End of the season for us downunder - I had my last race for six odd months on Sunday. I spent three days ‘resting’, doing nothing, stretched each day, but basically got progressively more depressed and down in the mouth. Sure, I need to build an ATP, figure out my events for next season etc - but it all seems so far away. As for having a month off, or something - God I think it would kill me! Grumbled and grouched my way through the first three days of the week. Can’t imagine four weeks of that.
So…this morning, I head out for a short easy run. I go about 600m and suddenly I am smiling. I run for 22 mins very easy, HR is 63 134 163 (l/avg/h), and my GF wakes to the sound of me singing Xanadu as I make eggs for breakfast. I’ve got a smile on my face and a spring in my step, and even though I know it is just the chemicals in my brain fizzing around it is a GREAT feeling!
On a scale of 1 -10 I would rate myself at about a 7 for endorphin/exercise addiction.
Where do you sit - above or below that? How long without exercise before you blow a fuse?
I’d rate myself at a 10. I get really cranky if I skip a day of some form of exercise. Right now I am debating with myself about taking tomorrow off. Reasons I should:
Have a blistered toe that could use a break to heal up for a very long run coming up on Saturday
I’ve gotten little sleep this week due to it being the end of tax season
I will do better at my event on Saturday (30 mile Ultra) if I go into it with RESTED legs
But I know I will be edgy all day tomorrow if I don’t do something. I’m getting edgy right now thinking about it!!!
I’ve just taken four weeks off and didn’t miss exercise at all. I’m back into it now and feel normal, but not compelled to do anything out of the ordinary. When I’m out running or cycling there’s definitely a happiness surge at the 45 to 50 minute mark, which is why I prefer to do the longer distance stuff, but all in all I find that having two beers is a quicker way to get me to a happy state.
Well, I’m okay on a scheduled rest day (although I still do my core work on those days), but I don’t think an unscheduled one would sit too well with me.
Lately I have become better at “training”. I used to say that I was great a exercising (going out and riding 60 miles, every day, all summer, then moving to the gym when the weather got bad) and terribly at training (peaking for events and the like). But now that I have coaching I am much better at training (and, look, my results are better! Imagine that!). But two rest days in one week still doesn’t sit well with me.
Better to be an endorphine junkie than largely dependant long term on Zoloft and Xanax, which a surprising amount of our society is.
Exercise definately makes me feel better and gives me endurance in business and positive mental slant on things. When I go without it that suffers. Even for a week.
Count me in brother. I was thinking about this subject during a long run two days ago. My worst day is my day off. I always feel lethargic. Yea, part of it is probably the weight of 6 days on, but the other part has to be the lack of exercise that day. I think it goes one step further for me, too. I am, and have always been, a stress-junkie freak. I need big hours and heavy pressure at work to be happy and perform at 100%. Otherwise I get bored and procrastinate. Correlation? I also perform better athletically and at work with less sleep. I function great with an average of 6 hours per night. I function fine with less. On that rare occasion where I get 7.5-8 (don’t recall last time I slept more than 8), I am a slug all day. Yep, junkie.
I have been blowing fuses ever since my back problems have prohibited me from doing what I love. I now have a heavy bag (used in boxing and martial arts) just to blow off steam.
When healthy, I don’t get the endorphin high that many get, unfortunately. It does not balance the pain I go through on a daily basis right now. But the pain is different when it is an extraordinary workout. As long as I can get to a point where the daily pain is dull enough that the sweet pain of working hard can take over, then I will get my fix of the sweet pain of working hard on the bike or run. I love to suffer when I know that I can make competition suffer 10X what I am. Unfortunately, age and injury has made me only dream of making others suffer, as the only ones I can make suffer these days are the ride for fun types on their hybrids and knobby tyres.
But when all is right with my body, I would say that on a scale of 1-10, my exercise addiction is an 11. God, I am almost forgetting about the horrible pain in my neck, nearly have a woody thinking about sprinting to chase down a car at 35 mph…
Must really suck after dealing with this board during the northern cranky season and then moving into the southern cranky season while we are getting going… is that Suck X 2 or Suck Squared.
Hope you get your fix.
Jay
I need to be doing it all or I end up doing little. The more projects the better. Some day we will be old foggies and unable to get out of our chair. Until then, kick ass.
I would venture to say that what most people may assume is an endorphin addiction is more closely associated to Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder. This is the case when you feel compelled to excersise, and feel “cranky” when you don’t. Just my diagnosis.
I’d put myself around a 7, and am happy with my mildly obsessive/compulsive exercise addiction.
I used to be a 10, would have to go out at least once a day running, more normally twice, plus rock climbing or skydiving at the weekends. I’ve mellowed a bit now, and had some years away from it all, but being back with it makes me smile. I feel like a runner again, but think of myself as a triathlete now rather than a pure runner. i feel good after my exercise, but can go a day without it sometimes and it doesn’t bother me. I’m wiser perhaps now, and don’t want to repeat the string of injuries from my younger days.
Still, I need the buzz regularly and, as Tom so rightly pointed out, it’s better than getting your fix from a bottle, whatever it contains. I don’t need a pharmacy, just a double shot of adrenaline and a large can of whoopass thanks.
Must really suck after dealing with this board during the northern cranky season and then moving into the southern cranky season while we are getting going… is that Suck X 2 or Suck Squared.
Hope you get your fix.
Jay