Daily runners: how much/often do you typically drink/smoke?

Team Camel wrote:

I consider myself to be teetering on the brink of elite. I won't go into my times, except to say they're borderline elite. Anyway, being recent college graduate, it's fair to say I do my share of drinking and smoking. I usually drink around 4 times a week, usually 10 or so beers a night. And I'll typically smoke pot around 10 times a month, plus cigarettes every once in a while. I'm wondering how these numbers compare to other daily runners, borderline elite guys, and elite runners? I know guys like Ciaran O'Lienard like to get down every so often. So what's the concensus?

You don't drink 10 beers a night.

By no means elite (sub 15 minute 5ker), but typically just drink whenever I feel like it. I guess sometimes that's once every couple weeks, or 2-3 times some weeks, but I guess I'm also not on the brink of being elite so I feel like I'd rather just enjoy running along with a pretty good social life. If I was in sub 3:45 1500m shape, I'd probably make a few sacrifices (aka your drinking habits) to see if I could be elite. Regardless of what people say, very few people in the US are in your kind of shape. You have the whole rest of your life to drink and party if you feel like it but you don't have very long to be an elite athlete. Make some sacrifices and go for it. I would love to be in your position, but since I'm not and will never be regardless of how often I drink, I'll stick to being a cajun.

I smoke when I jog, and my lung feels great!

smoke weed 3-5 times a week depending and drink about 4-5 beers a week. With these habits I broke 52min for ten miles and 15min for 5k last season.

will endorse that also, very solid thread. bump.

I remember reading an article in a reputable magazine (health-related magazine) on marijuana, and said article said that a study over 10 years of non-smokers, and individuals who smoked an average of a joint a day for the duration of the study showed that there was absolutely no lung damage in the smokers. In fact, those who smoked actually had better lung capacities (but it was a very negligible amount). Some would argue that the nature of smoking weed (inhaling hard and holding your breath for as long as you can) is actually a good enough workout to completely cancel out any damage the smoke would do. There is still no word on whether weed causes lung cancer, but as of now there is no evidence to show that that is the case.

I go through sporadic periods of smoking as well, sometimes a few times a week, some times every night. I drink regularly, however i try to limit it to the weekends, when i don't have to be up for work (i run before work, and i would prefer not to wake up at 5am with ANY sort of a hangover and get the run in, whereas on the weekends i can sleep in). I'm extremely mediocre compared to the rest of the posters (16:1x 5k, 77 half marathon). However, i believe its all depends on what your goals are. If you want to be the absolute best you can be in terms of running, then you should most likely abstain to keep a clear head. If you are out to take what life has to offer,and still compete for the love of the sport, then don't sweat it. These substances don't hurt performance as much as people think. It is often those who have never experienced that are the quickest to judge - the ignorant and naive. In my personal experience, i have set massive PRs multiple times while on heavy smoking binges. For as cardiovascularly fit as we are, a little smoke isn't a performance hazard. I believe it becomes a hazard when one chain smokes, and constantly bombards their pulmonary system with smoke and toxins. I know a surprising amount of runners (almost all of them on the quicker side) who smoke and drink regularly, and continue to rock great times an be competitive. As said before, its all dependent on your goals and values. Dont sweat the small stuff. There is so much more to life than running.

I read a study in a scientific journal in which monkeys were trained to smoke doobies, and after only two weeks they were found to e completely incoherent.

Wet behind the ears wrote:

I read a study in a scientific journal in which monkeys were trained to smoke doobies, and after only two weeks they were found to e completely incoherent.

that's completely false. The study you're probably referring to was done a long time ago, and it's the only study in human history that indicates that marijuana kills brain cells. Wanna know how they conducted the study? The monkeys were strapped with gas masks, and hundreds of joints were pumped into the lungs of these monkeys, at a rate faster than any human could even attempt to smoke. The marijuana smoke was essentially replacing oxygen, and THAT is what caused the death of the brain cells, not the relatively harmless MJ smoke. Do your research, bud

somekid420 wrote:

Wet behind the ears wrote:

