curious about other's experiences with cutting back alcohol and running fitness. stopped drinking (was doing 20+ drinks a week) for a few months and saw my 5k time go from high 17s to 16:55 on the same training. I dropped a few pounds of weight and am sleeping better, but wondering what other physiological changes are happening. anyone else see these kinds of gains?
In general, whenever I give up alcohol for a few weeks I start to feel really, really great. My skin clears up, I sleep better like you said and I also tend to drop a bit of weight as well. I think if you're constantly having 2-3 drinks every night then you will probably see massive benefits in your health and in your running.
I normally stop drinking any alcohol at all 6-8 weeks before a Marathon and I swear it makes a big difference. That being said though, nothing beats smashing a few IPAs and a pizza after a hard 20 miler.
Rod Dixon and John Walker drank a ton of beer. As Rod Dixon said, "All I want to do is drink beer and train like a animal."