Running collegiately as a functioning alcoholic

It's doable and it's done. Keep it to one night a week, take care of yourself before bed so your hangover doesn't kick you in the head the next morning.

Finish your homework before going out.

When I started college I was old by a lot of administrative/coach types that there are three aspects for student atheletes:

1.)Academic

2.)Athletic

3.)Social

You can only pick two and be good at them. That's a load of bullshit. You can't/probably shouldn't party like a frat boy but you can be academically and athletically successful while still having a great time and going out once or twice a week out of season and once a week in season (or every other I's suggest). Be smart about it, avoid doing it before big workouts and be sure to be able to recover from it all. Have fun and try new things, make a mistake here and there, but don't do anything too crazy or stupid. Peer pressure is sometimes intense but stay grounded and try to surround yourself with good people. You'll also hear all the old washed up crusty fifth years say that it'll fly by so enjoy it!. Take it from a crusty old fifth year... it does. Seriously enjoy it, it's a fun and special time in your life.

You don't seem to understand what the term "functioning alcoholic" means. Or even just the word "alcoholic".

Anyway, many college runners, even all-American types, get drunk regularly. It won't help your running, but it's easily doable.

Qwertu beat me to the punch about being a functioning alcoholic. You could probably get by alright as a social drinker, but I doubt as a functioning alcoholic. Alcoholic's get hammered, or drunk, which it sounds like you're looking forward to. Take it from someone who was raised similarly to you and indulged in college as you intend to: I gained nothing from getting hammered. Nothing. Just because your parents were overly protective doesn't necessarily mean they were wrong; they just had a shitty methodology. Nip your propensity to get drunk in the bud. You can be a drunk when you're 60 if you want; you'll never have the potential, in many respects, not just running, as you do as an 18-19 year old.

I drank fairly regularly. Usually 6 - 8 beers three nights a week and one more night of heavy drinking (10 - 20). Eight beers never gave me a hangover as long as I drank a few glasses of water before bed and pounded some pedialite with BC powder as soon as I work up. Heavy drinking was after races or before rest/easy recovery days when the hangover didn't matter so much. Most of my team drank less during the week but almost everyone would binge drink after a race.

I abusively drink and have for a number of years, last year I ran a 2:29 Marathon and i got wasted 4 times a week that entire cycle. I have a really addictive personally, i suspect that's why i've had moderate success in running, i just do it a crapload like I handle the rest of my addictions in life. I starrted running 3 years ago from a base of a pothead/cig smoker and drinker, I had never run (other than PE growing up) prior to that.

I plan to quit drinking soon (i hope.)

FYI- Most young adults are not Functioning Alcoholics... they are binge drinkers. They don't drink every day but when they do drink they consume copious amounts. Functioning Alcoholics are normally middle aged men who have 5 drinks every other day.

Some people nail the college trifecta (academics, social, sports) so it is definitely possible, but there are a lot of failures too. I was both at different points as an undergrad.

Here is one concrete tip: plan ahead. At the end of the first week of each quarter/semester, at the latest, your calendar app of choice should be loaded with your practice/meet schedule for the entire term, and EVERY significant assignment/due date/exam for EVERY course you are taking. Read every syllabus carefully and put notes in your calendar app (e.g., "start working on big poli sci paper due in 2 weeks, worth 50% of grade"). Think of syllabi as the rules of the game, and ignore them at your peril. If there are significant social events you know about in advance, put them in your calendar too. Then look through the whole term, week by week, checking for conflicts. Odds are, there will be at least one or two killer weeks jammed with stuff. If you are proactive, maybe you can reschedule some stuff to make those weeks more doable. Going to a prof/coach in week one with concerns about a conflict in week seven is likely to be taken in a positive spirit. Even if you can't or don't want to reschedule stuff, you at least know in advance when your crunch points are likely to be.

Obviously, you still have to get the work/training done. But with some advance planning, you'll have a good sense of when you can goof off and party and when you have to buckle down. That is absolutely key.

Good luck!

You wouldn't be a "functioning alcoholic" drinking, even binge drinking, one day a week. You would just be another boring American college statistic. As a walk-on your responsibility to the team is going to be a bit less anyway. So explore it and find out how much consumption affects your performance.

PS, Though you might resent it now, your parents made the right choice. It's the hands-off-and-look-the-other-way-parents (aka, cowards) who mess up their kids lives by allowing, or even encouraging them, to start at age 15.

Anyone can wait until college to drink. You haven't missed anything.

i would rather have someone who drank 12 beers saturday afternoon and was asleep by 10pm than someone who only had three drinks but was up til 3am chasing tail. alcohol alone isn't what ruins you (although it certainly doesn't help). the party scene (sweating copiously at a frat, dancing in a corner for 4 hours while trying to hotdogg some chick and compromising your sleep) is the real killer IMO.

alcohol is bad enough for your sleep as is (ruins REM sleep which is critical for recovery). the single worst thing I see with college athletes is that they don't get into a good sleep routine. go to bed and wake up at the same time, regardless of schedule, and you'll sleep better and fall asleep easier

d1assistant wrote:

i would rather have someone who drank 12 beers saturday afternoon and was asleep by 10pm than someone who only had three drinks but was up til 3am chasing tail. alcohol alone isn't what ruins you (although it certainly doesn't help). the party scene (sweating copiously at a frat, dancing in a corner for 4 hours while trying to hotdogg some chick and compromising your sleep) is the real killer IMO.

