RNRS HI

Alright, the all knowledgeable Wikipedia explains the Runners High as, "The term endorphin rush has been adopted in popular speech to refer to feelings of exhilaration brought on by pain, danger, or other forms of stress,[2] supposedly due to the influence of endorphins. However, this term does not occur in the medical literature." Anyone who knows me knows that this is my personalized plate on my truck. While out doing my typical Sat long run with Jeff this morning, I got to thinking that this term can take on many different meanings... The first is the one explained above, not everyone has experienced it but when you do, you know. Ahhhh, the sweet sweet feeling of oxygen deprivation to the brain. I have experienced this wonderful feeling numerous times, it doesn't last forever, but makes me wonder, "I hope I don't get pulled over for a RUI (running under the influence)." The second explanation behind this phrase is an adaptation of the original as in outsiders saying, "you must be high to be running that distance at that time in that heat." I again experienced a third explanation behind the Runners High this morning as I do every weekend. It doesn't matter where I do the run the result is the same. Every weekend as I'm out for my run I pass by groups of runners or cyclists all doing the same thing at the same god awful time, yet without fail, 2 out of every 3 people you pass will smile and say "Hi" or "Good Morning". In a society plagued by road rage and hate, I ask myself "what other environment can you experience such random acts of politeness?" (Excluding retirement communities, which as Jeff pointed out, happens with great frequency as well) Now, I don't by any means consider myself an extremely political person, but this concept makes me want to run for president with this as my platform...."Mandatory early morning physical activity for everyone!" Think about all the Holy Wars I could solve with the simple idea of a Runners Hi! Ok, enough with the rant. This morning's run consisted of a drop back in mileage due to last weeks 12 miles in the heat. We, Jeff and I, did 8 miles at DC Ranch. This is hands down my favorite run. It is a beautiful run at the base of the mountains with spectacular view of sunrise over desert landscape...perfect Arizona running. I did all my training for the P.F. Changs full marathon last fall on this course. The other love/hate of this course is the rolling hills. It provides plenty of hill work and I always feel like a stronger runner at the end for having attacked these hills. This run was no different, beautiful scenery, great friends and a challenging 8 miles. Not to mention plenty of Runners Hi's! Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 1750 ft Location: Carefree, AZ Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 06/28/08 Up/Downhill: [+380/-380] Time: 06:20 AM Difficulty: 3.9 / 5.0   Weather: Fair   85 F temp; 32% humidity   83 F heat index; winds S 3 Performance Distance: 8.13 miles Time: 1:19:26 Speed: 6.1 mph Pace: 9' 46 /mi Heart Rate: 148 bpm (Avg) Calories: 1228 171 bpm (Peak) Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Heart Rate (bpm)   Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 169 - 188 0h 01m 1%  0.17 mi Zone 4 150 - 169 0h 39m 49%  4.44 mi Zone 3 132 - 150 0h 38m 48%  4.10 mi Zone 2 113 - 132 0h 05m 6%  0.31 mi Zone 1 94 - 113 0h 03m 3%  0.13 mi (none) out of range 0h 00m 0%  0.02 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 50 +0' 04 6.1 -0.0 136 +52 ft 2 8' 50 -0' 56 6.8 +0.6 147 -78 ft 3 8' 35 -1' 11 7.0 +0.8 149 -105 ft 4 8' 58 -0' 48 6.7 +0.5 150 -59 ft 5 12' 52 +3' 06 4.7 -1.5 142 +43 ft 6 6' 08 -3' 38 9.8 +3.6 154 +36 ft 7 11' 02 +1' 16 5.4 -0.7 153 +141 ft 8 10' 22 +0' 36 5.8 -0.4 146 0 ft end 8' 24 -1' 22 7.1 +1.0 161 -29 ft Versus average of 9' 46 min/mile

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It's a Dry Heat...

Ok, anyone who's been to Arizona or come within 300 miles of this state has heard this phrase. However, I'm pretty sure that the first person to say this was not running 12 miles at 4:30am on a Saturday while their friends and family lay in a cozy bed in a comfortable 74 degree air conditioned house. This sets the stage for this past Saturdays run. Jeff, my running buddy, and I set out for our usual Saturday "long run". Most would stop us right there and say "12 miles", but couple that with Arizona heat and you have a 1:1 battle with Mother Nature. In order to win Round 1 with Mother Nature one has to get up and be ready to rumble at 4:30...that's AM, where it is a cool 83 degrees (according to my trucks therm). The first 6 miles were not too bad by dawns light. I don't care how many times I see it, the site of sunrise over Camelback mountain is worth getting out of bed. Like a prize fighter in between rounds, mile 6 (the turnaround) was a park that offered a chance to refill the water bottles, run through the sprinklers and recharge. Any official would have ruled the first 6 rounds to me and Jeff. However, the sun was up now and the direct sun was going to pose a serious challenge on the back 6. You can pack all the water you want, but there comes a point during an Arizona summer run where your body hits that "wall". For Jeff, that wall came somewhere between mile 9 and 10, and I was not far behind hitting it around mile 11. Like any good runner, we muscled our way through that wall and finished. Although the pace was a little slower than first anticipated, we finished 12 miles in 90+ degree heat....advantage us! It's gonna be a long summer...... Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 1247 ft Location: Phoenix, AZ Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 06/21/08 Up/Downhill: [+131/-131] Time: 05:42 AM Difficulty: 2.6 / 5.0 Performance Distance: 12.00 miles Time: 2:00:23 Speed: 6.0 mph Pace: 10' 02 /mi Heart Rate: 150 bpm (Avg) Calories: 1808 172 bpm (Peak) Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Heart Rate (bpm) Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 169 - 188 0h 01m 1% 0.15 mi Zone 4 150 - 169 1h 33m 77% 9.70 mi Zone 3 132 - 150 0h 26m 22% 3.40 mi Zone 2 113 - 132 0h 08m 7% 0.50 mi Zone 1 94 - 113 0h 05m 4% 0.17 mi (none) out of range 0h 00m 0% 0.02 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 21 -0' 41 6.4 +0.4 141 +10 ft 2 9' 25 -0' 37 6.4 +0.4 152 -7 ft 3 9' 30 -0' 32 6.3 +0.3 153 +10 ft 4 9' 28 -0' 34 6.3 +0.3 154 -3 ft 5 10' 05 +0' 03 6.0 -0.0 152 +3 ft 6 9' 08 -0' 54 6.6 +0.6 154 +16 ft 7 16' 23 +6' 21 3.7 -2.3 135 -16 ft 8 1' 28 -8' 34 40.8 +34.8 151 0 ft 9 10' 01 -0' 01 6.0 +0.0 151 -3 ft 10 11' 02 +1' 00 5.4 -0.6 147 +3 ft 11 10' 30 +0' 28 5.7 -0.3 143 -10 ft 12 9' 30 -0' 32 6.3 +0.3 161 +4 ft end 9' 22 -0' 40 6.4 +0.4 163 -7 ft Versus average of 10' 02 min/mile

Posted from runtracker.runnersworld.com