Like most things in the world, I would guess that everyone has a love/hate relationship with running. We love it when it’s going well and we hate it when it’s not. And why are these lyrics earworming around my head… What is love? Baby don’t hurt me, Don’t hurt me, No more. Now I might be different, but when I’m training, rarely do I walk downstairs in the morning without a limp, rarely do I feel no pain at all, but then again rarely do I stretch. There’s a lesson in there somewhere.
But when it all goes well, and you all of a sudden realise that you’re a little bit fitter than last week, last month or last year, there is no better feeling. It’s all connected. It’s in our nature to try to recapture that moment, the first time running felt good – really good. The moment you realise that this run is effortless. The moment you think you could run like this forever. Everything clicks. The birds singing sound sweeter, the air smells sweeter and you can’t help but smile. I’ve been running for 18 years now, and have 153 marathons notched up, yet I’ve only experienced an amazing fitness high, probably three or four times. It is that elusive.
If you have never felt that feeling on a run, go and search for it. Find a better training programme or set yourself a goal. Perhaps when you accomplish that goal or maybe the new training plan pays dividends, perhaps then, you’ll feel that running high of being fit. And when you do, savour it, it may not last longer than a single run. And if you have felt it several times, remind yourself of that feeling. It’ll drive you on to find your next hit.
It all reminds me of the funny ultra running quote “I was passing rocks and trees like they were standing still”.
Get high people…. get fitness high.
