Daily runners: how much/often do you typically drink/smoke?

I'M STRAIGHT EDGE

There is absolutely no chance that you're not an alcoholic. If you are even drinking the 10 beers once a week and 3-6 beers another 3 times a week as you mentioned, you need help. Also, why would you smoke anything if you're a borderline elite runner? That's an extremely stupid decision.

if you are really sub-elite as you say, then I either 1) call BS on the 10 beers on drinking nights, or 2) am amazed that you can be sub-elite while drinking (and smoking) that much. i would call myself a top guy on the local scene in a major city - the best guys i run against locally are national class runners in various events. i can't touch them yet, but my goal would be to qualify to run in some sort of national champs race some day (either track or roads). might never get there, but it keeps me going. drink ~4 nights a week, usually 2 strong drinks (rum & coke, gin & tonic, etc) in the evening before bed. any more than that and it will affect my recovery & i'll feel sh*tty in the morning. don't smoke. one word of advice from a guy who drank pretty heavily (though not as much as you) in his early 20s - it will affect you're recovery if you a REALLY training hard. you might not feel it at your age because you're body is able to recovery from a hard workout + drinking much more quickly, but just because you can't feel it doesn't mean it's not affecting your recovery & next-day performance. as i move into my late 20s, i cannot have more than 2 drinks or I will wake up feeling noticeably sore with heavy legs because I'm not recovered from the previous days running - this is something that has only started in the last year or so, I never noticed it in my early & mid 20s. so I would suggest getting rid of the 10-beer bender habit, if it's not affecting your next-day running now, it will in a few years.

Team Camel wrote:

I consider myself to be teetering on the brink of elite. I won't go into my times, except to say they're borderline elite. Anyway, being recent college graduate, it's fair to say I do my share of drinking and smoking. I usually drink around 4 times a week, usually 10 or so beers a night. And I'll typically smoke pot around 10 times a month, plus cigarettes every once in a while. I'm wondering how these numbers compare to other daily runners, borderline elite guys, and elite runners? I know guys like Ciaran O'Lienard like to get down every so often. So what's the concensus?

I wouldn't say that I am elite by any means. NCAA D1. Im not near the best on my team, but ALL of our top 7 XC guys go out. Obviously not the night before a race but if we have a meet on friday. All of the XC/track team blacks out friday night and saturday night. Sunday is for school work with a casual beer at the end of the day. Smoke weed occasionally throughout the week but you better believe we are hitting the vaporizer friday-sunday. During the week its more of rolling. But what I can say is that our top 5 probably parties more than anyone else and their PRs are right around 14:10ish and sub 3:50 1500 guys. So they may not be all-stars but they are respectable

I used to drink a lot during my early 20s wjen I wasn't a very serious runner - ran mainly to keep beer weight off or to clear up a hangover on a weekend morning. Didn't smoke. I increased my mileage to run a marathon, though, and I found that with work and high mileage, beer just made me too tired. With marathon training, I cut back the drinking to saturdays only, after a long run or a race, and kept it to two to four beers. But I eventually just stopped drinking altogether. Even moderate drinking made me tired on Sundays, and I'd rather have energy to play with my kids and hang out with my family.

Very good strategy. Hopefully, some of your competitors bite, become drug addicts/alcoholics, and their performances sink beneath yours. Eye of the tiger.

Not buying it. If it is true, you should decide if you want to be an elite athlete or a drunk. Drinking to that level will not mix with being a serious athlete. Smoking is obviously not a good idea. I have seen people try to mix serious running (although not elite) and drinking / smoking. It tears them down over time. You realize they have turned into full blown alcoholics who use every excuse to rationalize their drinking / drugs and their declining running performance.

a lot of folks on this board assume everyone else's decisions revolve around influence on running performance. when your a 15 - 16 minute 5k guy it doesn't matter too much. even a big break will make you a 14 minute guy, far from good. run because it feels good. cheers.

I just want to clarify. I'm not making this post to ask if my drinking/smoking is hindering my performance. I enjoy the lifestyle I currently live, and train and race hard. I'm just wondering what other people's intake levels are out of sheer curiosity.

ya heard wrote:

I rip bongs post-race. Pre-race. All the time. Drink 4-6 Heinney's while studying. A night. pr: 14:56

#boss

14:56 sucks. Pull your head out of your butt.

Pot every evening. Couple of drinks every evening. Nothing like a beer after a good run. Maybe one cigarette a month. Not at my best these days, but when I was, that was still my routine. Held my high school record in the 1600 and occasionally win my age group in a 5k.

'I consider myself to be teetering on the brink of elite.'

Everyone else thinks you are teetering on the brink of being a jogger

Doclove wrote:

'I consider myself to be teetering on the brink of elite.'

Everyone else thinks you are teetering on the brink of being a jogger

Everyone else doesn't know what it feels like to run sub 3:45.

7/10. you haven't stirred the pot once and you already have two pages of bites. great job.

7/10. you haven't stirred the pot once and you already have two pages of bites. great job.

Don't drink don't smoke - what do you do?

Don't drink don't smoke - what do you do?

Subtle innuendos follow

There must be something inside

JeremiahJohnson wrote:

14:56 sucks. Pull your head out of your butt.

I'm in high school.

#boss

I drank 22 beers today

I drink alcohol just about every other day or so. I get up at 4:30 am to go workout...run 6-12 miles. Saturday mornings I hit the trails for a 20 mile run and at night I pound the liquor and the women. I drink Jager and Jack. Just run.