1tsamazing wrote:

Qwertu beat me to the punch about being a functioning alcoholic. You could probably get by alright as a social drinker, but I doubt as a functioning alcoholic. Alcoholic's get hammered, or drunk, which it sounds like you're looking forward to. Take it from someone who was raised similarly to you and indulged in college as you intend to: I gained nothing from getting hammered. Nothing. Just because your parents were overly protective doesn't necessarily mean they were wrong; they just had a shitty methodology. Nip your propensity to get drunk in the bud. You can be a drunk when you're 60 if you want; you'll never have the potential, in many respects, not just running, as you do as an 18-19 year old.

Outstanding post. Please do not brush away this wisdom just because it sounds less fun. Even without slipping into overt alcohol dependence, getting 'hammered' as often as once a week often wipes out much of the next day's productivity, intellectually and athletically. Maximize your potential. I'm not saying you shouldn't go out at all, but be selective. As I'm writing this, I realize that you will almost certainly ignore the advice.

Functioning is not the same being successful.

The teenage brain is a work in progress is that easily short circuited by addictive tendencies and substances.

Deal with your addiction before you enter a potentially expensive academic program that could impact your future.

Consider a sober living residence on your campus.

Surround yourself with positive influences rather than ones that empower your addiction.

Having struggled with similar issues over many years both in/out of academia and professional responsibilities, I can easily say that life and work are much better with a clear head and a clear conscience.

Good luck. You may need it.

Lotta good advice here, but a functioning alcoholic drinks all day every day, starts the day with a beer to settle the anxiety/shakes, and its on from there.

Its impossible to do that and be a college runner. You could probably get a shitty degree somewhere and be one, but be a distance runner on a competitive level, oh hell no, its contradictory by definition.

Binge drink on weekends, maybe, but it will kill your Sunday run/study/sleep.

Trust me, don't go down that road (see current thread titled: quitting drinking).

One thing that has sort of been touched on, but not fully, is the kind of trouble that comes with a bunch of college kids getting hammered. Citations. Fights. Arrests. Suspensions from team activities. I had several teammates in college who basically ruined their running careers because they got in trouble due to drinking. They were either kicked off the team or missed meets because they were suspended. If I was to give advice, I'd say you don't need to get wasted to have fun. If you're going to have a few drinks, make sure you're keeping yourself in check. Not only will you look more attractive to potential love interests than the sloppy drunk guy in the corner, but you'll feel better the next day and have a higher quality run.

Alcoholism is no joke, and there is a huge difference between being an alcoholic and a binge drinker. Tie one on after your conference meets, but other than that try to abstain, and no matter what, don't drink and drive. You can have plenty of fun in college without getting pissed every night. You will save your liver and your pocket book a whole lot of pain. The great thing about doing a sport in college is it gives you a built in, free fraternity of like minded individuals (you don't have to pay for the comradery like the frat boys). The great thing about running (unlike some of the other sports) is you are surrounded by some of the most beautiful women on campus on a daily basis. Make the most of the college experience, don't waste it getting wasted. I knew too many individuals who threw away athletic and academic success getting wasted every night.

Really?

You think you can drink just once a week and call yourself an alcoholic?

You need more dedication than that.

Drinking needs to be daily.

Some ground rules for alcohol I put in place after my 1st semester in college back in the day.

1) No drinking during the weekdays during the semester or season. It is not easy to wake up to go to class or focus if you are tired and hungover.

2) Don't sleep through/skip classes. Being on your own for the first time, it is very easy to fall in the trap of sleeping through or skipping classes, especially if you are out drinking the night before. Do a quick calculation for how much each class is costing you. Each time to skip you are flushing that money down the toilet.

3) Don't drink before meets or hard workouts. During the season, that typically means only going out once a week on a Saturday night. Off-season, Friday and Saturday nights.

4) Don't get totally wreaked on that one night out a week (i.e. worshipping the porcelain princess). Remember, you still need to do a long run on Sunday and it is never fun running extremely hungover burping up whatever the heck you drank the night before.

5) Morning runs - Commit to do them. And by committing that means you need to get to bed at a decent time during the weekdays.

6) If you are under age - If you can tell there is a crazy party going on from a block or two away or from walking through the halls in your dorm, don't go in and find a different party. The cops or campus police will be there shortly and then you will have a nice underage drinking ticket/citation to explain to your parents and coach.

7) Remember, you do not need to go out once a week and drink to have fun either. Fun is hanging out with your friends not just getting hammered.

Oh and as people pointed out. Going out once a week to drink with friends is not a functioning alcoholic, it's a college kid binge drinking.

Star wrote:

Really?

You think you can drink just once a week and call yourself an alcoholic?

You need more dedication than that.

Drinking needs to be daily.

Alcoholic is the wrong word. Maybe there should be a word that better fits recurring (but not daily) binge drinking. Likely not addicted in the way a true alcoholic is addicted, but high probability of negative life impact - poor judgment/decisions, fights, negative interaction with law enforcement, grades/work performance, health, relationships, self respect, etc. I'd say that many (if not most) young people do this. Most handle it (for the most part), grown up and move on to adulthood, but many don't come out of this without some meaningful damage and foolish waste and regret.