Experiencing Runner’s High
You may have heard the term before… “Runner’s High”. And maybe you think to yourself “Yuck, I hate running, I could never feel euphoria from that!” But it’s our bodies natural instinct to want to run, because years ago, our ancestors once depended on running to attain their food (pleasure source.) So runners high occurs in our bodies to push us through the run to attain our pleasure source. Believe me, once you get it going, you too could find yourself on a runner’s high…
How to ease your way into running:
Start with walking. 30 minutes a day at first for about a week. Then work your way up to a speed walk the next week. The third week you can start to jog a few minutes, and rest until you feel breath catch up to you, then start jogging again. I recommend 2 min jog, 2 min walk for 30 minutes.Keep doing that until you feel you’re at a good place to do longer minute jogs. Keep adding them on until eventually your jogging for 30 minutes straight. When your endurance starts getting better, start to add speed with each run. Sooner or later you’ll be up to running 30 minutes, 40 minutes, 50 minutes etc.
How to stay motivated:
Track your results. Write in a journal or on your phone what you did and how you felt everyday. You’ll start to see that every entry is better every week. Remember to not get discouraged if you have a bad run one day. You’ll have days where you’re tired from life, but just get back on it the next day. Don’t give up!
Buy a fitness tracker. Having goal steps to get to everyday helps keep you motivated.Making goal calorie burn is also very motivating. Trying to burn 300 calories in 30 minutes will really get your fire going!
Get a coach. There are a lot of really great running coaches out there that can help you to fix your body posture so that your run is not so hard on your joints or muscles. They can teach you a lot about breathing, endurance, and recovery.
Make sure you recover! Always stretch and roll-out your calves, ankles, hamstrings, quads, so that you don’t cramp up or get shin splints.
Sign-up for a run. Having a goal run like a 5k for breast cancer awareness, not only keeps you motivated, but makes you run for a good cause!
Achieving a runner’s high:
Push yourself hard – but not too hard. When our bodies go into a state of being physically uncomfortable, we produced endorphins as a natural pain killer. Endorphins will produce a sense of being high and happy. But they will not mask the feeling of an injury, so find a sweet spot where you are comfortably challenged to achieve that euphoria.
The reason it has been compared to being “high” is because your body also naturally releases a naturally synthesized version of THC, which is the chemical response for the buzz that marijuana produces. Studies suggest that you can more easily attain this reaction when running at a challenging pace first thing in the morning.
So, set your alarm & buy some running shoes! It’s worth experiencing!