Will weed hurt my running performance?

If you get caught by the cops you'll be running on the spot in a jail cell. That may hurt your running performance

Obviously inhaling burning plant matter isn't the best for people. But there are alternatives to torching the flower. I know that there are some positive benefits to inhaling pot and that the lungs might in fact benefit from it. At least the bronchial section anyways. I feel as if the positive cancels out the negative. I had teammates that could and would smoke in the middle of a, say, 14 miler? I was dropped by pothead friends. I couldn't believe how frequently my friend would smoke, and on a consistent basis he would roll on me on runs. That's when I realized that there might not be a lot of negative side effects towards breathing/lung function.

d2 runner, should i?!? wrote:

Bump. Ate a weed cookie last night. WORST NIGHT OF MY LIFE. I did way too much for first.... AWFUL experience. Pot heads, is this normal?

Pot heads obviously won't have your experience.

But, yeah, I did not have a good experience. And i didn't over do it.

I guess you have your answer...

Teaser wrote:

Go Figure wrote:

I ran Houston last Sunday. I started in corral C and it took me 17 minutes to cross the start line. about 4 miles into the race, I passes a guy wearing NORML ( National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) shirt. I looked at his bib as I passed him. It was a half marathon bib with a B corral start. I chuckled and said out loud, " If you weren't smoking dope, you be running the full." he probably wouldn't be so delusional that he started in B corral, too.

Thanks for letting us know that you're slow AND a douche bag.

you forgot that I am old, fat and bald, too.

Background: I was a mid level d1 guy in college, never qualified for NCAAs but ran some decently impressive times. To put into perspective, I was one of the better runners on a semi respectable teams aka we have guys qualifying for NCAAs, we had all americans, etcs.

We had a very big party culture at our school and most of the guys on the team participated in it to a certain extent. Our team was subsequently split 50/50 in terms of smoking pot. The 50% who did were generally the better guys on our team. The biggest smokers? The top 5 guys on the team. We are talking an everyday type of things. Most of us also were probably the best academically as well.

I can attest to the fact that I smoked pot with a guy friday evening, and the following morning he qualified for NCAA XC as an individual in a rather impressive race.

Flip side, my roommates and i used to smoke frequently with the best girl on our team, multiple times a week. We used to smoke a TON, and she was on a complete different level than we were. Yet she was still able to perform on the national level.

Would we have been better if we didnt smoke or even smoked moderately? Maybe, but the number one thing that people site as a detriment to running is a loss of motivation or distraction from running. This is false, that would also hold true for people doing poorly academically. It isnt a coincidence that the best guys on our team smoked every day, were the best in class and high level competitors in running. It is about your priorities. If you wanted to get high af every night, we never saw any downside effect. But that is also to say that we didnt compromise sleep, or eating correctly, etc. We were always mindful.

ALSO, total rookie mistake. If you don't want to feel groggy or scatter brained in the morning after smoking, take a multi vitamin before bed and you will wake up feeling incredible...same goes for a night of drinking. Team captain my frosh year taught me that and it has worked wonders.

Shout out to all the runners still running fast and smoking pot all the time. They are more frequent than you would think.

The weekend before a buddy of mine broke 4 for the first time we got absolutely hammered and smoked a large amount.

PS, I am currently high so please disregard my spelling and syntax

Marijuana is a friend of humanity. It removes hierarchical inhibitions to your thought processes, and encourages a mildly psychedelic free associative process. It's good for the head. Anyone who tells you otherwise if full of you-know-what, and/or ignorant.

The first 15 - 20 minutes after smoking, you feel hyper aware and inspired. After that, you'll still enjoy the effects, but may become tired. Pot comes in many levels of strength and effects vary accordingly.

Pot does not mix well with competitive running, is my subjective opinion. Regular use cuts down on the focus needed to maintain a competitive edge. I speak from experience.

Pot is also not recommended for daily use, it just makes you kind of dumb. Proceed with caution.

If a runner uses pot once a week or so, I don't think it's a big deal. Anymore than that, it's going to dent your focus. An elite athlete would not want to use weed.

It can be nice to take a lift before a long run now and again, but honestly I much prefer running without weed.

IN closing, I'll say that I am a professional artist, and weed is handy as heck there. But as a Division 1 miler back in the 70s, it DID NOT help!

I am not a "user" of drugs. I like to smoke weed. I went four months without it no problem in 2015, yeah "cold turkey" LOL, because of a position I was working. There's nothing abusive about the use of cannabis.

Lmfao

Walking outside is harmful for you. Now days peoold will tell you not to eat drink smoke this and that, BUT have not feedback when 90% of all top athletes are on PEDs. Do what you want to do and love your own life. Remember, no one honestly cares.

In moderation it probably won't hurt your running, but it probably won't help it either - so why bother? If it is illegal in your state then you should definitely not do it. It is not worth the risk! Also, weed is kind of expensive. Save your money and buy a new pair of running shoes instead.

Just watched the HBO Documentary last night Heroin: Cape Cod, USA.

Every single addict they interviewed said they started with pot, then moved to pills and then moved to heroin. Coincidence? I think not.

Yes in to ways:

1) It will make you slower.

2) It will make you apathetic about being slow.

Don't do it...I saw guys go from 1:49 880 yd to 1:58.. former national champion go from the top to 1:51...It destroys motivation or something.. I could go on but I won't..my own personal battles as well.. Your friends are not athletes so they have nothing to lose. Pot is not the way to championships..hard liquor is even worse. Hey Beer is terrible as well. Drink 5 or six beers and try to do a hard workout the next day... yeah does not work.. It takes days for your body to return to pre drinking levels..

The use of weed itself doesn't hurt you. The pursuit of the escapism achieved through smoking weed, however, is a symptom of weak-mindedness which will adversely affect your ability to gut it out in races and workouts when the going gets tough.

Too much weed damages your short-term memory:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/01/what-happens-when-you-get-stoned-every-single-day-for-five-years/

Study says that weed is bad for the heart and causes heart rhythm abnormalities but more studies needed.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/05/health/weed-marijuana-heart-wellness/index.html

someone who gets it lol. running isn’t only physical, and weed isn’t only harmful. i’ve found a nice balance where i think smoking has actually improved my motivation to train, and have actually gotten better times since. everyone else in here absolutely spitting on the idea of smoking and training are no better than my hyper christian 50 year old mother

I believe that cigarettes and weed have a very strong effect on the respiratory system, I used to smoke a lot, it's hard for me to get up to the 5th floor, let alone running, so yes, the weed will prevent you from breathing deeply while jogging