Running

I like to run. I don't really know why I love to do it, but I have a few ideas.

I think that it might fulfil some instinctive desire. I know that sounds a little weird, but I think it might actually be true. Many of our everyday activities a fueled by instincts, or even habits of our cave-man ancestors. I am no expert, though I have read a few articles. Anyway, when we were living in caves, we had to hunt to survive. Hunting involved running, and there was also the aspect of running for your life. In this modern day and age, it's a fact of life that the human race is evolving at a break-neck speed. Think back to 150 years ago; we had barely anything in the realm of technology. Now we have managed to see and study the particles that everything is made of, travel to the moon, and generally rip the earth apart.
Since we are constantly developing and changing, what it means to be human must also be changing.
Running; it's primal. It is an activity common among animals. Perhaps this 'fast-paced stepping' is a way we come into contact with our true roots.

There is scientific evidence supporting what is known as ''runner's high". There are many theories of what causes it, and largely it remains a mystery, but in this paragraph I will use the most obvious reason: endorphins. Endorphin levels increase when you exercise. These proteins have pain-relieving properties and, chemically, are quite similar to the drug morphine. Morphine comes from opium. So, running= a free high? (Frankie, I see a new business opportunity for you.)
I know after I have run a certain distance, once I'm really warmed up, I get "into the zone". I wouldn't go as far as to call it euphoria; I simply feel good.

I believe in runner's high, though, because of the question of what drives me to keep running, as in, getting up early to go to trainings, and in the afternoons when I'm tired. Anyone who doesn't like running will tell you all the horrible things about it. Hot; sweaty; red-faced; puffing; feeling like your lungs are going to explode and that you're about to throw up.
Yes, I have my own goals, and other motivations, but there's one thing that keeps me coming back, and keeps me from stopping.
That feeling of being on top of the world. The thing that can only be described as a high. For me, however, this occurs more after the run is over. I feel so optimistic, and as though I can do anything. The achievement of covering that distance, or going at that speed, makes my problems seem small and solvable, and my outlook seriously half-full.

I think too much and I ask way too many questions. I am always trying to figure things out, and the constant nagging of why isn't fun. When I'm running, I don't think. It's terrific. It's better than sleeping or lying quietly, because it's then that you think most of all. That relief is just what I need. It leaves me feeling refreshed, and all those other wonderful things that I mentioned before.

And that's why I love running.

Anything that makes you feel that way, and gives you that self-worth, is a great thing. There's also other benefits such as the bonding between the people you run with, being in the outdoors, and, of course, keeping fit.

Time for a run, anyone?