Maybe related, I ran for an hour a day for a year but never came close to feeling anything like a "runner's high".
Anyone else have similar experiences?
Maybe related, I ran for an hour a day for a year but never came close to feeling anything like a "runner's high".
Anyone else have similar experiences?
In the internet age, I’ve learned this is pretty common for people with adhd.
I have 6 or so years experience with serious running, and experienced a runners high exactly 1 time.
It's likely due to some other factor or individual difference. To my knowledge, there is no evidence that stimulants affect people with ADHD any differently than people without ADHD. By differently, I mean having a paradoxical reaction that can only be attributed to having ADHD.
Correlation does not imply causation, but people still try it all the time.
More importantly, the dose of desoxyn (methamphetamine) used therapeutically for ADHD is *much* lower than what's consumed recreationally. That's really it. Use low doses, as prescribed, and the risks are minimal/comparable to most alternative stimulants.
It's like asking why a society where everyone has cups of tea twice a day has a different relationship to caffeine than a frat house where they're drinking 3 cans of Red Bull a night.
Energy drinks on the other hand ? The taste sucks but they do work and give me what I guess most people get from coffee ? They make me sharp and pumped up
The afterglow isn't confused with feeling good about completing exercise, or accomplishment/confidence. Example of confidence: when on a track, I'd run until I felt like I was out of steam, then sprint the last half-lap, just to know I could do that. (Don't try this if your heart isn't currently conditioned for it.)
I've given up caffeine, and hardly ever miss it.
One problem is caffeine for me seems to shift energy around, not create it. It might make me more energetic right now, but then headachey and ugh later. Also creates a dependence: "I feel like crap; I must need more caffeine".
Can also interfere with sleep many hours later, and sleep is super-important. It upsets GI a bit. And personally it seems to magnify some emotions, and, when caffeinated, I will somehow always find a cause of something that needs someone to fight for it (it's uncanny).
I care enough without chemically boosting things. And I'm fortunate to naturally be energetic and sharp without caffeine.
I don't drink even decaf anymore, because it still has too much.
IIRC, detoxing from caffeeine cold-turkey takes a couple weeks. Or zero-caffeine herbal/fruit teas can help with the warm mug of hot liquids ritual substitute. And exercise, hydration, nutrition, and good sleep.
It's weird that you mention the runner's high, too. I've run 6 miles 3x a week for months on end (PR of 8.5 miles), and I have no idea what other runners are talking about. I've never put the two together before.