Sprint duathlons, from the gun. Usually not after except for a caffeinated gel...

How much do you take pre-race?

In Ironman’s and 1/2’s I have a cup of coffee in the morning, a gel with caffeine just before the swim, and then I avoid caffeine until late into the run for a boost.

Sprint: 1 hour before the race only
Oly: 1 hour pre race; on bike

As soon as I wake up... :-)

Awe....!!! You beat me to it.

Oly: Generally about 20 minutes before I am done the bike leg I will take a gel with caffeine.

I mainly just do 70.3s. Race morning I'll have a 5hr energy first, then a redbull in the shower, and then I have my 375mg preworkout right before the swim. I might have a coffee too. Then gels at every 10mi roughly on the bike, 100mg Clif Gel Expresso. I might have a couple gels on the run.


I typically start off with 4 shots of espresso and then a 375mg load in my pre, leading to my first workout. I typically have another 4 shots if I do a 2/day or 3/day with 100mg gels every 10mi. I rode 492mi in the past 7 days, so likely have had 49 100mg gels - its sick.

I do feel that we can pull from our adrenal gland too much, so keep close tabs on making sure I'm not giving myself caffeine overload. Usually if I am getting caffeine overload, I get anxiety and the jitters. I back off of the caffeine at times, especially in the training phases before a race so that the potency during the race is slightly higher.

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https://www.strava.com/...tes/zachary_mckinney

Coffee in the morning before the race. one 75mg Caffeine gel midway through the bike. Then a 150mg caffeine gel 3/4 into the run. I feel like the 150mg gel gives a big boost in terms of energy and easing the pain.

If you can its best to try decrease your caffeine intake a couple of weeks before the race so it has a bigger effect for the race.

2 cups coffee a day 10am-ish and 8pm-ish
If I've got a harder run session later I'll have a Red Bull / Relentless at Lunch instead of a smoothie.


Don't use caffeine gels when racing as they give me ibs

After midnight.

Am I understanding correctly that all during the morning of a 70.3, you take a 5 hr energy, a redbull, plus another 375mg caffeine? So a morning total of about 600mg? Wow, thats a lot!!

This cannot be serious

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Gone with the wind

Instagram: palmtreestriathlon

Almost ... I stop at Wawa on the way to the race

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Agreed. Isn't caffeine a controlled substance ? It was for cycling anyways if I remember....
It's plant based, so it must be healthy :-p.

Louis :-)

I don't think 600mg would actually put you over the limit.......but might give some of us a heart attack! :)

*** Correction, I don't think it is banned now, used to be in certain high concentrations. Via google, looks like it may have been removed from WADA's banned list 10+ years ago

200mg at wake-up
200mg before swim
200mg mid-bike
200mg early run
(For a full)

Race morning I'll usually bring a 16 oz mug of coffee, drink as much as I feel up to about 90 mins before start. No specific reason to stop at 90 just find that's when I usually feel like I've had enough. For Oly I'll do caffeine gel 15 mins before the swim, then have a bottle with 200 kcal of caffeinated tailwind on the bike. Don't usually drink all of it, depends on how I'm feeling. Then the run is just whatever is on course, usually find caffeine at that intensity running doesn't feel good. For 70.3, same morning routine, coffee with breakfast/ while getting ready. Then no caffeine before the swim, and none on the bike unless I'm feeling particularly rough. Then I'll switch to caffeine gels during the run. The plan for my first full was to do something roughly similar, if not try and hold off caffeine until after the first hour-ish of the run.

Daily I'll usually an espresso before morning session (big workout of the day). Some workouts I'll use caffeinated fuel, but only if it's particularly bitey or I feel the need, probably once every two weeks. I'll also occasionally throw in caffeine gels at the end of long runs/ rides. Then usually 2-3 smaller mugs of coffee throughout the morning (6ish ounces each). I usually stop around lunch, but working from home coincided with me bringing a proper espresso machine back from the grave, has reintroduced the afternoon coffee to our routine.

This is a myth.

Too much caffeine will upset your stomach and give you the shits.
Use wisely.

I have a nice cup of coffee in the morning to get the bowels cleared.
After that I don't touch it until I drink cola on the run.

For an Ironman I might have the odd caffeinated gel starting midway through the bike.

For bike racing I always take a caffeine tablet instead of coffee otherwise I'd have to piss too much and the pack doesn't wait.

Vivarin?

The recommended dose for endurance sports is 3-9mg/kg of bodyweight, so 600mg isn't really out of line. This article from TP says 5-6mg/kg before exercise, so even with the lower recommendation hes not way beyond what research would recommend, at least pre-workout. To be fair, though, it does sound like an awful lot to me.
https://www.trainingpeaks.com/...e-endurance-athlete/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/...articles/PMC5752738/

6-8 cups a day normally. And by “cups” I mean according to the coffee maker. Not actual coffee mugs full.

I wonder at that dose how long the effects last, is there a crash afterwards (before end of race), and can you lift back up by simply taking more a few hours later?