Several buds on my team slurp down a red bull or other caffeine right before their race. As a he miler is this a good or bad idea? I have no caffeine in my life and eat as healyas possible but it seems like it gives folks an edge. And to sound really stupid though if I do how far in advance do I drink it and will I have to visit the bathroom before my race, thanks
By all means, do so!
Why not lil rube
This is garbage. Please don't be stupid. Just run
Caffeine is a legal performance enhancer. End of thread.
ThatAverageRunner wrote:
Caffeine is a legal performance enhancer. End of thread.
Thanks but how long in advance and seriously since there is none in my system ever is it going to make me hit the bathroom
Drink a cup 2 hours before workout. See how it effects you. If all good, you can gradually get it closer to workout or race, but no closer than 1 hour out. After a few times of trying it before a workout, then you can try it in a race. Some people like to drink it an hour out, others 2 hours. Experiment with coffee before workouts, then once you know it helps, use in a race
C wonderer wrote:
ThatAverageRunner wrote:
Caffeine is a legal performance enhancer. End of thread.
Thanks but how long in advance and seriously since there is none in my system ever is it going to make me hit the bathroom
Caffeine pill ~1 hour before race time
ThatAverageRunner wrote:
Caffeine is a legal performance enhancer. End of thread.
Agreed. Some supplementary info based on my understanding of how it works as a performance enhancer:
Everyone reacts to caffeine differently, it's genetic. Some people may find it very helpful, others might feel too jittery/anxious. You can also build up a tolerance to caffeine pretty easily, as well as an addiction. Don't feel the need to start using caffeine if it makes you uncomfortable. I typically only drink one coffee a day (home brewed carefully to about 150-160mg, just to wake up and because it tastes good) except on race days where I will have maybe a slightly bigger cup, and then some run gum right before the race.
About 150mg of caffeine is about the ceiling of what will enhance your performance. You can check the packaging of most energy drinks/canned coffee drinks/caffeine-containing bars/gums for the amount of caffeine they have, it'll be in the fine print, sometimes on the ingredients list if it's an energy bar with like, green tea extract or something. If you chug a huge starbucks coffee (about 400mg) that will enhance performance but also may make you jittery, so you are better off with less - most of a small starbucks coffee, or a large red bull, or a 5 hour energy, something like that.
The performance enhancement is small. It basically only makes you perceive the effort you are putting forth as easier than it actually is, in a way helping you push just a little harder. If you are perceiving a 100% race pace effort as only 99% race pace, you're going to feel like you are ready to be able to push just a little harder that last quarter mile or whatever, and it certainly should already be in your wheelhouse if you are running a reasonable effort (like, if you are a 4:20 miler, shooting for 4:16, you're not gonna be able to go out in 60 and feel fine, but you should be able to hit those 64's and they'll feel like closer to 65's and you'll feel a bit more "ready" to kick hard the last lap when it comes around.
Caffeine is not what makes you have to use the restroom. Drinking a half a pot of warm liquid does....
from what I've read in the literature, pure caffeine is a performance enhancer and as long as you don't overdo it, it's legal (there is a limit you have to be below, but it's set pretty high). The studies I've seen on the effects of coffee are less clear. You have to remember that coffee has a lot of ingredients besides caffeine and it would seem that some of these aren't helpful for performance in endurance sports and at least partially negate the benefits of caffeine. So, experiment with coffee if you want to, and you may even find you like it, but it's not a magic bullet for race performance. Caffeine pills on the other hand seem to be something of a magic bullet but in my opinion taking pills to improve performance puts you in the doping gray zone.
Are caffeine pills better than coffee?
tiyghurgehu wrote:
ThatAverageRunner wrote:
Caffeine is a legal performance enhancer. End of thread.
Agreed. Some supplementary info based on my understanding of how it works as a performance enhancer:
Everyone reacts to caffeine differently, it's genetic. Some people may find it very helpful, others might feel too jittery/anxious. You can also build up a tolerance to caffeine pretty easily, as well as an addiction. Don't feel the need to start using caffeine if it makes you uncomfortable. I typically only drink one coffee a day (home brewed carefully to about 150-160mg, just to wake up and because it tastes good) except on race days where I will have maybe a slightly bigger cup, and then some run gum right before the race.
About 150mg of caffeine is about the ceiling of what will enhance your performance. You can check the packaging of most energy drinks/canned coffee drinks/caffeine-containing bars/gums for the amount of caffeine they have, it'll be in the fine print, sometimes on the ingredients list if it's an energy bar with like, green tea extract or something. If you chug a huge starbucks coffee (about 400mg) that will enhance performance but also may make you jittery, so you are better off with less - most of a small starbucks coffee, or a large red bull, or a 5 hour energy, something like that.
