Is a little alcohol in the system actually GOOD for running?

sunrise wrote:

This article is 20 years old. Many more studies have been done over the past 2 decades that contradict this.

You mean like the ones that all show massive reverse causation at the start of the J-curve? Those support me bruv.

Convexity wrote:

sunrise wrote:

This article is 20 years old. Many more studies have been done over the past 2 decades that contradict this.

You mean like the ones that all show massive reverse causation at the start of the J-curve? Those support me bruv.

Probably this thread doesn't have to devolve into an argument over whether alcohol consumption is good or bad for overall well-being.

Specific to running (the point of the thread), there is no way alcohol benefits running performance and several mechanisms by which it could negatively affect it...or it has no effect. But performance-enhancing qualities of booze have been rejected for like 45 years.

SirReggie wrote:

no wrote:

You are rationalizing.

Nah, the old world class Kiwis, John Walker and the boys, used to do that and chug beers during the run, called it "chundering."

YOU are rationalizing. No way did alcohol help those runners.

Hope so!

Anal bum cover wrote:

Sesamoiditis wrote:

What kind of people call a beer a jar?

I'll take "hipsters" for $500, Alex.

+1

We hipsters say a door is a jar, too.

T Funke wrote:

I'll generally have a few jars (4 or 5

There are many things wrong with your post, but calling a beer a jar is first on the list.

Alcohol the night before can have a effect on your fasting blood glucose reading the next morning ... this suggests to me that it could affect your running the next morning as well.

Best 10 K of my life- Friend and I carbo loaded on spaghetti and beer the night before. A lot more beer than I planned. At the 3 k mark I thought it meant here were 3 k left so I started my kick. At half way thought Oh my, but kept it up. Beers worked that day as I found the old 1978 Fiesta Mission Run Cup that I believe the top 50 finishers got! Doesn't work as well with Tequila further experiments told.

Convexity wrote:

Ethanol is poisonous to your body. Nothing wrong with drinking, just don't kid yourself that it has benefits.

A lot of things are toxic in the body, many of them synthesized by the body itself in the process of doing things that benefit it. A hard workout causes breakdown of muscle tissue and buildup of urea that must be excreted before it becomes concentrated. Does a hard workout not have benefits?

Running fast starts with good coordination. Maybe the brain and CNS have temporarily improved coordination on the rebound from being knocked silly by a few drinks.

Most probably the effortless feeling on the Sunday morning is due to rest and food from Saturday (since you probably work Monday to Friday and can rest on Saturday). Drinks you have just loosens up muscles and allows for good recovery.

I've had similar experience. Working Monday to Friday just blows me out and I am literally dead by Friday. Then it's Saturday and even though I double usually on Saturday, I feel much better on Sunday long run than say on Thursday or Friday when I feel empty.

RE: Is a little alcohol in the system actually GOOD for running?

Yes. I am living proof. I just ran a 1.30 half and I have never drunk more in my life.

Happened again chaps! 3 beers and a large glass of red last night and whooosh flying this morning...

Fri - 10 miles easy @ 6:55.

Sat - 8.5 miles again easy-ish (but trail some hills) @ 6:45

Sun (post booze) - 7.5 @ 6:00 flat.

No deliberate decision to go hard-ish but just legs / body just felt fine / fresh. Got to be something in it!

I know of a decent masters runner who sets and alarm for 3AM to ingest a beer the morning of races. I think this popped up in Runners World back in the 70s when it was actually about running performance. Might even have been George Sheehan, now that I think on it.

I highly doubt it. Don't be getting all delusional and whatnot.. It's one thing to enjoy a few drinks (here and there) and realize the dangers of it and control it but going around trying to prove to yourself that alcohol is actually beneficial in some way to your health sounds like a slippery road.. You are probably trying to prove to yourself it has benefits because you have some amount of guilt drinking, you will get mixed replies on this both in life and on the internet.. There's plenty of people out there that love drinking and feel just as guilty as you that want to try to prove to themselves and everyone else that alcohol has such and such benefits so then they can maybe sleep a little bit more at peace that night after putting the cap on the bottle..

Ask Pre... oh wait

NonDelusional wrote:

I highly doubt it. Don't be getting all delusional and whatnot.. It's one thing to enjoy a few drinks (here and there) and realize the dangers of it and control it but going around trying to prove to yourself that alcohol is actually beneficial in some way to your health sounds like a slippery road.. You are probably trying to prove to yourself it has benefits because you have some amount of guilt drinking, you will get mixed replies on this both in life and on the internet.. There's plenty of people out there that love drinking and feel just as guilty as you that want to try to prove to themselves and everyone else that alcohol has such and such benefits so then they can maybe sleep a little bit more at peace that night after putting the cap on the bottle..

A true alcoholic doesn't "put the cap back on the bottle"....just sayin'

A little alcohol in the system is good for keeping the engine going. Drinking alcohol is like trying to make a road trip from Boston to Niagara Falls: It's a 500 mile trip. Just like life - it's loooong.

Drinking a little alcohol or doing drugs whatever are the pits stops that you make while driving to Niagara Falls. It makes life bearable.

I would love a beer right now but then I remember the last girl I dated - she hates alcoholics. I'm a functional one, but I would quit just to get to connect with that girl and share memories.

Oh wait... she had BPD. And by quitting alcohol I mean it'll take a few months to taper.

T Funke wrote:

Happened again chaps! 3 beers and a large glass of red last night and whooosh flying this morning...

... Got to be something in it!

resets the CNS, like I said

On this thread, alcoholics are picking through false anecdotal tales of improved performances while on alcohol. Alcoholics are picking through science to justify their habits. Muslim runners are beating Christian and atheist drinkers.