The cheapest addiction

To quote a friend and fellow runner, "I WANNA GET HIGH...SO HIGH..WE ARE STILL TALKING ABOUT RUNNING...RIGHT?"

I touched on the idea that running has become a lifestyle in one of my first posts. But it didn't start out that way. And it took reading a friend's blog to remind me of the beginnings of my addiction. That's how it started. I wasn't immediately addicted, but with every run and every accomplishment, I soon became hooked.

Seventh grade: I was introduced. My meager talent allowed me to enjoy what others view as punishment. Some of my friends were on the cross country team; I had the endurance necessary; I wasn't very good, but there was potential.
Eighth grade: I remember sitting on the bus, headed for a meet, the sun setting, and thinking to myself, "I can't wait to get out there." This was the moment I realized I loved running.

Hooked.

High school only further developed my addiction. Soon I was running five days a week, then six, sometimes two-a-days. Getting up for 6 A.M. runs wasn't so difficult back then. It was worth the price, which was sleep and sometimes a social life. What distinctly comes to mind is how I felt if I was prompted to take a week or two off from running, always at the end of each season, after District. I would actually experience withdrawals. Anxiety. Restlessness. Loss of appetite. Irritableness (did I just coin a word?). And nothing was more rewarding, or euphoric, than finally lacing up and taking to the road, the track, the field, the trail, wherever my feet took me.

After years of running, the high I sought and still seek comes less and less. But when I do reach it, I welcome it with open arms. Now that I reflect on my last post, I believe that I reached that high during that run with no destination. I could have continued for miles on end had we not stopped for guidance. It's funny that I didn't recognize the feeling at the time. Or is it sad? How long has it been since I last experienced a runner's high? But I guess that's what I was getting at when I mentioned running is now a lifestyle. It's no longer a drug, but physically part of who I am.