Do you know what you and Kilian Journet, or Sheily Ann Frasier or Eliud Kipchoge have in common? First point: You and the pro’s have SMA. Second point: Well … it’s a bit of a anticlimax this one… but you, the pro’s hey me too of course we all at one point or another decide to STOP. Yup, I am serious. There is a decision you take and then: You stop. I mean we all do, some time or another. You cease to put one foot in front of the other. And that’s it. Your run is over. Because you decided to come to a grinding halt? Or you hit a brick wall? Or somehow you reached a conclusion that this is it. None of the above … most of the time is it no? I mean no runner goes and runs his heart out every single run. Nor do you run so far that you hit a wall. Or is this where SMA comes into play? Oh, I didn’t mention what SMA stands for. Supplementary motor area. That is a part of the brain many studies were conducted, experiments performed.. real difficult topic to study in depth, I will spare you the details, but give you the quick essentials… it is a part of the brain which is active BEFORE the actual decision is taken. What am I saying that our brain unconsciously makes a decision and we are not taking decisions based on our free will….. looks like it yes, this is based on a study in the year 1983, where the decision-making part of the brain was analyzed, or researched or whatever you call it you know what I mean. Yes, well what the study concluded or proved was that just before you actually make a decision… the supplementary motor area kicks in. It is an area or a part of the decision-making process which caused a controversy, because apparently, we as humans are all about being able to choose as we like. Well surprise. Anyone who has ever ended up with a shopping cart full of items and wondering why and how come they ended up in there… knows how it happened. Or did you ever drive home, and once you parked you car, you thought “how did I get here?” You know you drove, sure, but you cannot remember whether the traffic lights where green, or was traffic heavy or not… maybe it happens to you whilst you go on a run…. it is over, you stopped, and you cannot recall the details. Your running watch and the sweat clearly is proof you where on a run. So why can you not remember how where what happened…
It happened on a subconscious level. Confused? Oh, it is not what you expected. LOL, did you think this is one of those shows where we discuss those secrets get fast quick schemes by buying a training plan that a pro runner uses? Nope. Here we talk to you my dear fellow runner.. keeping it real, whether you are a middle of the pack runner, a dedicated runner, a sometimes I struggle runner, or a no excuses runner. All of you share something… you all think a lot about your running. About how to improve. How to make this hobby even better for you. Yes, this is the show where we talk about that part of your body which has the biggest impact on your running performance. That organ that determines everything about how far, how fast, how long you run. That grey matter we hardly ever talk about, but without it… heck… we’d be Zombies wouldn’t we? Oh that was a good show too, got more listeners or play’s than usual… Zombie runner you can check it out it is Episode 30… give it a listen.