Friday, January 21, 2011

Brain dumb

Friday: Bike 45 miles, run 4 miles

First the bad news: I've been making all kinds of stupid mistakes lately, misplacing things, forgetting what I read two seconds ago, not being able to come up with commonplace words, generally not being on top of it. My work has been suffering, and yesterday I opened a kitchen drawer and found a bag of spinach I had put there. Is this a thing that happens to endurance athletes? Am I somehow drawing all my blood into my heart and quads at the expense of my brain? (And would a full-body compression sock help?)

But there is good news, too: Me bike real good now.

6 comments:

  1. Honestly, this sounds like pregnancy/new baby behavior, but really that is exhaustion behavior. Are you getting enough sleep?

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  2. I'm guessing you need more sleep, plain and simple!

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  3. I actually think I am getting enough sleep. Generally seven or eight good hours, sometimes more. I mean, more is always better—I could probably sleep 10 if given the chance—but I feel great physically and not sleepy during the day. Just stupid.

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  4. Hmm, likely not what you want to hear, but if you really think this is not a sleep-deprivation thing, I would consider talking to a doctor about it. This concerns me, frankly.

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  5. Or, you should start with getting more sleep first and just seeing if that helps. Since having children, my ability to recall and pronounce words has declined significantly. I think it's a sleep deprivation thing, however. So, I revise my comment to be get more sleep first, and, if that doesn't fix, then please ask your doctor.

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  6. See, I think some people just need more sleep. And if you're training for an Ironman, you are one of them. I'd try getting 10. I've been where you are in terms of memory, not being able to think of words, etc. It was when I was super stressed, working and proofing and volunteering at the Foodbank. People would give me their address to write down and I seriously could not translate "123" into "123." I'm sure it was a lack of sleep, or too much stress.

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