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Do you give up caffeine before races?
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Wondering if anyone has given up caffeine before a race, so your body responds better to caffeine during the race. If so, how far in advance of the race do you stop your caffeine intake?
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Re: Do you give up caffeine before races? [NeverEnough] [ In reply to ]
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I tried it for a week before a race and can't tell you if it had an impact on my race good or bad. Might try it again but not sure. Sorry that I am no help!

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Re: Do you give up caffeine before races? [jrielley] [ In reply to ]
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Re: Do you give up caffeine before races? [NeverEnough] [ In reply to ]
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I try to get off the stuff a week or two in advance.

I need to do it that far out because I go through withdrawal and get headaches from day 3-5/6.

I have done it 2-3 times a year for the last 4 years. Symptoms seem only to vary if my normal intake was at a low, otherwise I drink 3-6 caffeine drinks a day during the week. Mostly coffee and coke.
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Re: Do you give up caffeine before races? [NeverEnough] [ In reply to ]
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I never give it up before and never will.

I just consume extra on race day and never have had a problem.

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Re: Do you give up caffeine before races? [NeverEnough] [ In reply to ]
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I do before big races. Typically 7 days with zero caffeine prior to race day and then I'll take about 350mg 10-15 minutes before I start, plus whatever I take in during the race.
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Re: Do you give up caffeine before races? [NeverEnough] [ In reply to ]
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I'm the one with a diet coke at the start line.

Sooooo.... No.
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Re: Do you give up caffeine before races? [NeverEnough] [ In reply to ]
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Not really: Normal day is double espresso in the morning and a little throughout the day (figure 200 mg total).

I drink a little less coffee for the two days before so that I can sleep. Early on the morning of the race, I have 3 espressos and maybe a gel, so 250-350 mg for race day.
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Re: Do you give up caffeine before races? [colinlaughery] [ In reply to ]
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colinlaughery wrote:
I never give it up before and never will.

I just consume extra on race day and never have had a problem.

Agree!^^^^ Why feel shitty for a few days when you get off it? Never made sense to me. There's enough stress on a race week without adding more.
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Re: Do you give up caffeine before races? [ggeiger] [ In reply to ]
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So the 5-energy I take before a race is a bad thing?

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Re: Do you give up caffeine before races? [NeverEnough] [ In reply to ]
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Yes.

I gave it up cold turkey a few months ago. As a theory to combat cramping issues. (The first week was kind of brutal - full-up withdrawal symptoms. Didn't want to be around me. After that it was OK.)

And, yes, your body absolutely responds better. It has an enormous effect. Instead of caffeine serving basically to make you functionally alert, you're in superhuman mode almost all day after just one coffee. And a 12 oz. Coke, which in the past would have basically no effect on me at all, now has a big effect

I stop all the time, except race day. I'm a bike racer, so that basically means I ingest caffeine most weekends right now. That seems sufficient for me not to re-develop a tolerance.

Also, my cramps are 1000% better. Yesterday I did a 127-mile dirt/road ride with 12,500 feet of climbing in 75-95 degree heat while hanging with Cat 1-2 riders, and had no problem with cramping. That's new ground for me. I don't know for a fact that the caffeine did this (through allowing better absorption of magnesium/calcium, etc) because at the same time I started a whole slew of anti-cramping practices. But, nevertheless, my cramping is definitely vastly lessened.

My performance has also been hugely improved this year. Don't know if that's related either, though.

