Running has always eluded me; I have the ankles of a frail, elderly woman. But I've always been fascinated by the notion of the runner's high. I have passed (in my car, of course) many a runner in my day; most of them look miserable. Now and then I pass one who is in the throes, jamming along in a full-on runner's high. And it looks sooooo awesome.
Question: Is the runner's high only legit when achieved through, yanno, running?
I have, in my step-aerobicized past, caught a glimpse of the euphoria.
And I've gotten into the Zone of Awesomeness many a time while hiking.
Tonight I did it on a Nordic Track.
Fueled by the perfect rhythm that is the Bee Gees' "Jive Talkin'" and the sudden realization that I'm on frickin' summer vacation (as opposed to thinking that I've just been home sick for the past week), I went there.
Though the music and the mood are crucial, that thing that always pushes me into the Land of the High is the fantasy - the story I make up in my head about how awesome I am and all the magnificent and impressive things I am capable of.
Um, do other people do this?
I always seem to have this hokey Olympic-caliber athlete/Charlie's Angels chasing down a perp movie playing in my mind when I hit the high. And I'm totally starring in it.
Is the fantasy fueling the euphoria?
Is it all just one big dopamine-changed hallucination?
I acknowledge that it's a bit silly, but when the swing of the "poles" on the Nordic Track take on a much-too-funky vibe, I am no longer a fortysomething suburban mom, listening to disco anthems while striding along on a piece of outdated exercise equipment.
I am so strong.
I am so lithe.
I am so high.
4 comments:
what about that pole-dancing exercise stuff? that could count, right?
June 26, 2009 at 1:59 PM"Tonight I did it on a Nordic Track"
June 27, 2009 at 8:55 PM"I went to the land of fantasy"
"I caught a glimpse of euphoria"
You are so not talking about running.
Holly! Gasp!
June 28, 2009 at 8:10 PMI wrote this post soon after dismounting the Nordic Track and was still in an endorphin haze. It's the blogging equivalent of a drunken dial, I guess.
June 29, 2009 at 5:04 AMPost a Comment