I'm So High

I've just set a personal record for running mileage in a single month at 80.5 miles. My previous best was 80.22 in November of last year. To some people these numbers are not impressive, but for me they're huge. I started running in 2004 and I'm no phenom, but I plod along pretty well for someone who works a full time job and tries to keep several other hobbies going. This month I also went over 2000 running miles total since starting in 2004, so it's a month of milestones. I've run the Bolder Boulder several times, numerous other 10K and 5K races and a half marathon. But I've never been high.

I've heard of the runner's high, and I guess I expected to experience it before now. I've been running and waiting, running and waiting for 4 years. I think I was expecting a moment of epiphany where I was exposed to some momentous vision or maybe a glimpse of the meaning of life. At the very least I would have liked a feeling of giddyness, like that moment in a bar when you first realize you're buzzed. But what I got was nothing. 4 years of nothing.

This week I think I finally got it. It wasn't what I expected, but at the same time it was better. I didn't learn the meaning of existence, or discover the secret to world peace. What happened was I ran outside myself. I was 3 miles into a 7 mile run when I realized I wasn't breathing heavy, I wasn't straining, but rather I was smooth, fluid and felt like I could maintain that pace forever. I was in the moment, but unaware of the moment. I forgot that I was running. I forgot everything. I just ran. Before I knew it I was at mile 6 and almost done. I had chased, and caught, another runner who held out for a while, then fell back and was gone behind me. I was cruising through that last mile at a 7:30 pace, which is flying for me. And then, the run was over.

It wasn't until I was cooling down that I replayed the run in my mind, and I realized what had happened. I finally got the mythical runner's high. I don't know what went right on this run, or what circumstances aligned on this day, but I know I look at running a little differently now. Today when I tied my new shoes and headed out for 6 miles, I did so not with a time or a speed in mind, but just wanting to run by feel. And I have to tell you, it felt good.