Post-100 Brain Fog/Concussion
I finished my first 100 mile ultra at Zion in just over 22 hours a couple weekends ago. I'm 51 and an experienced runner with my previous longest being 50 miles. My body held up great and I felt like I could physically run the day after, but wow, the brain fog that lasted for days afterwards was unexpected. I had a concussion about 10 years ago and it was a similar feeling. Processing things slowly, mental fatigue, trouble sleeping, not hungry, etc... it started to clear a few days after finishing and has progressively gotten better each day.
Anyone else gone through this or seen research on it? I'm wondering if it's an actual concussion or perhaps the brain is being starved for energy too long as the body is using nearly calorie taken care in during the run. I slept about 8 minutes during the race so maybe sleep deprivation is also involved?