Phys ed

~ Patrick O'Grady
Jogging in a winter wonderland.
Jogging in a winter wonderland.

As longtime visitors to the DogS(h)ite know, I will never be smart.

Still, “never” is an awfully long time. Especially now that a study indicates that running “seems to require a greater amount of high-level thinking than most of us might imagine,” or so says Gretchen Reynolds in The New York Times.

The study, published in a neuroscience journal, found that the brains of competitive distance runners “had different connections in areas known to aid in sophisticated cognition than the brains of healthy but sedentary people,” Reynolds recounts, adding: “The discovery suggests that there is more to running than mindlessly placing one foot in front of another.”

Well. Shit. Naturally I laced up the old runners straight away and toddled off for my first jog of the winter.

And … nothing. Bupkis. Still as dumb as a stump.

Still, I’ll probably keep after it. At least running gets you out in the open air. Like crucifixion.

18 thoughts on “Phys ed”

  1. Good analogy, running and crucifixion. At least you got out and did healthy shit. I went to Bisbee and ate fish and chips with Guiness, and then we went to the gelato shop up the street for a large cup of sea salt caramel and roasted banana. I will regret it tomorrow. Still have a sugar buzz going.

    http://www.pussycatgelato.com

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  2. Good on ya, PO’G!

    But……..how about “mindlessly” placing two feet on pedals and then rotating them ever forward and backward? And you can do it while sedentarily seated astride a saddled “steel is real” steed. Seems to me it would aid in “sophisticated cognition” equally as well.

    Maybe that’s why I never went into research??

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    1. The study does seem to have left a few things unstudied, JD. Maybe the grant ran out. Or the graduate assistant.

      I haven’t run since May — if the weather’s at all nice I’d much rather ride a bike — but come wintertime, even when it’s as mild as it is in Albuquerque, it’s pleasant to mix things up a bit. Work some different muscles. Slow down a bit (OK, so a whole lot).

      After a year of blending unfamiliar bikes and familiar accoutrements (jersey, bibs, gloves, shoes, helmet, etc.) I appreciate the simplicity of running. Shorts, shirt and shoes, same things you need to get served at a restaurant.

      Also, I’ve never flatted while running, though I’ve crashed a few times. So running has that going for it, which is nice.

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  3. Some of my most brilliant and enlightened thinking has come while on board a bike. But the ability to execute any of these thoughts into enriching actions seems to evaporate the second I end the ride, I’m back to being a doltish slug. But while pedaling I’m a damn genius!!

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  4. Running, for me,usually cleaned out a lot of brain cobwebs in the first mile and by mile 3 cleaned out the physical shit in my rectum if I hurried home.

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    1. I’ll say one thing for Albuquerque: Whether you’re running or riding, it’s best to stay mindful. Broken bottles, drunk drivers, sharp rocks, cacti. …

      Jeez, you’d think the cyclists here would be the smartest of the smart. But they do the same dumb shit as cyclists everywhere, and sometimes more of it.

      Maybe Herself is onto something with this yoga fascination she’s developed. Y’think?

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      1. Nah, yoga may be a fine adjunct to cycling, but there is something magical about moving quickly silently along under your own power that nothing can match. Besides, not one person here dare stop riding until we have the First Annual Mad Dog Paseo del Bosque Ride and Dinner.

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      1. It currently resides only in my head. My thoughts are a no drop ride of 30 or 40 miles along the Rio Grande on the Paseo del Bosque trail. If Patrick decided it would be a good thing to do, I would certainly volunteer to help put it together.

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