A short video that should warm any endurance athlete's heart

My friends at SDR put this short video together for their annual holiday party and charity banquet.

Enjoy!

Rollin' rollin' rollin', keep them doggies rollin'

Mother @#$%@$% that hurt!

OK. Forget what I said about endocannabinoids last week. 10 miles on Sunday, in the heat and humidity that is Northwest Florida, has my quads feeling like I hit them with a sledgehammer. This is really awesome considering that I'm trying to be a "good coach" and encourage a friend through her first 5k. Whining about how much my legs ache is probably not the most encouraging example I can set.

So what did I do today?

I broke out the foam roller.

And it hurt even more...

Those of you who have used a roller, or The Stick, or trigger point (or whatever you want to call it) know exactly what I am talking about. You also know that this maybe explains why some people think we runners are crazy. (Let them talk. We can't be distracted by their couch potato chatter! Ha!)

But seriously, after 10 minutes of foam-rollering (and a string of expletives that would have made a drunken trucker proud) my legs started to feel better.

And tonight's 10k was my fastest on the course to date.

What do running, dope, and dessert all have in common?

Q: What do running, dope, and dessert all have in common?

A: They make you feel good.

And apparently, according to new research, they may all use the same mechanism (known as the endocannabinoid system) to give you that sense of euphoria. So tell that to non-runners who say things like:

• "Isn't running bad for your knees?"
  
• "I wouldn't drive 26 miles in a car, much less run it!"
  
• "Runners are crazy."
  

Because running obviously does make us feel good (even when it sometimes hurts), and unlike cannabis or cookies, it isn't illegal and doesn't make you fat.

(For more info, see this week's NY Times story)