Welcome to Week 8 in Podrunner's first day to 5K program.

You're near the end of your journey, and you'll be glad to hear that this intro isn't

full of tips, advice, or semi-mystical ruminations.

Nope, all I want to do is call your attention to how you're feeling after your runs now.

I'm willing to bet that eight weeks ago you felt wiped, drained, sore, maybe even frustrated.

I'm also willing to bet that in the last few weeks after you've finished your run, you've

thought something like, wow, that was cool, I'm glad I did that.

The shift from those first reactions to that recent one is gradual enough that you might

not even have noticed it.

That's partly why I'm here, to point stuff out.

And what I'm pointing out this week is that your body has adjusted to the point where

it's actually rewarding you for your work.

Maybe you've lost weight, maybe you've improved your endurance or muscle tone, but under

the hood, your body is also releasing endorphins and endocannabinoids as a result of your

workout.

Not only do these rays paint threshold and elevate mood, they act in a longer term to

help your mental focus, motivate you to continue challenging yourself on your workouts, and

alleviate depression.

That's a heck of a gain for just putting one foot in front of the other for a few miles,

don't you think?

It turns out that getting into shape has involved way more than just your body, pretty cool bonus

and one that I hope makes you look forward to next week's final run in this nine week

...