That High
An injured running buddy (hi, Erin!) recently wrote how sick she is of cross-training because, among other reasons, she misses the runner’s high. At first, I didn’t dwell on her point– merely agreed and kept reading and responding to her email.
After cross-training for most of this week — intentionally taking some time off from running intensity and high volume — I’m beginning to agree more and more with Erin’s remarks. Both days this week, after I completed a sweat-pumping spin class, by hours later, the thought of what I had accomplished that morning had already left my mind. I don’t think it made me sleep any better, eat any less, etc.
That just doesn’t happen with me when I run. When I run, of course I feel it while doing it — the fun, the ease, the sometimes pain or minor annoyances — but I DEFINITELY feel it afterward, pretty much all day long. I’m convinced that I sleep best on the nights where I run home from work. My mornings, when I run, are super productive. The days when I have class and I run prior to make me feel like I’m spot-on with all my comments and analyses. And of course, the beloved runners’ high … don’t need to elaborate on that one here!
I just don’t get that from cross-training.