Dear Jeff: I started running last year and have lost 10 pounds. I feel great and have completed a few races. When I started to run, I didn’t like it but I pushed through because I knew it would be worth the effort. Now I have moved into the phase where I want to run because of how I feel afterwards. When will I get the endorphins or the runner's high I keep hearing about? -Susie
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Hi, Susie. I salute you for your efforts in turning your mind and body around. You have a lot to look forward to.
The endorphin effect varies widely among runners. For most it is a positive glow after running, with an attitude boost. Very few receive an intense and wonderful feeling every run. I've described a number of these different experiences in my new book 100 Reasons to Run Now!
More frequent walk breaks tend to deliver better endorphin moments. The longer you run, the more likely the endorphins will be needed to kill the pain of running. When you walk, the endorphins can lock into receptor sites on billions of cells getting a good attitude injection. You'll see in my books Galloway Training Programs, Running Until You’re 100, and others, my suggested strategies of running to walking, by pace per mile. It is always OK to take the walk breaks more often than recommended–especially in long training runs and during the first 70% of all races.
Many runners have noticed that when they shorten both the run and the walk segments, it's easier to pick up the pace during the run segment. One heavy runner improved his marathon time by 30 minutes when he changed from running 30 sec/walking 30 seconds to running 20 seconds/walking 40 seconds.
It also helps to run slow enough so that there is no huffing and puffing–a sure sign that the endorphins are spent in pain killing.
Enjoy every mile…and every endorphin.
Chasing the Elusive Runner’s High
For years I chased the elusive runner’s high, something I pictured as being an ecstatic, near religious experience, akin to scoring free tickets to the World Series or finding out that the dress I’d been staring at in the Nordstom’s window had been marked half off and my size was still on the rack. I mean, the word is “high”, right? But all I felt in the middle of a long run was tired.
So I researched how long I had to run before the mythical “high” was supposed to kick in. Answers varied, but a safe bet seemed to be at least 45 minutes. So, at precisely 45:01 I parsed my emotions, searching for the tiniest surge of elation, joy, or euphoria. One time I thought I might have a skosh of giddiness, but that turned out to be the effects of 90 degree temperature and 95% humidity.
I figured maybe the key was oxygen deprivation – I should go anaerobic. Several oxygen deprived minutes later, I decided that I might see visions, sort of like the kind you’d see in a sweat lodge ceremony, but if I kept sprinting I’d wind up prostrate on the sidewalk with not one single joyful thought in my head.
Nope, I decided I must surely be defective in some way. The runner’s high was just not in my genetic makeup.
Then one day I was on a long run, and somewhere in the middle of it I felt this peaceful glow, like I could love the entire world if I could just stretch my arms wide enough. Not only that, I was positive that the whole world loved me back. Yes indeedy, my life was pretty darned good.
Hours later, in the middle of untangling the third major snafu of the week, I yelled, “My life sucks!” and just like that, I got it. The runner’s high isn’t some emotionally euphoric peak, or feeling of tremendous energy or excitement. For me, it’s a feeling that everything is good, and it’s going to just keep getting better.
So, yes, when you see me out in the middle of a long run with a goofy look on my face, I’m probably high. But it’s perfectly legal. And it’s almost as good as World Series tickets.