I read a study in a scientific journal in which monkeys were trained to smoke doobies, and after only two weeks they were found to e completely incoherent.

that's completely false. The study you're probably referring to was done a long time ago, and it's the only study in human history that indicates that marijuana kills brain cells. Wanna know how they conducted the study? The monkeys were strapped with gas masks, and hundreds of joints were pumped into the lungs of these monkeys, at a rate faster than any human could even attempt to smoke. The marijuana smoke was essentially replacing oxygen, and THAT is what caused the death of the brain cells, not the relatively harmless MJ smoke. Do your research, bud

Congratulations, you watched a crappy documentary. You should really fact check your sources--The Union, considered a "mind blowing" documentary by high school and college burn outs, is filled with inconsistencies. And it begins early on, when they make the claim that the Declaration of Independence was written on paper made from hemp--one hundred percent false. Seriously, bud, you should do your research, instead of believing that everything you hear is true. Marijuana kills brain cells. Fact.

Shot of vodka/whisky daily on waking to clear the system and pre run.

Joint or two to relax post run.

I haven't seen enough of The Union to know whether that was actually in there or not.. believe it or not I did firsthand research on the subject. Hell, I e-mailed multiple college professors (Dartmouth, NYU, Harvard, Purdue) and got responses that backed up my own personal beliefs. And what do you mean "burn outs?" I suppose me and my friends are burnouts if our SAT scores are 2100+, ACT scores are 33+. I guess we're burnouts if we're some of the most physically fit kids in the school, and have a more rigourous highschool schedule than 99% of America. I guess my 28 year old cousin who had 100% of his college education (all the way up through his MBA) paid for through scholarships, is a burnout. If that's the case, I'm glad to be clustered with the "burnout" label.

Be like Lance!!!!

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.27554/abstract

Franik wrote:

Shot of vodka/whisky daily on waking to clear the system and pre run.

Joint or two to relax post run.

How does a shot of vodka/whiskey "clear the system"?

It's amazing how many people can't make it through the day without chemical enhancement. Is the real world really that scary for all of you? Have a nice life, losers.

Are you all kidding? This guy is obviously a troll. He apparently is on brink of being elite, so presumably qualifies for nationals and does quite while in most races in the states, yet is literally borderline alcoholic and smokes that much? Doesn't that just sound down right plausible.

Anyone who thinks consistent heavy drinking and smoking doesn't effect their running is fully retarded. Keep telling yourself you are cool and got laid more etc etc..... this isn't a frat house, its REAL LIFE. People don't give a fu(k how cool you perceived yourself. Quantifiable things matter.

If you drink and smoke to stay sane or whatever then fine, just understand you could be faster. Being happy is important, but you are deluding yourself if you think those habits beyond moderate use don't negatively affect physical output.

The bragging and idiocy in this thread is a case study of why the education system has failed.

you're reality? well f*** reality. All that matters is if you're happy. Anything you will ever do, boiled down, you do because it will lead to happiness in some way, shape, or form. No need to be condescending. Just let people live how they wanna live.. if somebody wants to delve into psychedelics and spent their life attempting to become a modern philosopher, so be it.

Besides, what is reality, anyway?

I drink 1-2 beers a night. I have never smoked anything.

Somekid420 wrote:

I haven't seen enough of The Union to know whether that was actually in there or not.. believe it or not I did firsthand research on the subject. Hell, I e-mailed multiple college professors (Dartmouth, NYU, Harvard, Purdue) and got responses that backed up my own personal beliefs. And what do you mean "burn outs?" I suppose me and my friends are burnouts if our SAT scores are 2100+, ACT scores are 33+. I guess we're burnouts if we're some of the most physically fit kids in the school, and have a more rigouroushighschool schedule than 99% of America. I guess my 28 year old cousin who had 100% of his college education (all the way up through his MBA) paid for through scholarships, is a burnout. If that's the case, I'm glad to be clustered with the "burnout" label.

That should read 'my friends and I,' 'rigorous,' and 'high school.' You also have countless grammatical and stylistic errors. Like I said, burnout.