alcohol and running

Here is the deal with drinking. When alcohol is in the blood stream your body is unable to heal itself so recovery is not possible. So lets say you have 6 beers then go to bed. It takes roughly a hour to metabolize one drink so it will take you 6 hours to clear the alcohol from your system. If have 6 beers in say 2 hours, then go to sleep for 8 hours. You will only get the benefit of 2 hours of sleep. So now you are only recovered 25%. So you continue to train at the same rate but you never really recovered from that day of drinking. It may takes as long as 2 weeks to recover from a night of drinking and training at a high lever.

De Truth wrote:

Here is the deal with drinking. When alcohol is in the blood stream your body is unable to heal itself so recovery is not possible. So lets say you have 6 beers then go to bed. It takes roughly a hour to metabolize one drink so it will take you 6 hours to clear the alcohol from your system. If have 6 beers in say 2 hours, then go to sleep for 8 hours. You will only get the benefit of 2 hours of sleep. So now you are only recovered 25%. So you continue to train at the same rate but you never really recovered from that day of drinking. It may takes as long as 2 weeks to recover from a night of drinking and training at a high lever.

I agree that binge drinking is bad, and not just for running, but I don't think we need Bob Prichard-style math to make the point.

incorrect. Lactic acid is not present the day after a workout

apostrophe crimes wrote:

incorrect. Lactic acid is not present the day after a workout

Okay, lactic acid is not present the day after a workout. But the effects (muscle soreness and the need to take a recovery day) are still there.

Here's three examples of mixing running and alcohol and the effects:

Run a challenging speed work out. Take two recovery days. Be back to 100%, plus a little bit faster from your speed workout.

An average run during the day with moderate to excessive alcohol intake in the evening. Take two recovery days. Be back to 100% (maybe), but no added benefit of speed workout.

Run a challenging speed work out. With moderate to excessive alcohol intake in the evening. Take three or four recovery days. You've just shrunk your time capsule (to maximize your training for your running/racing goal) by two days.

Kind of funny really - the popular macho, hard-drinking image, when really all that booze is turning you into a girl :)

I love it. OK, I drink in moderation, I'm 51 very fit- run 50+ mpw, core work, drills, whatever. Look a lot younger than I am and attract younger women.

I have friends who are in their late 30's and live that sedentary, macho, play fantasy football and know all the stats on all the players, lifestyle. These guys have guts and are out of shape.

Who's macho now?

To all you young runners out there- keep it up and you'll keep it up a lot longer than your non-running friends.

toodarnloud87 wrote:

Okay, lactic acid is not present the day after a workout. But the effects (muscle soreness and the need to take a recovery day) are still there.

That garbage you made up before about lactic acid and alcohol is pure fantasy. That being said, some recent studies in New Zealand have found that "moderate" amounts of alcohol after a workout can slow recovery from delayed onset muscle soreness. There are also issues with the calories from alcohol displacing more functional calories during the recovery process and resulting in lower glycogen levels the next day:

Overall, though, a drink or two a night won't have any effect -- and as others have pointed out, having a big night now and then may not be "optimal" physically, but your mental state can also play a big role in physical performance.

About to find out...I think your drinking goes deeper than being detrimental to your running...you should seek help for alcoholism if you can't keep yourself from 'binge drinking.'