Never stop carb loading via beer! A Guinness a day...

I wouldn't get plastered, but having a drink is not a bad thing.

You have to understand the physiology of alcohol and plan for, or counter act the negative effects.

I used to go on the wagon leading up to a big race and I can't say for certain whether it helped me or hurt me. What I do know is that I started to crave some adult beverages, would go out and get plastered, be miserable and then go back on the wagon because it felt so crappy.

I think you have to find your own comfort level, just as with anything.

I've never found a drink or two to cause a problem, as long as I keep drinking plenty of water aswell. I avoid having more than one or two for a couple of weeks before racing.

As a general rule I do not drink much. But my PR at the Chicago Tri - formerly Mrs T's - came after a night of heavy margarita drinking.

Don't normally have anything 24 hrs before an event but the best tri I ever did was after going to a jazz bar and having a few pints the night before.

I've both obstained and partaken the night before races and have found little to no difference. I don't drink a lot, just a glass of wine with dinner, so I usually do that with my dinner the night before a race too. But, I always make sure that I drink copious amounts of water, gatorade and eload the day before a race. However, I do avoid carbonated beverages the few days before a race. Not that there is a connection, but it seems whenever I have carbonated beverages (pop, beer) and then try to do a hard run the next day, I seem to get brutal side stitches. Call it coincidence, or not, it is just one of those things I do now. (I save the beer for after the race - it can be a good carrot in those rough races!) I guess most of it is personal preference. Remember, one drink can relax you enough to allow you to rest well the night before.

Good luck!

I try not to have anything about two days before a smaller race. I laid off a whole week for IM.

Made up for it afterward though.

Some of my best training runs and rides were after a night of about three or four Harp beers.

I used to be a fanatic, this year, I've had a beer the night before - good carb loading!

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When I ran cross-country in college about 100 years ago, I had considerable experience with this issue. I drank the night before my early season races since they don't really count. Not slobbering drunk, but probably 4-6 beers. In about the middle of the season I decided to get serious and not drink the night before. I had a crappy race. Needless to say I went back to having a few the night before. The key is moderation in everything, including moderation.

I've never even tasted an alcoholic beverage. Not once in my entire life.

It is an activity that does not benefit me in any way.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

I usually have a beer the night before.
There is going to be no difference in how one races if you have a drink the evening before a race. I've set PB's both ways.
It is easier to do a bike race after 9 margaritas than a duathlon after 5 though.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Johnny99 is clearly a seasoned boozer. 4-6 Beers and I'd be totally garalous man, what giveth bro...........think of hydration man....every piss you sip, every piss you piss........and with it goes minerals, salt, carbs and caslcium hermafrodite. So tone it right down.....but hit hard as I do when the kidney is okay...mmmmmmmmmmm jumpin jehosaphat

How much do you drink normally? If you normally have a glass a wine or two with dinner, then go ahead and have one before your race. I think it is best not to deprive yourself of the things you enjoy. You might have to moderate them to make them fit into your overall life/fitness goals, but why battle with yourself over a glass of wine or some ice cream. Just don't over do it.

How do you know..."It is an activity that does not benefit me in any way"...

...when..."I've never even tasted an alcoholic beverage. Not once in my entire life"...?

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"Language most shows a man: Speak, that I may see thee. It springs out of the most retired and inmost parts of us, and is the image of the parents of it, the mind. No glass so mirrors a man's form or likeness so true as his speech." - Ben Jonson, Timber, or Discoveries made upon Men and Matter.

Kitty,

here's a good reason why you should have that drink.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3855813.stm

"It is an activity that does not benefit me in any way. "

Scientific evidence suggests other wise. Everything in moderation.

Try reading this:

http://www.combose.com/...ine/Health_Benefits/

Well I've had an adult beverage twice since last October..one beer each time. Sure tasted good. Maybe after IM MOO I will get plastered and stay plastered for couple of months. LOL

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Trying to find ways to pass the time.

But if you drank, Tom, at least you'd have an excuse for being fat.

I was actually a fairly seasoned boozer back in college. These were also shorter efforts when compared to tri and du events. We started the season with 4 mile races and went to 5 miles toward the late season. I'm no longer trying to write 'Dear John' letters from my brain to my liver. I'll try to limit it to 2 or 3.

My favorite sports drink ;)

moderation is everything. I did try a couple of times not drinking alcohol for a week before big races, but didn't notice any difference, nor did my times show any significant difference. Several of my run PR's happened the morning after boozing it up, but that's more than likely just because races are always on Sat or Sun mornings, and what else would I have been doing on Fri or Sat nights ?

These days I never drink more than a couple of glasses of wine anyhoo. Frankly I don't pay attention to it, so I can't say if it has any effect - can't remember which races I did or didn't drink beforehand..

Heavy drinking will cause dehydration, so it's probably not a good idea. That's about all..

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"It is a good feeling for old men who have begun to fear failure, any sort of failure, to set a schedule for exercise and stick to it. If an aging man can run a distance of three miles, for instance, he knows that whatever his other failures may be, he is not completely wasted away." Romain Gary, SI interview

I swore that after my first IM I would do race with beer in my bottles and White Castles in the t-area, but that stupid USAT rule gets in the way.

Seriously though, nothing new on "race day". If you are accustomed to a beer or two with dinner, and have done it throughout training, don't stop the night before a race. I usually have one or two the night before because that's the way it is alot of normal nights, I like my beer. And it helps getting me to sleep.

When I was a kid my dad got drunk and tried to kill our family. He shot at me five times in the kitchen. My mom had to push him down a staircase. He spent the next eight years in a mental hospital or jail. Not sure which.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Well, that explains why you never tried alcohol. I probably wouldn't have either if it had been me.

That sucks, man.