Can someone, in earnest, please tell me how elites and pros use caffeine on race day? Ideally running 1500 to a mile distance?
Can someone, in earnest, please tell me how elites and pros use caffeine on race day? Ideally running 1500 to a mile distance?
Therunaround wrote:
Can someone, in earnest, please tell me how elites and pros use caffeine on race day? Ideally running 1500 to a mile distance?
The secret is pros apply it on their scalp.
You're better off without it.
Try it in practice first. I usually cut caffeine around 45min before a race. Some people take a ton of caffeine. Just be smart with it. If you don't use caffeine normally, you'll probably feel like you're flying even with just 50-100mg. Check packaging. There's a lot of misinformation around caffeine. I have a friend who lifts who was surprised I had a red bull before a workout because it had "so much caffeine in it." The 8oz red bulls have ~80mg of caffeine. His pre workout had 200mg of caffeine. Advertising is a crazy thing.
I don't think many people on these boards will know much about how pros use it.
I was merely in the "good hobby jogger" echelon (sub-15 5k, 2:25 marathon), but I would take 150-200mg an hour before races up to HM distance. The half-life of caffeine is averages 5 hrs in adults, so that's plenty to get through. For the marathon, I'd take a smaller dose up front (80mg) and then use 3-4 caffeinated gels throughout the race.
The half-life in your body can vary significantly, and 5 hrs is just an average. It's a good idea to experiment with it during workouts so you know how it affects you. I'd often take 150-200mg before warming up for workouts.
So what's wrong with natural adrenaline?