Caffeine before running

[oasis]

I have never been a coffee drinker and up until recently have never had caffeine before running (1 hour before or more). I often feel tired before runs so recently started experimenting with some caffeine before training from green tea and redbull(250ml only before workouts/long runs). The literature that I read on this has conflicting results, obviously too much caffeine can be dangerous but there is some evidence that caffeine does enhance performance. For myself, I like the energy boost it provides and only take in about 100mg one hour before training.

Interested to hear other comments on caffeine in regards to training.

[whatsyourmiletime]

i am a sprinter and i know what you mean about being tired be fore work outs, either if its lac of motivation that day or lac of rest ect... but i would not chance having my hart explode lol im not 100% about my bpm running but in a bike i know that i hit around 190 if i pushing it. the last thing i need is serge's of caffein shooting through my system and adding another 20 bpm, i think its a very unsafe think to do.

solution: go to coffee shop instead of ordering coffee grab a few packs of sugar and down those

or get pumped my listening to hard core music.

works for me

[moorezy]

downing sugar would hurt distance runners... induce hypoglycemia (glycogen depletion too quick). Blood glucose heightened from influx in glucose consumption. Glut 4 transporters stimulated by insulin secretion. Glycogen usage increases too fast = bad.

I have read alot about caffeine consumption. Studies at McMaster and Guelph tested it on well trained athletes on cycling. Concluded that time to exhaustion increases (gets better). Studies said no more than 300mg. Any more can be detrimental. Even at 100mg there are side effects, anxiety, bowl movements etc. But the results showed to have a pretty big effect on performance. Which makes me wonder why IAAF only bans Caffeine on super high concentrations, which would be detrimental to performance. Probably because of coffee availability etc.

Also caffeine has a more profound effect on those who do not regularly drink caffeine products. So keep that in mind.

Best route is au natural, especially in training, racing.. maybe. Training just make sure you have some low glycemic index type foods with not too much fiber. Find out what time frame works for you. Personally i dont like eating AT LEAST 2 hours before, personally i find my stomach feels uneasy even 2 hours before a race/workout.

Hope that helps- feel free to correct me if i am wrong.

[deekay]

Ahutch has written on caffeine a few times in his excellent blog, Sweat Science (sweatscience.com/?p=135). Also check out Letsrun's archives.

>>Also caffeine has a more profound effect on those who do not regularly drink caffeine products. So keep that in mind.

-Not sure this is true

[moorezy]

>>

it was in the study by Guelph or Mcmaster, and makes perfect sense. AHutch has good stuff as well, I agree.

[limestonemiler]

Someone told me it's good for training because it forces your heart to work harder. Of course, the same person told me Bekele crushes a couple of Red Bulls before every run he does, so I don't know whether or not to believe him.

[Steller]

There are a lot of misconceptions on this thread. There are probably 100 studies looking at caffeine and performance over the last 100 years.

Caffeine (or coffee—note—the name Coffee actually comes from a town in Ethiopia, and originates in Ethiopia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee).

Also note: In my interactions with the Africans, I have never seen a single one of them consume RedBull prior to exercise). However, many Africans enjoy coffee and tea. Caffeine is not going to blow your heart up, and only causes a slight increase in HR at sub-maximal exercise intensities. More caffeine info below.

• Studies have shown a range of 1-6 mg caffeine/kg body weight improves performance over a range of protocols, with ~3mg/kg providing an ideal target dose (e.g. anywhere from ~75 to 300mg, as individually tolerated). Higher doses (>6mg/kg) may be associated with negative side effects. But, there is a large degree of individual variability. For maximal effect, dose is taken ~60 to 90min prior to exercise.
Graham TE & Spriet LL. JAP. pp. 867, 1995.

• Variety of protocols (before, during exercise) and/or in combination with carbohydrate show benefits of caffeine. Cox GR. JAP. pp. 990, 2002.

• Studies show that withdrawal for habitual coffee drinkers, prior to competition, is not necessary; there is no difference in performance for nonusers and users of caffeine. Graham TE et al. Spors Med. pp. 785, 2001.

• Coffee may not be an ideal source of caffeine, as it is difficult to know the amount of caffeine in coffee and performance studies are much more consistent with pure caffeine supplementation. Graham TE et al. Spors Med. pp. 785, 2001.

• Caffeine should be trialed prior to races to ascertain individual responses.

• Warning should be made with athletes who constantly are using caffeine to get “up” for every single training bout – especially in late afternoon workouts etc. Caffeine taken late in the day or for an evening heat, may negatively impact on subsequent sleep and recovery.

[marathondude]

I have one cup of coffee daily in the morning. On my race days I stay true to my typical routine and have one cup of coffe about 60-75 minutes before my race. As I tell runners, athletes I coach and those I speak to at seminars - don't do anthing on race day that differs from what you do in training.

[run123]

what about caffeinated power gels?

[annonymouscoward]

What do you want to know about them?

[jdome]

My sources tell me that caffeine causes me individuals to defecate via straw.

[oldster]

I don't know about caffeine, but this board needs more jdome-- always sharp and funny.