The Running Bug

Guess I’ve got the running bug. It’s a scheduled rest day and it is killing me not to get out there. I have reached the point where for 4 or 5 mile runs, may legs seem fully recovered the next day and my head is just urging me to go. What is it about this activity versus others that is so addictive? Why do some people catch the running bug and others couldn’t catch it if you gave them running fly-paper?

The formal research says that running is like an opiate http://www.livescience.com/10580-rat-race-evidence-running-addictive.html "Exercise, like drugs of abuse, leads to the release of neurotransmitters such as endorphins and dopamine, which are involved with a sense of reward," Kanarek said. "As with food intake and other parts of life, moderation seems to be the key. Exercise, as long as it doesn't interfere with other aspects of one's life, is a good thing with respect to both physical and mental health."

I’m sure the science is correct, but I think another reason is that in order to get that high, to get to the point where running is something that you don’t want to miss you have to put in a lot of consistent running. You don’t get a runner’s high the first or the tenth time you get out on your feet but the 100th time? You betcha! At that point, a runner knows that if he slacks off, she will lose that high and have to work for it again and it is just work again until the high comes back. I’m at that point. Running is still hard work, very hard work but I love the way it makes me feel.

Putting together a string of consistent running months without injury isn’t easy. I started again, for the third time, last August (2012) and have now been running 3 to 4 times per week for 7 months. Thanks to good coaching, a Good Form Running Clinic, and more appropriate (for me) shoes, I’ve remained injury free and I’m reaping the benefits of that consistency. My ultimate goal is still to complete the Chicago Marathon but in the back of my mind, I’m hoping to repeat that goal for many years to come.

Oh yes, definitely have caught the running bug.