Is a little alcohol in the system actually GOOD for running?

I'd run hard and then after a hard run, I'd drink hard!

I'm not sure 4 or 5 jars is a small amount although I suppose by the morning there is only a little bit left.

I've generally found beer seems to provide energy for running and exercise the next day. Used to power through week long skiing holidays fuelled on nights out drinking to 2am and back up again at 8am for breakfast to be on the slopes by 9 for another day's skiing.

If you're of a certain personality type, the alcohol might calm you down and stop you worrying and instead just help you to run without overthinking.

The downside of alchohol is that while sleep can be quite knockout deep, it's not high quality sleep. Your body remains awake frantically processing the alcohol through the system. So you're not getting the recovery for your run training.

All in all, I don't think it's an optimal strategy but unless you're an elite runner the odd night out before a run isn't going to break anything. I certainly wouldn't do it the night before a goal race though.

You are rationalizing.

no wrote:

You are rationalizing.

Nah, the old world class Kiwis, John Walker and the boys, used to do that and chug beers during the run, called it "chundering."

Uhhh wrote:

I'm not sure 4 or 5 jars is a small amount although I suppose by the morning there is only a little bit left.

Yes, that's the key thing I'm wondering about - I'm not talking about chugging down some beers then going out for a run!

I can't remember the exact timescales but it's something similar to when you've got to wait so many hours after drinking before you can drive otherwise the quantity in your system can still cause you to fail a breathalyzer test.

So could that trace amount of alcohol actually help? Could it act like an additional painkiller the following morning & mask muscle fatigue or something?

T Funke wrote:

Chaps, recently I've been running fairly formless 50 mpw in terms of workouts, easy days, etc. Basically just running. However one thing I have noticed is that I seem to run a pretty strong, relatively effortless pace if I run on a Sunday morning.

Now the only difference between a Sunday morning and the rest of the week is that I'll generally have a few jars (4 or 5, not getting all out hammered) on a Saturday night, and pretty rarely, if at all, on the rest of the week.

So my question is - Can a small amount of alcohol in your system actually help? Not sure if there have been any studies on this given that it does go against the general "alcohol bad" philosophy...

Did you just wake up from a nap from the 1930s?

This has been thoroughly studied.

No, alcohol does not help performance. It harms it.

It is not really the alcohol left the problem; the problem is that you will be starting your run dehydrated. No big deal for an easy run, but could be a problem in a long run, especially in the heat.

T Funke wrote:

Chaps, recently I've been running fairly formless 50 mpw in terms of workouts, easy days, etc. Basically just running. However one thing I have noticed is that I seem to run a pretty strong, relatively effortless pace if I run on a Sunday morning.

Now the only difference between a Sunday morning and the rest of the week is that I'll generally have a few jars (4 or 5, not getting all out hammered) on a Saturday night, and pretty rarely, if at all, on the rest of the week.

So my question is - Can a small amount of alcohol in your system actually help? Not sure if there have been any studies on this given that it does go against the general "alcohol bad" philosophy...

Another difference might be you are getting more sleep on Saturday and Sunday. I don't think alcohol is the reason you seem to run better, but the carbs might do something for you and the sleep.

Ethanol is poisonous to your body. Nothing wrong with drinking, just don't kid yourself that it has benefits.

The studies people point to usually cover the "J curve" that shows small alcohol consumption is beneficial. Do not believe this.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9949793

I mean, it's ethanol...how can that be good for you? What, specifically from a chemical perspective, happens in your body that makes it good?

Alcohol is a muscle relaxant and has an anti anxiety effect. It makes things more enjoyable in moderation. I don't think it's performance enhancing but it may make training more tolerable and okay for a post workout relaxation.

The current scientific studies do not link alcohol and athletic performance.

But, I have personally seen some great performances after a night of heavy drinking (mine and others). Whether this is enough evidence to show that it helps, probably not. But, in a condition where an athlete is training so hard as to make it difficult to get enough fuel overall, alcohol is energy. So, maybe refueling all night can fill the tanks, so to speak.

My HS coach (a former Olympian in the marathon) used to tell us that he'd go to keggers to hydrate the night before races. That didn't make much sense to me at the time maybe there is something too it (although I doubt it is hydration related). Seems to me that in the past distance runners didn't feel they needed to live like monks to run at a high level. From memory, Pre, Shorter, John Walker and Rod Dixon all drank regularly while running at their best. Didn't Henry Rono claim he set a world record while hung over?

archerdoger wrote:

The current scientific studies do not link alcohol and athletic performance.

But, I have personally seen some great performances after a night of heavy drinking (mine and others). Whether this is enough evidence to show that it helps, probably not. But, in a condition where an athlete is training so hard as to make it difficult to get enough fuel overall, alcohol is energy. So, maybe refueling all night can fill the tanks, so to speak.

There seems to be only one study that looked at the effects of a night of heavy drinking on athletic performance the morning next...all systems were the same, except leg power was significantly reduced.

There are lots of studies that looked at the effect of drinking alcohol just before or during athletic activity....it did not enhance performance.

What kind of people call a beer a jar?

no wrote:

You are rationalizing.

This. With only 4-5 drinks your liver has removed the alcohol from your blood by the next morning (unlike other substances which can stay in your system for a long time).

Convexity wrote:

Ethanol is poisonous to your body. Nothing wrong with drinking, just don't kid yourself that it has benefits.

The studies people point to usually cover the "J curve" that shows small alcohol consumption is beneficial. Do not believe this.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9949793

I mean, it's ethanol...how can that be good for you? What, specifically from a chemical perspective, happens in your body that makes it good?

This article is 20 years old. Many more studies have been done over the past 2 decades that contradict this.

Sesamoiditis wrote:

What kind of people call a beer a jar?

I'll take "hipsters" for $500, Alex.

I think the biggest thing would be the inability to feel aches and pains due to the masking effect of alcohol. Usually you know when to let off if you've tweaked something, but with alcohol those receptors are numbed and you may run through it resulting in an injury.

Alcohol provides 7Kcals/g of energy as opposed to 4Kcals/g from carbohydrates.