Last night I did w1 r2 and found it much harder than r1 but I got the same smugness, elevated mood, calmness and - in addition, my usual arthritic knee, back and foot pain was gone for the rest of the night.
Today I was able to cut both my back and front lawns, sweep paths and do weeding before my back got really sore (normally it would be so sore after 10 minutes that I couldn't stand any more.)
Is the running doing all this? Is it possible to have such a quick improvement in pain and is it endorphins causing it or what do you think?
And does this response happen after most runs?
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hopelessCause
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Great stuff!!! My theory is that we are just a bunch of chemicals anyway, so if the balance changes, there can be huge changes both physical and psychological and the two are so intertwined that they cannot be truly separated. Many of us felt a wonderful psychological boost when we started running and I was on a high throughout C25k. It is doubtful that endorphins are responsible for abating your chronic pain, but your perception of your own abilities and what you are willing to tolerate will change as you progress, so pain has a different perspective put on it.
I am coming up to 2 years since I discovered C25k and I can tell you that not every run is totally uplifting, but also that there is no way I am going to stop running, because it has made me a happier and more positive individual.
Apparently, in addition to endorphins being released, specialised muscle cells also secrete another mood enhancer called Anandamide (similar to THC, the active ingredient in marijuana) and these two limit pain sensors that spread out from the spinal cord, hitting the off-switch for pain!
This process only occurs when we run beyond our comfort level though.
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elevated mood, calmness and - in addition, my usual arthritic knee, back and foot pain was gone for the rest of the night.
if it works for you go with it 
Week 3-is this normal?
Are tender knees normal?
Are these pains normal?
Don’t normally run at this time... ouch 😓
Is lightheadedness normal?