I do sometimes miss coffee. But not so much because of alertness, but because of the ritual. I have no problem waking up in the morning since stopping. (excepting the first week)
Last edited by: trail: Mar 29, 15 16:27
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Re: Do you give up caffeine before races? [NeverEnough] [ In reply to ]
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Yes, I skip my morning coffee race day.
2 things happen- I dont have a full bladder mid race, and I get cranky on the run which makes me reach the finish line quicker LoL

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Re: Do you give up caffeine before races? [NeverEnough] [ In reply to ]
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I have but won't again. For me it is my adhd medicine and anytime I have tried other aspects of my life go to crap which ends up hurting more than anything I might gain from getting a little extra on race day.
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Re: Do you give up caffeine before races? [NeverEnough] [ In reply to ]
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I stop / cut-back heavily (from ~6 caffeinated drinks per day to 0 or 1) one week prior to race. I'll have first dose of caffeine 15-30 mins before the swim start and then go heavy on caffeinated gels during the race. I think it does help.
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Re: Do you give up caffeine before races? [NeverEnough] [ In reply to ]
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I did for IMTX last year and I think it worked pretty well. It's hard to tell with a sample size of 1 though. I gave it up a month before. I trained and raced with caffeinated GUs and after giving up coffee, they did seem to give me more of an immediate boost of energy since my tolerance went down. Again, I'm not sure how much of that was the placebo effect or if it really made any difference.
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Re: Do you give up caffeine before races? [NeverEnough] [ In reply to ]
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According to my Exercise Physiology Professor (who also happens to be the head of the department, so I trust me) He says that the best way to utilize Caffeine pre race is to completely give it up 4 days before, any more than that is not necessary, and than 1 hour before your race 5 milligrams of Caffeine per KG of body weight. He also told me that all the research he has done (he did a massive research project on the use of Caffeine in marathon runners) shows that anywhere from 3-9 milligrams is the recommended amount, but he says he recommends 5 mg, but depending on the individual and how sensitive they are, you can back down to three. I know I go by it religiously and it helps me!

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Re: Do you give up caffeine before races? [Hennessyr] [ In reply to ]
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Hennessyr wrote:
According to my Exercise Physiology Professor (who also happens to be the head of the department, so I trust me) He says that the best way to utilize Caffeine pre race is to completely give it up 4 days before, any more than that is not necessary, and than 1 hour before your race 5 milligrams of Caffeine per KG of body weight. He also told me that all the research he has done (he did a massive research project on the use of Caffeine in marathon runners) shows that anywhere from 3-9 milligrams is the recommended amount, but he says he recommends 5 mg, but depending on the individual and how sensitive they are, you can back down to three. I know I go by it religiously and it helps me!

Good....i like the 4 days vs the month abstinence!
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Re: Do you give up caffeine before races? [NeverEnough] [ In reply to ]
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I don't drink caffeine on race day just because I never drink it that early in the morning. But I don't cut back the week prior either.

To be perfectly honest, I've raced with and without caffeine and have never really noticed a difference in performance. But I'm the guy that can drink strong coffee and then immediately go to bed. So maybe it just "doesn't work" on me.

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Re: Do you give up caffeine before races? [mrtopher1980] [ In reply to ]
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mrtopher1980 wrote:
I have but won't again. For me it is my adhd medicine and anytime I have tried other aspects of my life go to crap which ends up hurting more than anything I might gain from getting a little extra on race day.

So, do you take your meds every day including race day? I usually skip mine on the weekends or take it after my long training sessions.
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Re: Do you give up caffeine before races? [DrMonkeyhead] [ In reply to ]
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DrMonkeyhead wrote:
mrtopher1980 wrote:
I have but won't again. For me it is my adhd medicine and anytime I have tried other aspects of my life go to crap which ends up hurting more than anything I might gain from getting a little extra on race day.


So, do you take your meds every day including race day? I usually skip mine on the weekends or take it after my long training sessions.

Any actual ADHD meds give me crazy anxiety and really screw with my HR, I have some issues with dizziness from allergy/sinus problems and would get crazy spikes when standing up. Blood pressure would stay even but heart rate would go from say 60-180 in 2 seconds, the adhd meds seemed to really exaggerate that and almost had a few instances of passing out while lifting.. as in not a great time.

So I figured out that caffeine seems to keep me fairly even and I try to stick to 3 "cups" (about 30oz total fluid) per day 7 days a week. Sometimes on weekends I'll back off since I don't need to focus as much.
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