Beer and Training

You can most certainly have a beer here and there with no negative impact on your training. Some high level athlete and other people who do high level training (firefighters etc) actually think a beer post workout is a positive. Quick nutrients, sugars and refreshing/relaxing.

All that being said having 9-12% abv double ipa or 7 coors lites is not the same thing as having a pint or two of 4.5% Guinness or traditional ale. I would say if you ever get to the point you are drunk that is definitely not helping your training.

Also of note it’s important to know your level. Are you a 1630-20.30 5k guy running for fun or a legit athlete trying to be the best. To me if you’re between 1630 and 16.50 who really cares, if you are trying to make NCAAs the difference between 14.05 and 14.24 may not be worth it.

Never had a problem consuming vast quantities of alcohol and training.

There's probably a pretty big spread of opinions on this topic. Personally, I think the higher your mileage overall, the less important it is to be getting your calories from a good fuel source. And I think that's what most people's gripe with beer would be...that it's a high-calorie, zero nutritional value drink. But at 70 mpw, an extra 300 calories in the evenings is probably no big deal. Make sure you're rehydrating during the day since beer can make that an issue as well. But I don't think its a big deal for the average runner to be doing some light drinking on the side. For a pro, where every second could mean the difference between getting your contract renewed or placing in the money in some major road race, I don't think it would be worth it. If it's an activity that you enjoy or an outlet for you to enjoy the company of others, you can rest assured that any affect on your running from the beer would be minimal.

beer is it elixir of life wrote:

Also of note it’s important to know your level. Are you a 1630-20.30 5k guy running for fun or a legit athlete trying to be the best. To me if you’re between 1630 and 16.50 who really cares, if you are trying to make NCAAs the difference between 14.05 and 14.24 may not be worth it.

Currently, on our college's team, I was top 7 during XC. My PRs are 4:18 mile, 15:19 5k, and 25:53 for 8k. As you know with our season being postponed: we're still training but no competition. With that, lately I feel like I have been drinking a lot more (2-4 times a week) than I normally would during a regular XC season. And I got worried if this might affect my base/preparation when the competition comes in the spring??

You'll be fine.

Worry more about your schoolwork and grades.