What's the best way of ingesting caffeine prior to a marathon?

caffeine pill up your ass.

srsly

I take two caffeine pills (400 mg -- so about 5.5 g/kg of bodyweight) -- coffee can cause intestinal issues for me.

If I do that, I don't take caffeinated gels, except MAYBE in the second half of the marathon if that's all I have. The downside is obvious -- way too much caffeine can cause a racing heart, jitters, etc. Even while running.

I drank 2/3 of a can of amp before Chicago last year and it worked alright for me.

Why would take caffeine just because it might help you? If you take caffeine before a marathon and you don't drink caffeine as part of your prerun routine, you wont make it to the finish line.

Towson exile wrote:

Why would take caffeine just because it might help you? If you take caffeine before a marathon and you don't drink caffeine as part of your prerun routine, you wont make it to the finish line.

Yeah, you'll end up crapping your pants or something.

You need to try this in training and get used to it.

What I used to do, is get the brand of caffeine pills that have the little time released pellets inside.

In training, I'd take half the little pellet pills out and take them before I headed out the door. Then I would take the half filled cap with me, and take it mid run somewhere there was a water fountain, or down the pellets with saliva and toss the capsule away.

BTW, if you have having a hard time upping your mileage, try this for a breakthrough on your occassional 15 or twenty milers.

BUT, do not run on concrete. I found I could run 10 miles on dirt, gravel, or woodchips, with the same soreness or tiredness as 6 miles on pavement.

Salazar's rule of not running on pavement as much as possible is spot on. (you have to run on it some, to be used to it enough to race on it, but generally running to the non paved trail, and back to your house or vehicle is enough.)

Might want to rethink some of those comments - take a look at results of this study at 6 mg/kg. Key line from the abstract "No significant differences were observed in heart rate, skin temperature, or rectal temperature". Not sure how rise in rectal temperature effects marathon peformance, but there you have it. http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/85/1/154

My $0.02 wrote:

I take two caffeine pills (400 mg -- so about 5.5 g/kg of bodyweight) -- coffee can cause intestinal issues for me.

If I do that, I don't take caffeinated gels, except MAYBE in the second half of the marathon if that's all I have. The downside is obvious -- way too much caffeine can cause a racing heart, jitters, etc. Even while running.

scientific evidence wrote:

Might want to rethink some of those comments - take a look at results of this study at 6 mg/kg. Key line from the abstract "No significant differences were observed in heart rate, skin temperature, or rectal temperature". Not sure how rise in rectal temperature effects marathon peformance, but there you have it.

http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/85/1/154

Yea but 'My $0.02' suggested taking 5.5 GRAMS/kg of bodyweight.

Considering the LD50 of caffeine is estimated to be 150-200 mg/kg, My $0.02 should have died along time ago.BTW, there is also this to consider:"Caffeine relaxes the internal anal sphincter muscles and thus should be avoided by those with fecal incontinence."

Should be studying wrote:

scientific evidence wrote:

Might want to rethink some of those comments - take a look at results of this study at 6 mg/kg. Key line from the abstract "No significant differences were observed in heart rate, skin temperature, or rectal temperature". Not sure how rise in rectal temperature effects marathon peformance, but there you have it.

http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/85/1/154

Yea but 'My $0.02' suggested taking 5.5 GRAMS/kg of bodyweight.

Just my experience...

Took caffeine pills every once in a while before races and a few workouts.

Took one around 10-miles into a marathon, and got one of the worst intestional cramps I can remember. I ran through it, but boy did I want to stop. It wasn't a "I've got to take a crap cramp", more of a "who stabbed me in the stomach" cramp.

Yea but 'My $0.02' suggested taking 5.5 GRAMS/kg of bodyweight.

Sorry, meant mg.

But the point is that if you're already at 5-6 mg/kg, taking caffeinated gels ON TOP OF THAT can cause undesirable side effects.

scientific evidence wrote:

Not sure how rise in rectal temperature effects marathon peformance, but there you have it.

http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/85/1/154

In these types of studies they generally measure temperature rectally because it is the most accurate way to measure internal body temperature. However, I bet it's really uncomfortable to run on a treadmill with a probe in your butt.

As far as answering the OP, I never consume caffeine besides in races, and have never had an issue. I will either have a caffeinated gel prior or drink something with caffeine (like the cola Nuun flavor), and then use caffeinated gels during the race. Since my body is not used to it the caffeine has a very strong effect (because I haven't built up a tolerance) which is exactly the effect you want.

I do have coffee every day (usually 16-20 oz, I would guess)... so my body is used to it. I was surprised to learn that all I would need to get the the 5 or so mg/kg body weight is a "grande" Starbucks coffee.

I figure starting next week I'll just go off of coffee for the entire week. Then Sunday have a grande starbucks an hour before my long run. Do that 3 weeks in a row to make sure that #1 going off coffee for the week doesn't kill me and #2 that being off of coffee for a week doesn't hurt my stomach when I then drink a coffee on sunday before my run.

I'll practice it 3 weeks in a row and if I don't have problems, that seems like the obvious route. Now the next problem... how to get a Starbucks the morning of the NYC Marathon early AM before getting on a bus to Staten Island!

I have a friend who has made a few US marathon teams (and attended the Marathon Summits with the top experts). It's recommended to take caffeine and also the Gatorade Endurance Formula as your drink (has calcium and magnesium in it). I've been experimenting with the caffeine the past few weeks. The 200mg No Doz tablets are extremely effective (wakes you up, but also seems to keep you awake/wired for the rest of the day). I believe for my marathon I'll have my usual morning coffee, and then take either half or a full No Doz around mile 17 with the Gatorade Endurance Formula (and a caffeinated gel >21 miles).

However, here's my experience so far: took one during an easy semi-long run, WOW, felt great, no problems. I took one during a long, hard progression run (MP pace), and after about 20 min. I suddenly felt like my heart was going to fly out of my chest (and like I was going to pass out). I also tried it in a race the weekend before and got nauseous. I tried half the No Doz (100mg) yesterday in a workout and felt better. I'm going to try the 200mg before my long run Sunday, and see how that goes.

So my best advice is to experiment with it cause it could affect each person differently. I don't know if there's a clear cut answer on the right amount or a proper strategy; you have to figure out what works for you.

Someone posted this on a thread last year:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?board=1&id=2724022&thread=2723696

"Scientists at two universities in Minnesota gave runners a drink with or without caffeine (equal to two cups of coffee) one hour before a V02 max test. Participants who had caffeine experience a four percent increase in V02 max and a four percent increase in lactate threshold. This performance boost can translate into a 30 second improvement in 10-k time."