Are there any negative effects to drinking during the cross country season. Now I know raging hard the night before a race isn't a good idea, but are there any long term effects other than addiction that alcohol can have on training and racing during the cross-country season?
no
What you seem to be asking is will drinking during the season affect your overall performance, and the answer is absolutely and in a negative way. The extent to which alcohol hinders performance and muscle recovery is often debated, but there is no doubt that drinking frequently during the season will have a negative impact on your performance
GEts wrote:
What you seem to be asking is will drinking during the season affect your overall performance, and the answer is absolutely and in a negative way. The extent to which alcohol hinders performance and muscle recovery is often debated, but there is no doubt that drinking frequently during the season will have a negative impact on your performance
Correct, i cant find the study now, however alcohol DOES have a negative effect on running recovery. Thats not the staying up later (sleep deprivation), mingling with other people (increased exposure to germs), and other things that can happen. It will inhibit recovery from strenuous exercise.
That being said... I dont see any reason to not have a few sociable drinks every now and then. Raging hard the night before is reserved for those who know they can win. Everything in moderation. Its an accumulation effect
Hands down wrote:
Raging hard the night before is reserved for Henry Rono
Fixed it for you
Ask yourself this and you will have your answer. Will missing your monring and dinner meals negativly impact your running?
Come on drinking dehydrates you and that doesnt allow you to recover properly. So if you want to run the best you possible can then try holding off on the drinking untill after the last meet. Big nights out after a season are amazing. My guess is you will get injured if you drink often during the season. Even if it is not large amounts. Now that I am done with running in college I found there is plenty of time left in life to run and drink. I am glad I got serious my last two years of running in college and chose not to drink very often. I train and drink freely now with no pressure to perform at the local 5 and 10ks. Enjoy running in college its as close to being a professional athlete as you may ever get. I am still waiting to come up big in the lottery so I can train to entertain myself while I sit at home and enjoy not having to work.