The performance enhancement is small. It basically only makes you perceive the effort you are putting forth as easier than it actually is, in a way helping you push just a little harder. If you are perceiving a 100% race pace effort as only 99% race pace, you're going to feel like you are ready to be able to push just a little harder that last quarter mile or whatever, and it certainly should already be in your wheelhouse if you are running a reasonable effort (like, if you are a 4:20 miler, shooting for 4:16, you're not gonna be able to go out in 60 and feel fine, but you should be able to hit those 64's and they'll feel like closer to 65's and you'll feel a bit more "ready" to kick hard the last lap when it comes around.
Great post. You literally described me to a T. As a caffeine lover and a 4:20 miler shooting for exactly 4:16 this indoor season, you hit the nail on the head.
tiyghurgehu wrote:
ThatAverageRunner wrote:
Caffeine is a legal performance enhancer. End of thread.
Agreed. Some supplementary info based on my understanding of how it works as a performance enhancer:
Everyone reacts to caffeine differently, it's genetic. Some people may find it very helpful, others might feel too jittery/anxious. You can also build up a tolerance to caffeine pretty easily, as well as an addiction. Don't feel the need to start using caffeine if it makes you uncomfortable. I typically only drink one coffee a day (home brewed carefully to about 150-160mg, just to wake up and because it tastes good) except on race days where I will have maybe a slightly bigger cup, and then some run gum right before the race.
About 150mg of caffeine is about the ceiling of what will enhance your performance. You can check the packaging of most energy drinks/canned coffee drinks/caffeine-containing bars/gums for the amount of caffeine they have, it'll be in the fine print, sometimes on the ingredients list if it's an energy bar with like, green tea extract or something. If you chug a huge starbucks coffee (about 400mg) that will enhance performance but also may make you jittery, so you are better off with less - most of a small starbucks coffee, or a large red bull, or a 5 hour energy, something like that.
The performance enhancement is small. It basically only makes you perceive the effort you are putting forth as easier than it actually is, in a way helping you push just a little harder. If you are perceiving a 100% race pace effort as only 99% race pace, you're going to feel like you are ready to be able to push just a little harder that last quarter mile or whatever, and it certainly should already be in your wheelhouse if you are running a reasonable effort (like, if you are a 4:20 miler, shooting for 4:16, you're not gonna be able to go out in 60 and feel fine, but you should be able to hit those 64's and they'll feel like closer to 65's and you'll feel a bit more "ready" to kick hard the last lap when it comes around.
Can you provide your reference (real research article, not men's health) that caps the benefit of caffeine at 150 mg?.... most athletic performance research falls between 3-6 mg/kg body mass for the 'performance' benefits. This can be quite a bit higher than the absolute limit of 150 mg that you recommend. Keep in mind that recommendations based on research recommend dosages according to the size of the individual. I'm about 75 kg... so I take over 200 mg.
While 150 mg may work best for you (are you closer to 100 lbs?), it is misleading to promote 150 mg as a universal 'ceiling' for performance. The best recommendation is keep intake closer to 3 mg/kg body mass.
I'm a lot like the OP, in that I don't drink coffee, soda or energy drinks so my daily caffeine intake is generally zero. When I have an important race, though, I do ingest caffeine through Gels or GUs. My favorite are Honey Stinger (32mg caffeine) or the PowerBar PowerGel with 2x caffeine (50mg). I can feel the difference and feel energy. Sometimes I can get jittery even.
My question for the board is this: everyone is recommending taking caffeine an hour to 2 hours before the race but I've always taken the Gel about 15-20mn before my race. What does the research say? How long does it take before caffeine starts affecting a person?
Looking for the article now. You're right that I should have cited my sources the first time, but who doesn't love to post sHt on letsrun. It's been a couple years since I researched it, but you're right that a lot of articles are recommending about 3mg/kg. I'm about 140lb so a little under 200mg for me. Either way, the takeaway is that chugging 2 jumbo coffees the day of a race is not going to enhance you any more than just a regular one relatively soon beforehand.
I think that if you take it in "RUN GUM" form, it is processed quicker. However, I have heard the pills, it's and hour out and coffee should be taken 1 to 2 hours out. I would love to hear other's opinions
No. It is a banned substance by the NCAA:
https://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/2018-19NCAA_Banned_Drugs_20180608.pdf
Pedialyte my boy
[quote]team Unruly Bush wrote:
No. It is a banned substance by the NCAA:
The limit that you have to test positive for is extremely high, so though it might be banned you would have to consume copious amounts right before your event to fail the drug test. You could consume 5 cups of coffee right before your race and probably be fine.