Subconscious Mind

(Photo via John Fedele)

Got a gift from myself in the mail last week. The Lore of Running book. I can barely contain myself when it comes to exercise science. I'm a geek like that.

Finished Chapter I today. Muscle Structure and Function. You know, when we train, we hear encouraging phrases like "it's all in the mind," "think positive," "imagine," "believe in yourself," and all that that might sound like some bunch of corny nonsense? Either that or you just accept, take it for granted and push yourself out of ignorance.

If you want the big picture of how the brain plays a part in the whether-you-think-you-can-or-cant-you're-right approach, those two phenomenas are observed, by the Central Governor Model, to be the culprits for the fatigue we feel:

"1. A pacing strategy that is preprogrammed into the athlete's subconscious brain as a result of previous training and racing experiences.

2. Acute alterations to that preprogrammed strategy resulting from sensory input from a variety of organs--heart, muscle, brain, blood, and lungs, among others--to the exercise controller or governor in the brain. Output from the controller to the motor cortex then determines the mass of skeletal muscle that can be activated and for how long, thereby determining the pacing strategy that the subconscious brain adopts during exercise" (Noakes, 19).

Pardon the jargon. Beautifully explained with no better way of re-wording it.

Basically, the brain becomes tired before you get tired. It also remembers past experiences in training and racing--good or bad--and that, in turn, influences your perceived fatigue and degree of discomfort.  The subconscious judgment then determines how you treat higher intensities or extreme endurance.

You can't do anything about the second culprit--it's an involuntary process and it's there for your own protection. According to the first culprit, what you can actually do during training is to dream it, believe it and your body will follow. Here goes that cliched saying again. But it's the truth. The mind is a powerful thing.

To beat the system, trick your brain and body by resisting bad thoughts when self-doubt starts to creep across your mind. It might sound like it doesn't make any difference in performance but it does. The pain that is felt will appear less distressing and more endurable next time you're reunited with the same pain. Get used to the old pain and befriend new ones. It's weakness leaving the body. You'll surprise yourself with what you can do.

References
Noakes, Tim. Lore of Running. Cape Town: Oxford University Press Southern Africa, 2003.