but, I'm too tired to care.

That's really interesting And it suggests that we should maybe be seeking all-inclusive measures of stress vs. just narrowly-defined measures of stress like power-meter derived TSS.

Isn't that kind of what the Whoop and other HRV devices are trying to do?

So instead of "shut up, legs" it should be "shut up, brain".

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"They know f_ck-all over at Slowtwitch"
- Lionel Sanders

Hello HandHeartCrown and All,

I PLEDGE My head to clearer thinking, My heart to greater loyalty, My hands to larger service, My health to better living, For my club, my community my county, and my world. I believe in 4-H work for the opportunity it will give me to become a useful citizen.

I used to belong to 4H as a kid raising pigeons, pheasants, rabbits, and a goat ...

"Too much physical exertion appears to make the brain tired."


Good news!


It probably means that just like our bodies .... our brains are getting stronger and more capable of endurance when rested and recovered after physical exertion.

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Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster

I'm ok because I never train enough.

I've just been through that phase and coming out the other side after a crazy block for Kona. My biggest seven day period was about 32hrs training and this was most prevalent second sessions in the afternoon where I halved an easy 70km ride as my brain hurt too much and I mentally felt I couldn't force out the session. Your brain obviously goes into a self protection mode. It does it to me in the final big push for every IM but apart from that I don't notice it so much. I was chatting to Tim Van Berkel and Baden Currie at Sunshine Coast 70.3 both in their Kona build and both pretty much said the same thing.

I have found that when I have done really high volume/hard training/racing, my brain is in slower motion much the same as when I am sick. I think it is the background processes of the brain being diverted to heavy duty recovery and rebuilding tasks.....this stuff takes CPU power from our brain even though we THINK its for free (because we don't actively think about it, but its all controlled by the brain).

My sweet spot is 2x workout per day of 40-70 minute each. Enough to get revv'd up but not enough to drain my body from doing real world tasks. This usually gets me to around 8-9 hrs of training by Friday. Then on the weekend when my brain does not need to perform at work, I can pile it on and make it either a 17 hrs week or just keep up the 2 hrs-ish per day and its 12-13 hrs.

My least productive time in my professional life was when I tried to cram in 3 hrs of training on many work days especially when 2 hrs of that came during early morning....then mid afternoon was not productive.

seems like another study confirming what we already know. its pretty clear that mental effort, physical effort and the immune system all feed off pretty much the same capacity. i even find my tolerance to minor pains and discomfort disapears when i'm tired.
the how/why is interesting though
also interesting how it can go the other way - after a stressful day at work training in the evening can be a write-off, but then other times its not only what you need to de-stress, it can be a good session where you take your frustrations out on the legs and often come up with the answers you needed earlier in the day

Is this like Noakes "Central Governor" theory?

Man you guys pile up the workouts hours !!
Just for the fun of it, I went to check for the best 50+ AG guys in IMWC. The winner last year (by a fair margin) says he trains 10-12 hrs/week max.

Louis :)

I call this: Post Run Brain...I didn't open the door for my sister-in-law once...oh man she got so pissed. I actually did, but she wasn't there when I got to the door so I went to the Garage to go run my errands. She was super offended.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Oh yeah. Good for people who desire to train that much and improve and reach a goal but that’s not for me. I think for IM training my peak has been a 16 hour week and that’s the exception.