The old joke goes that someone asked someone else why he was hitting himself in the face with a ball peen hammer. Answer: "Because it feels so good when I stop."
I think that's why I run. Not quite as destructive as the ball peen to the frontal lobe, but yeah, running hurts -- sometimes more than others. I believe the "runner's high" exists, but I've only experienced it one time, on that night run along the RT in NLR when everything just clicked between Cook's Landing and the quarry. So if I were running to experience the runner's high, I'd be sadly disappointed.
What I get out of it, other than the satisfaction of working toward a goal and taking each step along the way, is the feeling I get afterward. I don't know if you'd call it a glow, or a rush, but I feel different after a good run. GOOD run being the key. I don't get a glow after a slog, and that was probably my problem this summer. All I was doing was slogs, and I don't get good feedback from slogs. The last two days have been prime examples. After that 12-miler last night, I felt great. My legs hurt, but so what? I felt the glow, the rush.
Today, went over to Creekmore Park to try out the trail over there. Nice trail, but too much traffic for my taste; dodging too many walkers. It's just a smidge over 0.6 miles. Did nine laps today for 5.53, counting the jog back to the car after the final lap. Nothing dramatic as far as pace or anything, just a steady 9:30, about what I do on easy runs. Took two or three laps to get the kinks out from yesterday, but felt fine afterward. Thought about doing that 10th lap to get over 6, but nah. Then on the drive home, and sitting here at the computer, I feel the glow.
I don't think my results-oriented inclination would be enough to keep me going if the only thing I was doing was training to break 3:30, or when I was training to get me to Boston. Don't get me wrong, that was powerful motivation. But probably not enough to get me to run 2500 miles in 2009. I needed some more immediate incentive, affirmation, feedback, reward, whatever you want to call it. The glow is that reward.
Tomorrow marks five months to Boston. Eleven days after that, I start the training plan. Before you know it, I'll be doing 17-18-22 on weekends instead of 12. Hopefully I get the rush then, too. | 