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Yikes changes wrote:
You are all wrong wrote:For every good runner you name I can tell you heaps who drink. The point is they only do it at set times ie maybe birthday, post olympics, nationals, christmas etc.
And for every good runner you name, they will tell you they probably could have achieved more.
Alcohol has no place in a true professional's life.
Actually, that sounds like a French schoolteacher from 50 years ago.
Har-dee-har-har wrote:
Just remember when you take that drink of alcohol that you have made a conscious decision to not give 100% to your running.
You can't be more wrong. Look at all of the top notch athletes who partake. Frequent moderate drinking and infrequent "gettin' shitfaced" only affects your running if you are anal enough to think it will.
e- wrote:
[quote]Yikes changes wrote:
[quote]You are all wrong wrote:
For every good runner you name I can tell you heaps who drink. The point is they only do it at set times ie maybe birthday, post olympics, nationals, christmas etc.
And for every good runner you name, they will tell you they probably could have achieved more.
Alcohol has no place in a true professional's life.
Actually, that sounds like a French schoolteacher from 50 years ago.
Yes, but then we shouldn't spend the rest of the year asking on these boards why does American middle and distance running suck.
I second the poster who said to contact Pete P.
On a less serious note, how 'bout asking M. Slaney who reportedly had a couple of glasses of wine and started birth control pills the night before competing at the '96 Olympics? Better yet, ask Dennis Mitchell, again reportedly, had a 6-pack and lots of sex the night before.
Info on Rodgers is entirely incorrect. He would have a few beers after a workout/run/race all the time in his good years. I feel drinking in moderation has no negative effects on running. It can even help mentally the night before a race. I have always run better after having several beers the night before a race. The problem with drinking especially in college is the activities that go with it. Generally speaking while drinking you are on your feet at a bar or party, obviously not good for the legs the next day. Also you are more likely to eat crap late at night- again not helping you physical fitness. I also think I lot of it has to do with the person. Some peoples balances are better with alcohol...
Binge drinking on weekends definitely negatively affects your running. Back in college we would have a party after almost every race and get pretty shitty. Because of this we would end up dehydrated and sleep deprived. This can have an affect on your workouts for at least a couple of days (if not longer) including not running or shortening a Sunday long run because you're too hung over. On Monday's workout your muscles are tight and cramped because of the dehydration and you make them even tighter by running a hard workout. Because of your tight muscles you run a little less on Tuesday to try not to cause more damage (and you're very sore) and get ready for the Wednesday workout.
If you do this nearly every week you're likely to have subpar workouts, get sick and injured often and won't reach your potential. But it's fun...
in the book run with the legends, describing the training of toshihiko seko, the great japanese distance runner, it notes that after a hard day of training, he would have a beer. after a really hard day, he would have eight.
Alcohol is a diuretic or -- to put it another way -- causes you to piss like a race horse. And, while you are standing in front of the urinal or sitting on the throne (that was a feeble attempt at gender neutrality), you are losing not only water, but potassium and other electrolytes. Chugging plain water is not going to replace the lost electrolytes, so keep that in mind when you rehydrate.
I've also read in the past, but can't find the source right now, that moderate alcohol consumption reduces the oxygen-carrying capacity of red blood cells for about 12 hours. This may or may not be tied in with earlier comments about capillary shrinkage. I'll post the source when found, but this probably means that having a couple beers the night before a race won't be too detrimental as long as it's early enough in the evening and you guzzle some sports drinks afterward.
I feel the question should not be whether drinking excessively hurts you, but rather, how does it help you?
I'd like someone to answer what effect MODERATE consumption has on performance.
Sure, it may not actively help performance but for those of us who are average club runners why will drinking no beer make us run faster than having a 2 beers 5 times per week? It seems from a previous post that as long as you rehydrate with a sports drink then it's fine.
raspukin wrote: I've also read in the past, but can't find the source right now, that moderate alcohol consumption reduces the oxygen-carrying capacity of red blood cells for about 12 hours.
In chapter 20 of "Running to the Top", Lydiard makes the 12-hour statement about alcohol but also says that carbonated beverages (e.g., sodas) have the same effect. No reference is given to back this up.
Rosie Ruiz wrote:
Apparently it will get you tackled near twenty-three miles of an Olympic marathon.
That shit was hilarious despite the fact that it ruined the guys life.
Dirt, since I thought the thread subject was silly, I gave the only intersection of excessive alcohol consumption and athletic performance that I could see.
I don't think what happened ruined Lima's life, but I kinda wish he could have won. I don't think he could have held them off, but I sure don't blame anyone for feeling different. He deserves to know, that's for sure.
So anyone that read that and thought me an ass I apologize.
joplu wrote:
Ask Pre
Or Henry Rono. Wait...different story.
Just to add to what the previous poster said about pigging out at the end of the night, alcohol also inhibits the burning of fat because your body is too busy trying to burn all the alcohol. Therefore, all the fat in that chili and cheese omelette you just wolfed down is going to get absorbed as fat. Thus, after a few too many binges and late nights at the Waffle House, you'll gain unnecessary weight and develop love handles and a spare tire.
og wrote:
Just to add to what the previous poster said about pigging out at the end of the night, alcohol also inhibits the burning of fat because your body is too busy trying to burn all the alcohol. Therefore, all the fat in that chili and cheese omelette you just wolfed down is going to get absorbed as fat. Thus, after a few too many binges and late nights at the Waffle House, you'll gain unnecessary weight and develop love handles and a spare tire.
If you devlop love handles you are not running enough....STOP TYPING AND START RUNNING
If you have all this extra fuel after drinking run further....and stop complaining.
dude no one is complaining. we're answering the question in the original post.
raspukin wrote: I've also read in the past, but can't find the source right now, that moderate alcohol consumption reduces the oxygen-carrying capacity of red blood cells for about 12 hours.
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Any of the Irish remember the great tongue-n-cheek article Ray Shanahan once wrote about Alcohol being as good as altitude training? It was hilarious. Basically (as Raspukin says), alcohol reduces the oxygen-carrying capacity of red blood cells. So...if you mix alcohol with your training, and then go dry during racing season, you'll suddenly be getting all this extra oxygen to your muscles and be firing on all cylinders!!!! ;-)