Finding your Body on the Run

There's a new workout world being born. Fitness Gurus like Ben Greenfield are already promoting the industry and it's potential. If you're from Ohio, cover your ears and stay at home.

I'm talking about using marijuana for your runs.

Now let me explain: This is not a "smoke a doob before a 10K" kind of movement. It's carefully quantifying your intake to improve your run, jog, plyometric, yoga, barre, or light weight workout.

I'm going to go over some reasons, effects, uses, benefits and cons about using weed before a workout.

REASONS

Marijuana is a depressant. It's a plant that has psychotropic effects on the body. Marijuana can affect your mind and body differently depending on it's strength, strain, and delivery method.

That said, there are weeds that are better for exercise and some that are better for relaxation.

-There are weeds high in THC which will get you mentally high (the "colors" and "laughing sauce" kind of high you see in Cheech and Chong).

-There are weeds high in CBD which will relax, numb, and loosen your body and muscles, making you feel less chronic pain like back aches and bruises.

-There are weeds prepared in edibles or drinks that are digested. It takes around 40 minutes to notice the effects, and people often report these highs being more bodily, intense, and long lasting.

USES

So before a workout, you can ingest marijuana for exercise purposes.

Using a THC may make you unfocused on your workout, causing you to wander from the intent of "giving your all".

Using a CBD may make you feel more relaxed as well as hyper-aware of certain body conditions, say if you have knee or back issues.

Using an edible may make you experience a change in outlook, perhaps altering the purpose of your workout entirely (instead of following a route, you may start to drift you attention to other aspects of your surroundings. I recommend these best if you aren't doing something like Insanity where a couch is in distance. Save it for a run where your best option is finishing and going home).

So let me ground this for a second: WHY DO I USE THIS?

I like working out with small amounts of CBD or edibles whenever I begin a run. I do this because it lets me start my run feeling loose and sober, and then slowly feeling the effects several minutes into my exercise. By the time I start to notice the effects at their peak, I am around 2 miles in, and my fatigue relaxes to a loosened sensibility.

My observation on Marijuana and running is endurance. Now I DO NOT go faster on weed. That's just not a thing. However, I do go further for longer when running high. Some of my longest casual runs were during a marijuana high. Once you get into a locked pace, you're very comfortable keeping it. Your body goes into machine mode, and you start to give attention to your body mechanics. Instead of trying to run a 7:30 mile, you focus on whether your knees are falling symmetrically, or whether your stride is feeling correct.

If there are new runners hitting energy walls, plateauing on distance, or noticing severe leg pains after a long run, try running high. Worst case scenario, you get too high and have to run to the store to buy some Oreos. Are least you burned some calories.

PRO

-Improve your body mechanics by running less intensely and more intentionally.

-Allow your muscles to relax and reciprocate in order to increase stamina.

-Cause more enjoyment and happier mood while doing physically stressful activity.

CON

-Don't expect to get a PR: You won't. You don't get the same pump when you're using the plant.

-Smoking weed beforehand can tighten your lungs, give you an asthma attack, or close your wind pipe.

-Wear outrageous workout outfits that will turn heads for all the wrong reasons #fannypack #thebadkind.

Pro Secret: I discovered this while on a CBD syrup. It was an incredibly zen workout, and I had a long stretch of uphill ahead of me. Instead of dropping my pace (as I usually do after 4 miles), I created a trick for my body. Every step up the hill, I imagined a line. A 2 dimensional line. This line started at my rib cage, perfectly in the center. The line when perfectly up and perfectly down, cutting my running body in half. While I was imagining this, I dropped my focus on my speed. It didn't matter how fast I ran, it only mattered that I don't stop my stride, and MOST IMPORTANT: that my line stays at straight vertical as possible.

Not only did I not stop my workout, but I actually added time onto my uphill splits. This method was something I've never thought of before in my life. It was what Samuel L Jackson in Pulp Fiction describes as a "moment of clarity". I finally understood the mechanics my body needed to execute in order to stop the mental and emotional fatigue of uphill running.

It was a wild discovery, and one I'm not sure I'd ever have made without the help of marijuana.

But hey, anything is possible.