Endorphines rock!

“Got me some more of them there endorphins yesterday. Better than Burger King french fries.”

“wooowww, sounds like you have quite a well-rounded workout goin' on, Dunadan. i went for a walk/run in the woods last night, woo hoo! i keep thinking i need to get a bike. although, i'm really sort of scared of them...”

“I ran 6 miles the other day. Today, I'm running my 3.7 mile "Hills of Death" route. It's a real buttkicker, especially the super steep hill that's practically a mountain at the very end. I always get a huge buzz after running this route. Zzzzzooooooooooooom!!!”

“No endorphines tonite. I ran my four mile route but had some homemade pizza two hrs earlier for dinner and my stomach was upset. It was four miles of wanting to spew. It was an effort to finish. I did however get to try out my new shoes...flawless performance!
Tomorrow, 12mile bike 5 mile run.”

“I like to have them run through my body when I am going up a real tough hill and I don't want to stop.The burn feels so good I get off on it.

Well kind of!

8p”

“I know what you mean about the hills, Artex. There's a real love/hate relationship.
Birch, I can tell you are hardcore. It's hard to describe to those who don't exercise what it's like to do the gut-ripping when you don't feel like it. I can usually tell those in the road races that have run competitively before. They will push themselves harder and actually come in ahead of some people who are in better physical condition.
Anyway, enjoy the high everybody.
And...Lyra, you aren't missing anything without a bike. Just another mechanical toy.”

“Dunadan, I may not be hardcore. I may just not have the sense to quit LOL.

Actually I have a theory about mind versus body in excercise. My body and mind are in conflict over the whole excercise deal. The mind says yes, the body says no. Its all about showing the body who is boss. I figure that if I quit when I am hurtin then my body will fake the painful/uncomfortable conditions again in an attempt to cop out again. So for me on the days I feel awful or am unmotivated I make sure I run. If I never quit then I have retrained my body to listen to me. I havent quit a run in over 4 years so I geuss it worked.

Am gonna run a half marathon next month. Me and a guy are doing the whole marathon as a 2 part realy. I am considering doing a full marathon in april.”

“Go for it Birch!

8)”

“Lyra one advantage a bike has over running is that I found it's easier to maintain a higher average heart rate on a bike than it is running. The reason is that when running downhill it's difficult to keep your heart rate high. On a bike your downhill in a minute or so and then can start the effort again.
I used to run in the mountains for years and then I switched to mountain biking and using my heart rate monitior this is one observation that I made. I feel my fitness level improved when I started cycling. I was able to maintain high heart rates for a long period of time that was difficult to do with running without getting really beat up in the legs. The downside is that weight bearing excerise has bone building effects that cycling doesn't. I just hike with a loaded pack twice a week to make up for that and ride the bike on other days.”

“Got home tonight, ate too much Chinese take out and decided I had to get out. At first I was a little uncomfortable, but then I got into. Ended up hiking for about 90 min in the foothills. Fantastic sunset in the Land of Enchantment. Wheeler Peak”

“should be stupendous!”

“I got a big blast of endorphins on a 4 hour mountain bike ride today. It was a perfect day for riding and a beautiful day in the mountains. Now I have to get to work cleaning the mud off my bike.”

“Ohhhhhhhhh Yeahhhhhhhhh!

9.2mile trail run this morning(84 min 28 seconds). Rolling hills with a few steep climbs, lots of scenic river bottom trail, Weather was PERFECT a touch below 60 when I started. Gonna be near 90 today, glad I got an early start. Also tried out my new camelbak MULE pack. It is very comfortable even when the bladder is full (100 ounces). Discovered another brand of "gel fuel" that sux. Clif shot is NOT good, too thick...very similar to the gu brand of sludge. I did have one packet of "carb boom" left. This stuff is all fruit puree and a shot of caffeine. Good stuff, considerably thinner than the others and tastier too. 107 calories per ounce.”

“another pot of coffee birch?”

“Good deal dude!

8)”

“I hiked 10 miles at Harriman State Park today. Didn't run it, but hiked at a fast-pace over some good elevation changes. I'm going to enjoy this endorphine buzz as I watch the Gators beat Miami! Zooooooooooooom!!!! :-)”

“All right guys! Looks like everyone's out enjoying the nice weather we're having lately. I got my buzz today on an hour and 40 minute mountain bike ride on some local trails with some good climbs.”

“2000 foot climb (6600-8600), 2 miles in one hour, then back down at same pace. Great sunset to boot.”

“I have chest pains just readin that Pathman, good for you!”

“I'm a marshmallow compared some of you guys.”

“Pathman, its relative dude...just remember what the marshmallow fella did in the first ghostbusters flick, that was one bad muthafrappy!”

“I know this is small but the trip that me and Gforce when on this weekend there is a hill that goes up 350 and we pushed each other real hard and took no break going up I think it feels so good to feel the burn all over when you are backpacking!

8)”

“350 ft is like the Himalayas to a flatlander like me”

“It does not, however, feel good to feel a burn all over when you're not doing anything.
Penicillin Rocks!”

