What really is the "runner's high?"

Okay, maybe I'm biased because I enjoy it so much, but I find running to be very therapeudic. Had a rough day at work? Go for a run! My first major LSD was done just hours after a very stressful day at work. Poof, magic, miles and miles that had been eluding me before were now just slipping away. What made the difference, what caused this sudden change?

When I ask runners old and new what they enjoy most about running, the answer seems to be unanimous..."Running is ME time." Everyone needs "me" time, but for runners, what does that mean, exactly?

Does it mean the same as going to the movies? Does it mean the same as lounging by the tv set and catching your favorite show? Well, this is a question with a very individualistic answer, I would assume. However, the general consensus is that running is a time to be alone with your thoughts. When you're by yourself, (save the occasional dogwalker, cyclist, or other runners), the scenery that is otherwise monotonous becomes something surreal. It becomes a part of you. Furthermore, everything else has a way of just "floating away."

I have used runs to contemplate things as trite as "should I really have gotten that last tattoo done" to things as serious as life after college. And it's no surprise. Every brilliant artist or musician has a certain idiosyncratic way of coming about their lyrics or their most recent painting. For many of these, it is something manifested by a brilliant mind, for others, the only way to come across this sort of epiphany is to bring oneself into a meditative state.

Some use yoga, some lift weights. And still others, run mile after mile to escape a chaotic workload, homelife, and personal life. So maybe runner's high isn't always a crazy rush you experience, but rather a wonderful sensation that takes you away as you forget everything else that had previously gripped you mercilessly. Without said distractions, you're left with the scenery, your rhythmic breathing, and that soothing sound of rubber soles on your favorite running surface. Everything else is obsolite.

here's hoping your runs are all this way. And remember, if you hit a wall, come back to why you run in the first place. It'll keep you going.

gotta run

CM