On a gray, windy Saturday afternoon, armed with my iPod shuffle, I dressed in my running gear and headed out the door - ALONE. It was glorious.
Although the runner's high is mentionned extensively in any piece of literature on running, it is a rare occurence in my life. Most of my runs are pre-occupied by the loud panting, the incessant jiggling of my thighs, and the desire for it to end. Ok, maybe that's just the first 2k. I do eventually fall into a comfortable rhythm, but alas, there is nothing euphoric about these runs.
In any case, I can only vivedly remember experiencing this fabled runner's high once before. It was May 2005 and I was in Halifax, NS. My niece, Tara, was undergoing chemotherapy at the age of eight months, it was an emotional, scary time. As I burst forth from the IWK and headed towards the harbour, I didn't struggle - I was free. No sickness, no stress, only me with the sunshine, salt-air, and the sound of the wooden boardwalk with each step.
Now, three years later, the runner's high once again graced me with it's presence. After seven days of 24 hours Mikaela, I headed out for a run in my new city yesterday. I headed north and entered the Auckland Domain, a 75 hectare park located on the Pukekawa volcano often filled with locales during the summer. As it was a cool Saturday in winter, the park was mine. The salt-air was not noticable and the sun had deserted me, but I enjoyed every responsibility-free moment. I ran past the Wintergardens and through the Cherry Groove, cut across Lover's Walk and climbed back up to the central sportsfields in the heart of the volcanic crater. It was 7k without nary a thought to my panting, jiggling, or the end.
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2 comments:
Sounds wonderful, almost enough to have me take up running again.... ha. I know of what you speak, the runners high is that rare 'sense of being' that all runners aspire to attain on a more frequent basis than it occurs. When it does, it almost takes your breath away, running seems effortless, the air seems cleaner & easier to breath, all is right with the world. Glad to read that you found running nirvana on your first run in Auckland. All the best with your training.
I'm jealous for sure; but happy you made it to nurvana land. I only ran at the end of my holidays and the message my body was sending me certainly could not be described as a high... More along the lines of "You want me to do what?"
Steve
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