Well I didn't end up running the Las Vegas half marathon like I thought I was going to. It ended up being a lot more monitored than I would have thought, and so I felt a little guilty running as a bandit. So since I was extremely disappointed in myself I decided to run my own half marathon and then some this afternoon. I ran 14 miles after being what I consider to be a couch potato over the last two months. I think the only reason why I was able to finish in a admiral amount of time was due to a magical thing called endorphins or otherwise known as the "runner's high."The runner's high according to wikipedia:
"is said to occur when strenuous exercise takes a person over a threshold that activates endorphin production. Endorphins are released during long, continuous workouts, when the level of intensity is between moderate and high, and breathing is difficult. This also corresponds with the time that muscles use up their stored glycogen. During a release of endorphins, the person may be exposed to bodily harm from strenuous bodily functions after going past his or her body's physical limit. This means that runners can keep running despite pain, continuously surpassing what they once considered to be their limit. Runner's high has also been known to create feelings of euphoria and happiness."
In 2008 the runner's high theory was proven scientifically to be a fact by a scientist in Germany. Dr. Boecker tested 10 runners using a PET scan before and after a two-hour run along with psychological testing. "They compared the PET scan images to determine which areas of the brain had the most endorphin activity. They also asked the runners to rate their mood, including their level of euphoria. The reported feelings of euphoria were then compared to the changes in the endorphin levels in certain areas of the brain."
The results of the study showed the following:
- Endorphins were produced during exercise.
- The endorphins attached to receptors in the parts of the brain commonly associated with emotions (the limbic and prefrontal areas).
- The amount of endorphins produced in the brain matched the degree of the mood change reported by the runner (i.e., as a runner described a greater euphoria and mood change, more endorphins were seen on his PET scan).
Although endorphins get all the glory when it comes to the reason for the runner's high, a 2003 study found that there are other factors in this feeling.
"Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology found that 50 minutes of hard running on a treadmill or riding a stationary bicycle significantly increased blood levels of endocannabinoid molecules in a group of college students. The endocannabinoid system was first mapped some years before that, when scientists set out to determine just how cannabis, a k a marijuana, acts upon the body. They found that a widespread group of receptors, clustered in the brain but also found elsewhere in the body, allow the active ingredient in marijuana to bind to the nervous system and set off reactions that reduce pain and anxiety and produce a floaty, free-form sense of well-being. Even more intriguing, the researchers found that with the right stimuli, the body creates its own cannabinoids (the endocannabinoids). These cannabinoids are composed of molecules known as lipids, which are small enough to cross the blood-brain barrier, so cannabinoids found in the blood after exercise could be affecting the brain."
Although the runner's high may not be experienced in all runners I definitely experienced it today, although it may be a different story tomorrow when I try to walk down my set of stairs.
Pura Vida!
Alica Ryan, NTP
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