Saturday 17 September 2011

I need you like a drug


There is an ongoing discussion on one of Sweden's biggest running forums about how running is like a drug. I completely disagree. Running is nothing like a drug.

So what if I get the shakes when I haven't been on a run? So what if it's the only thing I can think about when I can't do it? So what if, the more I do it, the more I need it? So what if I get runner's high on it?

I can stop any time I want.

Yeah. I don't need this.
So after 5 whole days of abstinence, I couldn't wait to chose to go out for a test run. My thigh muscle has been sending me mixed signals, feeling fine when I walked, aching if I made a sudden move. I wondered how it would feel if I ran in my VFF, thus landing on my forefoot very softly.

I put on my running clothes, enjoying the sensation of synthetic fabric on my skin. It was like reuniting with a beloved old friend. I had missed my clothes. My Garmin, that faithful little dog, found some satellites. I was ready to go.

I didn't dare try my luck for more than 3 relatively flat kilometres, and for those 3 km in the chilly, sunny autumn morning, it worked really well. That's not to say that I am injury free. But the injury was almost like a discreet ghost, tapping me lightly on the shoulder. No pain. Just bliss.

I can stop any time I want.

3 comments:

  1. Glad you enjoyed it. But then surely water is like a drug? I need water to function, and of I go more than a few hours then I really crave it. I feel that being "addicted" to healthy activities is not wrong, only if you carried on despite injury, or overtrained, then you would say it is like a drug. But your post made me laugh :)

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  2. Glad to be of service ;)
    I agree with you. Exercise is so beneficial to your health that I have a hard time seeing anything wrong with being "addicted" to it.

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  3. Nej va synd att du inte gillade Murakamis springbok! Jag älskade den och fick läsa låååångsamt så den inte skulle ta slut så fort! ;)

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