Comment by taneq

10 years ago

This meshes perfectly with the general view of endurance athletes that performance is largely mental. If fatigue was strictly limited by lactic acid buildup then your state of mind wouldn't make such a dramatic impact.

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taneq

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kev009  10 years ago

There are different kinds of fatigue though.

When I go running, it's some kind of aerobic sensation, but eventually my thoughts shift when it's time to stop.

If I lift heavy things for an hour, I can also be quite winded but there's usually some gas left in the tank I just know it's better to get some rest and allow muscle to repair.

Some kind of crossfit style workout, yet another sensation.

Sometimes I can take a nap as soon as I get home after the above, especially a vigorous run in the Arizona desert during summer.

Knowledge work has its own fatigue for me. If I go deep into flow state while working on something, eventually I reach a generalized mental haziness, where I want to relax and let my mind wander or be passively entertained.

Usually I have trouble sleeping after intense thinking, mind still firing but not effectively. I just want to "chill" and watch TV or do something simple and rewarding like clean the house to try and bring it fully out of gear.

wallflower  10 years ago

> This meshes perfectly with the general view of endurance athletes that performance is largely mental.

Most elite endurance athletes do not hit the lactic threshold during their actual races. That is why they train so much - to build their endurance. Once you hit the lactic threshold, your body starts to break down.

  • mantas  10 years ago

    Enduramce athletes go just bellow lactic threshold most of the time. The body is OK to go above threshold, but only for a limited time. The key is to correctly time usage of that above-threshold capability.

    I race MTB. Both quick races and long, 100 miles or even 24h solo events. In a quick <3h race, I just go all-out and stay above threshold most of the time. But I try to time my above-threshold usage in long races. In one of the 24h races, the course had a single climb. I was riding everything but that climb bellow threshold. It would have been very hard to stay bellow threshold on it. While it was just a couple minutes effort above threshold.