Coffee and running

6 cups a day is much more than what most Americans consume. I'm sure it will have some negative impacts on your heart and neurological system. Plus, coffee is quite acidic, so that can't be good for your gastrointestinal system either. I'm a coffee lover too, but I try to limit it to 2 cups per day.

Stop drinking Coffee dipf***

coffee is good

I think coffee is great. I drink it. I think you drink too much. I drink a venti from starbucks an hour before workouts, and run better. I often have a double shot of espresso an hour before a race (the large coffee felt like too much fluid the one time I tried it, but I will try it again.) just my 2 cents.

I don't think most Americans drink 6 cups a day. I think its probably more like 3-4. It is true, coffee does have quite a low PH, and it gives me the sh1ts if I drink too much. However, a little before a race seems like a good idea. I personally like the chocolate covered coffee beans because you don't have to consume the liquid volume, and the caffine effect is more concentrated (since you are actually eating the whole bean). At 6 cups a day you might be impairing your ability to absorb iron...at least thats just what I've heard.

It seems that a lot of the studies coming out now are saying that coffee isn't as bad as it's been made out today. In the past I have avoided coffee before a race because the dehydration issue. However, this morning I had one fairly good size cup before the San Antonio marathon and despite it being a hot race I was in no way dehydrated. I was just using it for a long run and maybe if I had really been pushing it things might have been different but I don't feel the coffee affected my at all. Maybe I was even better since I was able to enjoy my morning coffee unlike before any other race I have ever done.

Buy caffeine tablets, you get the same kick from coffee, but you don't have to spend $3.89 or whatever Starbucks charges nowadays.

And I am a big proponent of caffeine assisting your running. I think it helps you run better, and I take a tablet 30 min before each run. If I don't, then I run badly, and I know that is just a psychological thing.

Being a regular coffee drinker and runner myself, I have been long interested in this topic. This year, I actually decided to use the resources available at my school to look up some of the more recent findings on caffeine (more specifically coffee) and its effects on exercise and running.

The idea that caffeine is a diuretic is certainly true, however, it seems that it is not nearly as detrimental as people think. The amount of caffeine in one or two cups of coffee (cups like mugs, not cups as measurement, that may have been confusing in the original post) is not significant enough to seriously dehydrate someone. There is no negative effect on drinking coffee to your hydration, provided you hydrate like any normal runner should.

Also, caffeine has for a while been known to be an ergogenic aid, as it significantly lowers ones perceived effort for the activity. This has been found to be especially true with endurance athletes such as runners or cyclists.

However, people build up caffeine tolerance fairly rapidly, and within two weeks, the ergogenic aspect of coffee's effects will stop being as strong. You might still feel the normal alertness and quickened heart rate from the caffeine, but edge in performance will be dimished in a consistent user. And like many other drugs, even the normal effects of the caffeine will require greater and greater quantities to have the same effect.

Coffee is mildly addicting, and if drinken regularly, will often have withdrawal effects such as head ache, mood swings, nausia and drowsiness. Long term effects of regular coffee drinking, similar to that of alcohol, is probably more serious to your general health than it is for running. As mentioned above, taken in exessive quantities (over 2 mugs or 20 oz a day) can result in stress on your heart and stomach (though the effects of the acidity have been shown to be slightly lowered by the presence of a base substance like cream as opposed to black coffee).

Essentially, drinking coffee everday has not been found to be nearly as detrimental as popular opinion would have it. As for caffeine being used specifically for performance enhancement (caffeine pill,) the line between common nutrient in the american diet and doping becomes a little blurred. If that is what you are going for, studies have shown that it is best to abstain from the drug 4-7 days before the event, and then to take it about an hour before you would like to feel optimal performance enhancement.

The nice thing about being a regular coffee drinker, is that the performance enhancing aspects of the drug are reduced naturally with time, which provides a buffer against potential accusations of doping. I think ultimately the question is whether or not you drink coffee specifically for performance enhancement, or because it is a normal part of your diet. Personally, I feel that the effects that coffee has on my life are more positive in the sence that it helps me maintain a regular day to day routine of getting up early in the morning, something always helpful when trying to balance life with the demanding routine of distance training.

Hope this was helpful, ciao

People are at far greater risk of stomach problems from all the ibuprofin they take to stave off pain than from drinking coffee.

Drinking coffee can be hydrating. The ratio (though no doubt there is research that conflicts with this) is something like 3 cups of coffee is as hydrating as one cup of water.

And, as to the pH of coffee--this varies greatly with the bean and how it's roasted.

Speaking of such, I'm going for a refill. I'll do my mile repeats in a couple hours.

I always pee the same amount I drank almost exactly 2 hours after each cup - so no dehydration problem for me.

Also, I almost always get a lift from the caffeine - no tolerance build up, because I try to drink more or less the same amount each day.