 min!  There was some happy dancing and fist pumping smack dab in the middle of the trail.  Thankfully, it was dark and no one saw it, LOL!  I couldn't wait to get home and tell my mommy!  I was bouncing off the walls and that folks was my first ever "runner's high"!   

I also felt some validation into the running world!  Not that I need acceptance but it was kind of nice to feel the support from a total stranger.   I passed a few runners on the other side of the trail and always take stock of who is around me.  On the way back, a guy that I passed earlier gave me a thumbs up and a smile of encouragement!  He was obviously a big time runner, you know the ones with the lanky build and the ability to run without an ipod marathoner-types.  It was a super cool move and he has no idea how much the support meant!  So I think I am a real runner now...  :P Well at least in my head!