“BURN FEEL IT!!!!!!!


8)”

“ZOOOOOOOOOOOOM! Just got back from an excellent 6-mile run. I also now have a resting heartrate of 48 bpm.. I'm not quite at Lance Armstrong's level, but I'm getting there!”

“All right Artex! That's a great level to be at. I took a rest day today after some tough workouts this week. Yesterday, I did a hike with 50 pounds in my pack with almost 1000 ft. of elevation gain. I keep a pack loaded with stones and water bottles just for this purpose. It's become one of my favorite workouts. Tomorrow, mountain biking.”

“screw you guys and your endorphines. it's been 2 sundays since i've had a single one running through my body.
im debating whether or not to start working out again tonight. i was just at prowlers and i got booted so he could exercise. i got jealous. im thinking i might go for an easy one and see if i hurt myself anymore. ive been walkin normal for a few days now with minimal soreness. still hurts if i come down hard, though.
again, screw all you bastards who are all hopped up on endorphines. don't you know those things are like good drugs?”

“What happened that you got hurt?”

“had a fight with a rock and my ankle lost.”

“my first AT injury, that's the bright side, i guess, if there is one.”

“Sounds like a lot of pain. I'd stay off it too. Hope you heal up fast.”

“yea, feeling better every day.
i can't stand it anymore. im gonna go up to the gym for a light one. im cravin that buzz.:) if i reinjure myself, you'll know, i'll be doing a lot of b!tching.”

“48 bpm, sonofapup! that excellent!”

“Dudes and Dudettes! I'm sad to say that my supplier has been out of town for about a month. Since the last time I posted on this thread, I have gained five pounds and feel like a slug. Hope he gets back soon!”

“Yeah, ductape, get that ankle better soon! :-)”

“scored me a buzz, finally. got to the gym and found out the ellyptical machine really is no impact. didn't feel a bit of pain. that makes me feel good cause i can get some cario in w/o worrying about making my ankle worse. i ran til someone came up and kicked me out of the gym. i thought it was looking empty. i tried to argue to stay til they were done cleaning. i used the excuse that they had just called me yesterday to ask where i'd been lately(they really did). i was like, first you call me and tell me to get my lazy ass back up here then you kick me out when i show up? what's up with that? i lost that battle.”

“What a run!!!!!!!!! I beat my 6 mile run personal best by 1 min 48 seconds. vrooooooooooooooom!!!!”

“Congrats birch!!! I tied my personal best this morning, also a 6-mile run..!

That's cool ductape/Josh that you are able to get back in the swing of things. You may have lost the battle to staying there later, but it was a worthy fight worth fighting for. :-)”

“Hiking in sand gives a nice workout on the feet.

8)”

“Way to kick it into gear, Birch.
Dunadan is back on the program! Got in four and a half yesterday. Went better than I thought it would.”

“Good job Birch!

8)”

“Eight mile hike, following a contour at about 9000, rolling trail. I found both springs. One was dry, the other is skanky, but enough water.”

“passed a couple of mountain bikers twice, before they got away on a long downhill.”

“Whattcha scoutin for pathman, got a trip comin up?”

“multiday trip in the Sandias. Trying to hit water once a day. Some of the springs aren't in very good shape after such a drought. The one I found dry today was a disappointment. Its normally a good one.”

“Congrats to you guys on your running times. I used to run in the mountains behind my house before I got into mountain biking so I know how satisfying it is to run your best time. Now, I try to keep times with my bike using the bike computer and heart monitor. Does anyone keep a log book? I've been doing this for 15 years and it's great for keeping track of progress and many other details. I think it's cool to look back and see exactly what I did on any given day, mileage, hours per week, avg heart rate, feeling strong or weak and why etc. I use it for maintenance on my bike too. It's a great tool.”

“so this morning team two foot express ran the detroit international marathon. Our combined time was 3hrs 14 minutes and change. My half was 1hr 46min 28 secs. It was great! 48 degrees to start low 60's for a high, minimal wind a total of 4500 runners and wheelchair racers. Felt good until mile 11, felt bad by mile 12 and was spent as I crossed the relay point. I feel good now, a slight headache, and some knee/hip tightnesss but bearable.

As a bonus I was able to run on the Ambassador bridge to Canada and the Tunnel back. The river front section in canada was gorgeous, a beautiful asphalt path through a sculpture park. Listened to NPR to occupy the brain (when I wasnt negotiating with the legs, they so no, I said yes).

High point, I got to watch a Kenyan blaze across the finish at near 2hrs 17 minutes, that dude was haulin!”

“Congrats Birch! That's awesome!

I ran 6-miles this morning, but had to take it easy. A tendon in my left knee is still a little sore. I don't want to aggravate it too much before my hiking trip in Maine. Only one more run between now and the time I leave, and I'll do my 3.7 mile route.”

“Damn Birch, you're killin' me, now I definately have to quit smoking! Congrats bro, that is a haulin' a$$ time.”