What if I told you that running well is all in your head? You probably wouldnt believe me. You might point out that you cant think your way to a good marathon on poor training. Or command your legs to run faster when the bear jumps on your back. Or wish yourself a perfect running body like the worlds best distance runners. Yes, youd be right. But youd also be missing the point. Its not that good physical training isnt essential to running. Its that your brain ultimately determines how much of that training youll be allowed to use. It does this by monitoring your bodys fuel levels, temperature, hydration and other markers of fatigue and tissue damage, and then shutting down muscle fibre recruitment and other systems when it perceives imminent damage to your body. Last year one of the ladies that shops with us clocked 23:09 for 5K. She wanted desperately to improve her times, so after three months of training, she entered another 5K. I cautioned her to expect resistance from her brain, that her brain–like her body–needed to be trained to endure a faster, sustained effort. She ran 23:03 and, despite my warning, was disappointed. Two weeks later she ran 22:11. A couple of weeks after that, 21:08 and by the year end she was down to 20:22. Her fitness hadnt improved a minute in two weeks and then another minute two weeks later. Her brain had gradually accepted that a fast 5K wasnt going to kill her. Runners who accept that the brain exerts some subconscious regulation are often unaware of the extent of that control. So persuade your brain to ease up on the regulation. Your brain is out to protect you. But its not unreasonable. Your job is to show it that youre trustworthy. Then, like a proud parent handing over the keys to a responsible teenager, it will reward you with significant performance improvement.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 20:39:19 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015