Around Day 2 of a typical weeklong race, his speech goes staccato. By Day 3, he is belligerent and sometimes paranoid. His short-term memory vanishes, and he weeps uncontrollably. The last days are marked by hallucinations: bears, wolves and aliens prowl the roadside; asphalt cracks rearrange themselves into coded messages. Occasionally, Robic leaps from his bike to square off with shadowy figures that turn out to be mailboxes. In a 2004 race, he turned to see himself pursued by a howling band of black-bearded men on horseback.
‘‘Mujahedeen, shooting at me,’’ he explains. ‘‘So I ride faster.’’
I guess you can’t say you’re putting in your best effort if you still remain sane during the race.
(Of course, trying to truly put in your best effort may sometimes be counterproductive, if you don’t know the right way to do it. I’m reminded of the times when I figured I needed to study a lot, so I’d stay at home to do it for days on end. The end result was that I felt miserable and didn’t get much studying done. If I’d allowed myself to go out and see people once every two days or so, I’d probably have been more productive than when trying to work full time.)
If I’d allowed myself to go out and see people once every two days or so, I’d probably have been more productive than when trying to work full time.)
Probably. The most successful diet-control routine I ever operated on included a scheduled monthly Indulgence, in which I went out for dinner with friends and ate whatever the hell I wanted.
When I shared this post on Facebook, I got linked to an article about a biker who quite literally drives himself crazy in order to win races.
I guess you can’t say you’re putting in your best effort if you still remain sane during the race.
(Of course, trying to truly put in your best effort may sometimes be counterproductive, if you don’t know the right way to do it. I’m reminded of the times when I figured I needed to study a lot, so I’d stay at home to do it for days on end. The end result was that I felt miserable and didn’t get much studying done. If I’d allowed myself to go out and see people once every two days or so, I’d probably have been more productive than when trying to work full time.)
Was this guy abusing stimulants during his races? The symptoms certainly indicate an overloaded dopamine system.
Probably. The most successful diet-control routine I ever operated on included a scheduled monthly Indulgence, in which I went out for dinner with friends and ate whatever the hell I wanted.