Caffeine withdrawal is no joke.

Caffeine withdrawal is no joke.
Heading into a big run, I wean off caffeine to maximize the impact on race day.

It's brutal.
It might be the hardest part of my whole process.
I can't make it stop (without caffeine, of course).

In the throes of my pounding headache, I heard a podcast episode about dopamine and drug withdrawal. So, I fell down a rabbit hole...

Spikes in dopamine are part of what makes a substance addictive.

Here are the average spike over human baseline, by drug:
• Nicotine: 200%
• Heroin: 300%
• Cocaine (powder): 400%
• Cocaine (crack): 500%
• Meth: 1,000%

I'm over here whining about some headaches, in prep for a sporting event.
Meanwhile, someone out there is white-knuckling their way through a 1,000% deficit. Every hour. For months. The mind screaming for relief.

That's not a willpower problem.
That's a neurological earthquake.

So if you've beaten a real addiction, I hope you hear this:
You did something your own biology was screaming at you to avoid.
You fought a war against your own hardwiring.
And you won.

That's not just recovery.
That's one of the hardest things a human can do.

Cheers to you!