That runners' high

[roarfeckingroarr]

You know how runners supposedly get this high? A sense of freedom and joy and it becomes wonderfully enjoyable...

What am I doing wrong?! I'm pretty fit but not a runner, I prefer weights and swimming and walking, but in the absence of gyms and pools I've started running and nearly completed C25K. I can run without pain, although I do get tired.

But it SUCKS. Once, ONCE, in months, I really enjoyed it because the weather was beautiful. I run in a beautiful spot with great music but it's still a slog.

Is running just something you like or don't, like coriander, or can one learn to love it? I want pure joyous elation!

I ran multiple times a week for two years. It got easier, and I could run further, but I can honestly say I never enjoyed the actual running part at all!
Loved the feeling of achievement afterwards, and seeing myself improve, but the actual running part was just hot and painful and awful!

You have more meh runs than the pure joy ones I’m afraid.
It will start to get more enjoyable once it warms up a bit. And if you can run with a friend that helps as well
If you want a proper buzz then entering a race is the way to go, although obviously nothing available at the moment

I’ve been running for more than 10 years , I only get a ‘ runners high’ when I’ve finished. I find every single run a slog.
I normally run with a friend and we never want to go, we moan the whole route but when we finish we always say ‘ I feel so much better for that ‘ !

I never get it. Been running for years. Some runs are ok if I'm somewhere nice and the music is good. Other than that the only bit I enjoy is the shower and cup of tea afterwards.

That's a high you have give a lot to get. You pay in sweat, blisters, heckles, pain, boredom and perseverance. But after literally years of pounding the streets, looking for the dealer, you get it, and it's like you are flying.

My runs all differ sometimes I love it sometimes it's really difficult, but I always look forward to my shower afterwards and the feeling of accomplishment.
I think it definitely helps if you find new routes too mixing it up a bit.

I get the runners high in most runs I do ^now^, but not all the time in each run and it certainly wasn't like that when I started. I've been regularly running for well over a year, usually 5 times a week and have built up to half marathon distance.

First 10 mins I feel meh and it generally gets easier from there but I can have waves of argh which fade and occasionally I can tell it's not my day and I need to cut it short.

I'm now mixing it up with sprint intervals, which is making the run harder but more effective, although I'd say less enjoyable.

Definitely stick with it for a bit as you might start to find other benefits (I find it useful when stressed, depressed, have a problem to think about) but also doing some body weight training may help with the running

Not run for a while, but there is a loop that I've done a few times. It starts uphill (always tough for me), then levels off, at which point there are also great views. Now that is a real high. Even better, you then start to go downhill, and there are always other runners slogging up the opposite way and I can feel smug.

I also feel really energised after a run, which I don't get after most other types of workout.

When I ran, I never really enjoyed it, but felt so good afterwards.

I did use to try to channel that when trying to get in shape and get fit...

When you eat something enjoyable - you feel great while it’s happening, but then feel guilty / disappointed afterwards.

You you run - you feel shit while you’re doing it, but great afterwards.

I run 3-4 times a week and have for years. I don't enjoy most of my runs while I'm out but I'm awfully smug once I'm finished 😂 😂

I can't say I've EVER experienced it. Although not a super runner, I have trained for and completed two half marathons and a few 10Ks so feel that I've done enough work to have realised that I'm just not meant to enjoy running

Very occasionally, it feels amazing and I feel like I could run forever. Those are usually the times I end up falling over catastrophically and hurting myself.

I started running 4 years ago and I bloody love it now. I get a massive endorphin high afterwards and now that I'm fitter, I can run without suffering the whole way through.

Cam I suggest two things? Heart rate and cadence.

Try and keep your heart rate below about 160. I'm 50yrs old and if myHR stays below 150, I can run for ages. If my HR creeps up to 170, I soon tire out. I regulate my HR mid run by slowing down.

Regardless of my speed, I keep my cadence high. This means that even when I'm running slowly, my feet are touching the ground at about 160-170 strides per minute. If you have a lower cadence, you're probably over striding which is more tiring.

A good running watch like a Garmin is a great investment if you want to continue running and want it to get easier.

I get that runners high on about half my runs now - but I didn't get it until I'd been running a fairly long time, and certainly not right back at the beginning with c25k. Everything hurt then!

The key, I think, is a combination of effort and scenery. When I'm running well within myself (ie fairly steadily, so it feels easy and flowing), in a beautiful place, I feel amazing. It's like being on pills, sometimes
But a slog of a tempo run along an A road, or a full on race effort...ugh. it hurts. And there's no "high" about it until afterwards, when I just feel glad I've done it.

I’ve run regularly for years, only around 30 mins each time, usually 2 or 3 times a week, but can’t say I ever feel any kind of high. I do it because I know I ought to keep fit. I quite like listening to a podcast while I’m doing it but I could frankly do that on the sofa. I do quite like looking at nature when I go on a run by the canal, but still no high, during or afterwards.

What am I doing wrong?!

I don't love it when I'm out running but when I get home... the high can last all day. From when I get home to lstervin the day when I think, I bloody ran 10k this morning!

I’ve never had it. Neither has dh. For us the high is finishing and knowing we’ve done it and having a tea and a snack!

I run every day, 10 miles or more and don't always get a high. I find I get more if a high after a session of interval training than longer runs. I always got a high out of races, especially marathons and ultras,but there aren't any at the moment.

I have had it - when I was training for a half-marathon a few years ago. It only seemed to happen when I'd got to the point of doing longer runs (like 40mins +) and then I felt as if I could just keep running and running and I felt totally energised! But it doesn't happen every time.
Also, the first 10-15 minutes my body was screaming at me to stop! My legs ached badly but after I'd warmed up it was so much easier. The slight issue with C25K is that it's stop / start so you don't really get into a proper stride of non-stop running until the last couple of weeks.
A good playlist was also important for helping me find a good rhythm. I really, really want to get motivated to start running again, but the first few weeks are tough!

nah, I feel great after a run.
during I just home to make it back without collapsing.

Sometimes, about 4-8 miles in after the warm-up and before the exhaustion, I can get that wonderful zen like state where my legs have got the rythmn and don't want to stop.
Never often enough

I get the high afterwards and I feel invincible and full of energy... except my muscles have given up by then

I very rarely regret a run though. I'm nearly always glad I went out even if it was shit

I always hate the first 13 minutes precisely. I check my watch when I feel ok and settled in to the run and it’s always at that point!

I only do one fast/hard run a week and run the rest easy pace (HR around or under 145bpm) so conversational pace a s that makes it more enjoyable.

You could be running every run slightly too fast.

I’m enjoying running at the moment. I’m challenging myself to do 100k a month so that’s motivating me to go out. I’m enjoying time on my own listening to music and I’m enjoying going further than I have been able to do in the past. I don’t always feel like this though.

I’ve been running regularly for about a year.

I find the first mile or two really crap, but then I settle into it and find my rhythm and my breathing gets sorted. Then at about miles 3-8 I feel amazing, like I’m on autopilot. I’m not thinking about running, my legs go automatically and my breathing is steady. I hit that sweet spot and love it.

After about mile 8 I start to tire, but am heading for home if not home already and once home I’m pumped! I get all my jobs done, then feel no guilt if I spend the afternoon on the sofa 😁