
Homing in on the Source of Runner’s High - pmcpinto
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/07/homing-in-on-the-source-of-runners-high/
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js2
_One possible if slightly disheartening lesson of the study could be, in fact,
that we may need to cover considerable mileage in order to experience a
runner’s high; the mice in the study, small as they are, averaged more than
three miles every day on their wheels._

I'm on track for 3000 miles this year. I ran over 2000 miles last year. My
shortest run in the last few months is 4 miles, and that's on days when I
double with a 6 mile run. I've raced almost a dozen marathons and I run the
half-marathon distance a couple times a week. So I think it's fair to say that
I "cover considerable mileage." This isn't all just slow miles either. As any
runner trying to improve, I also run intervals of varying distances and tempos
(where you run about as fast as you could race for an hour, but for about
30-45 minutes).

So I enjoy running. There are runs where I'm relaxed and in the groove and the
miles just click by. But that's just an enjoyable experiece, like relaxing at
the beach. It's nothing like the high from smoking marijuana. Or the
exhileration from something like sky diving that first time. Or post-orgasm
bliss.

I've also spoken with a few ultra-marathoners, runners that cover 50-100 miles
or run for 24 hours straight. None of us have experienced a "high" from
running. Have we all been duped? Maybe we're all expecting the wrong thing?

I'm envious of those mice... :-)

~~~
hsitz
+1. I could have written that exactly. I'm on track for 3,000 miles this year,
ran 2,200+ last year. Have been doing 80+ miles/week recently with upcoming
marathon. Ran a 50 mile ultra back in July. I've never had any "runner's
high". It's not something that any of my running friends ever talk about; it's
something non-runners talk about. Closest I get is also "feeling in a groove",
which for me is mostly a feeling of ease I get when running a moderately fast
even pace on flat route with no interruptions (like on a bike path). But it
would be really stretching it to call that feeling a runner's high. There can
also be a nice feeling _after_ certain runs, when they're over. This is also
not a runner's high, just a pleasant feeling of being somewhat drained and
relaxed, similar to the way you might feel after a massage, or after some non-
running workouts. The whole "running high" terminology is geared towards
making people think there's some kind of mystical thing. People like to
believe things like that, but no.

~~~
ak217
Just to add some anecdata as a pile, I run about 1200 miles a year (half
pavement, one third trail, the rest track). I regularly get a sort of runner's
high after covering 5+ miles at a hard (7 min) pace, or 10+ miles at a
moderate (8-9 min) pace. The intensity varies, but it usually sets in after
this considerable distance and lasts for 2-4 hours afterwards.

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moron4hire
I have never experienced it. Even when I was very physically fit (I was a
martial arts instructor in college), I never got any pleasurable sort of
feeling from working out. I enjoyed the activity itself, but the end result
was always exhaustion and a vaguely nauseous feeling.

Considering other things that are supposed to make you feel "high, aka good"
(like the Vicodin I had been prescribed when I got my wisdom teeth forcibly
removed from my skull) also only seem to make me feel generally nauseous, I'm
guessing this is just me in general.

~~~
mtbcoder
I do quite a bit of running, some lifting and I've never personally
experienced this with either. However, I also do a lot of mountain biking and
experience this during and after each ride. As best I can describe it, it
really becomes of a sense of "flow" and you feel connected to what you are
doing while a wave of good feelings hits you. The only similar expression of
this that I've been able to come across is how surfers often describe their
feelings after catching a good wave.

~~~
jslatts
This is dead on. Almost every mountain bike ride I go on gets me into a state
of flow where I'm not thinking, just doing. It does happen when I run as well,
but generally external conditions have to trigger it (awesome music, beautiful
day, great views, etc). This feeling is usually accompanied by a general
feeling of happiness and punctuated by occasional thoughts of how great and
lucky I am to be alive and able to participate in these activities.

I never considered that euphoric feeling during exercise to be the "runners
high". I always thought it was the euphoric and satisfied feeling I have
_after_ exercise that is the high. I pretty much always feel great afterwards
unless I really over exerted myself.

