Can exhaustion be dulled by thought?

[InquisitorJ]

I was running a lap once, just running, until I had a thought. I started thinking about this show that I had watched, and all the different parts of it. I just kept on pointing out every detail in my mind, until that was all I could think about. The next thing I know, my alarm had gone off in my pocket, and I was breathing heavily. I didn’t understand what happened. Can you tell me?

[Prometheus]

I'm not aware of specific research, but it's well known that sports has a significant mental component. Sounds like you simply took your mind off your physical fatigue. If you want to perform sports at high levels you might want to start looking into the mental side of things.