Runner's High

There is a line in one of my favorite movies of all time, "Fight Club", that I love to apply in training. I don't remember how it starts, but it's in the scene where Brad Pitt and Edward Norton are in the car with a couple of other Project Mayhem junkies, and Pitt says to Norton, "[something, something, something]...and just let go!"

I completely, totally forgot. The euphoria of the moment. The absolution of letting go. That cherished time of total freedom, where the world exists between my footfalls on the pavement and the sweat beading on my brow, and nowhere else. The space between steps is a confession, the steps...forgiveness.

This might seem dramatic to those of you who haven't experienced a runner's high. One moment, you're a panting, heaving, sweating mess. One moment, all you can do is try to keep the ragged breaths coming, the air moving in and out, the legs pumping, seeming to slow with each step, muscles cramping, joints starting to ache and buckle, things hurting in places you didn't know existed. And then...all of a sudden...

Total freedom. Complete annihilation of everything else. A clear mind, paired with a focused decision to finish the course. A right to total abandon. It's an almost spiritual experience, especially considering that I haven't been particularly close to any higher power lately.

Instead, I've been feeling the higher power in my legs, my lungs, my ability to give myself entirely to my training. It sounds absurd, and maybe it is. But what I absolutely KNOW is that my love for running is back. And I have never been happier.