------
Synaesthesia
When withdrawing from weed I found one of the only effective substitutes is
exercise, really makes me feel the same way.

~~~
saiya-jin
How much did you smoke when you decided to cut it?

I find the extra creativity, and sometimes vastly different viewpoint on many
matters in life (probably all of them) is invaluable. Another thing is (in
some circumstances) almost constant stream of out-of-blue ideas, solutions to
situations/problems etc coming from subconsciousness. In life as usual, these
are much more scarce. Some of best ideas/decisions in my life came from those
places, often Inception style (you get some basic idea, and explore more and
more after it).

This fades away significantly if I smoke often and comes back in full strength
when having a week or two breaks in between.

working out feels great, the harder the better (well till certain breaking
point), but mentally those states are worlds apart, something around clarity
vs expanded consiousness.

If I could cut the smoking part (don't smoke cigarettes/tobacco since that's a
net lose for consumer on many levels), and have something like eye drops that
would be something.

~~~
tetraodonpuffer
I bike commute to work for a significant amount of time (about 1:15 each way)
and most days I get out-of-the-blue ideas and solutions to situations/problems
starting usually around 45 minutes in. It also often happens that I get a
shift of perspective/viewpoint on something that is affecting me.

If you are not getting any of this when working out may I suggest going
longer? After all for most people the "runner's high" doesn't really happen
unless you run for a significant amount of time (personally, same as for
riding, it usually takes at least 45 minutes before it starts, for other
people I know even an hour)

I have to say that when I can't ride to work but have to take transit (when
it's icy out) I am definitely less effective due to the lack of this 2x/day
burst of additional creativity (which is helpful on the way back too, get
home, fire off emails and note some plans for the next day).

Note I have never taken drugs so I can't offer any comparisons.

~~~
saiya-jin
That might be partly explained by it, my gym sessions/interval runs don't last
more than 30-35 minutes.

But I also do plenty of stuff in mountains - hikes, alpinism, ski touring,
climbing etc. These are 3-10 hours activities (apart from short&intense burst
while climbing), similar to slow running (sometimes actually pretty intense).
These could be classified as some sort of "high", but more in a sense of
euphory, joy of being in nature, seeing some amazing places, random meetings
with animals etc. But nothing comparable to other "high" states from drugs.
Just 2 very different worlds, both amazing but for different reasons.

~~~
tetraodonpuffer
gym does not do it for me at all, as it's not really aerobic, and hiking in
general requires too much brain power figuring out where to put your feet to
allow me to get in the flow state plus in general it's not intense enough for
long enough.

For me it really seems like working out at a high enough level that you'd have
to stop after 1:30 or so that does it, if I have longer rides (I have ridden
up to 5 hours) it does not seem to be hard enough, while if you go shorter
it's too hard, there just seems to be something about the hard-but-manageable-
effort that does it for some reason

Same deal with running, when I was marathon training and running for 2+ hours
it did not happen as often as it did when I was half-marathon training and I
was focusing on 1-1:30 workouts

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uptownJimmy
I run 3-4 miles every morning, before work. My before-and-after is pretty
drastic, which is why I run every morning.

So I say without ambiguity: I defnitely get runner's high. It changes my
personality and my "feeling tone" significantly.

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kstenerud
Huh. This would certainly explain a lot. I can't get high from cannabis, and
I've never ever gotten a runner's high despite doing a weekly 6 mile run for
the past 3 years and training hard for boxing.

~~~
chipgap98
I've only hit runners highs on much longer runs. Like 10-15 miles. Totally
anecdotal, but you might need to try going further.

Also, what do you mean you can't get high from cannabis?

~~~
kstenerud
I mean that I've tried repeatedly, watched everyone else get baked on half the
dose I was taking (deep, and holding in until I absolutely needed to breathe),
and felt absolutely nothing except that nasty aftertaste.

Running itself is pretty damn boring, which makes it hard to do it for more
than an hour. It is nice to get outside, though.

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Roodgorf
This is pretty irrelevant to the actual conversation but, it's honing isn't
it? Have I been saying it wrong this whole time?

~~~
Glide
Hone in is so common that it's now listed.

To hone is to sharpen or to perfect. You can hone a blade.

Home in is the phrase that has more widespread use. A missile homes in. It
probably has roots to do with homing pigeons.

~~~
Roodgorf
Ah, interesting, thank you.

I always thought that it _should_ be home, but heard it more often as hone, so
I figured there must be some etymological history I was unaware of. Apparently
I just had a bad sample set.

