A squirt of dopamine
April 1st, 2011 § 2 Comments
Racing is intense. It’s hard, and it’s exciting. For someone like me who has a mental habit of living in the future, it provides a respite, a vivid immersion in the present. Racing while holding something back is not the same. It can be fun, it can be social, and I have done it – once. But for me racing is only and always worth it if I give it everything I have.
Finishing a race brings a great surge of emotion, like a wave running behind you that engulfs you when you stop. I have read that exercise causes a release of dopamine in the brain. I think racing may cause an extra large squirt, making everything brighter and more real.
Before I was a runner, I was a choral singer, and performance gave me that intense immersion in the moment. The trouble with music performance is that you need the audience to have just a good a time as you are having, or it doesn’t really work. (Read into that whatever you want.)
When you race as an amateur, all you need from the other participants is to show up – you don’t need them to like how you run. They give you the gift of camaraderie and a sense of excitement, but your performance does not need to be pleasing to them. You are the only one whose opinion matters.
My next race is in two weeks. I am already looking forward to the excitement, the effort, and the intensity.
I wonder how many other people crave this occasional shock of intensity, and how they get it?
Anne,
Have you read “Born to Run”? I have not, but it is being passed around my bookclub in Bella Coola and has got everyone talking about running. It has inspired the ladies to do many interesting things, from taking up jogging, to removing the inserts from shoes, to making a pair of home made shoes!
I have no idea who it is by or if it is even any good, but it made me think of you!
Good luck in your next race.
Julie
Thanks for the suggestion Julie! I will add it to my “must read” list!