So my wife and I had a few beers and a glass of wine (or two) last night, as we stayed at friends and felt a little obligated when they served us up an amazing feed. In total let’s say 1 beer and 2 glasses of wine.
This morning we both raced and set PR’s. Felt 100% the whole way.
We were having dinner and catching up on wine-protein and we wondered: would we have gone much quicker - if at all - had we not had consumed a few bevvies the previous evening?
Any insights from the ST braintrust?
Completely impossible to answer…To many other factors
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At one time I always abstained the for two nights before a any race. Then one night I went out to a blues bar and had three pints. Set a PR the next day.
Last year the night before timberman we had dinner at a bar with xraycharlie and had a beer and some fairly greasy food. Felt fine the next day, put down a time about 2 minutes slower than my PR at mooseman the previous year (with timberman likely being the harder course of the two).
That being said, I wouldn’t do it now (although I’m not racing at the moment, either), on medication now which reacts fairly poorly with alcohol - specifically its hard to sleep well after I’ve been drinking.
What I try to do is take away the mystique of the race. Here is a question… does a previous night of a beer or two affect your next day’s practice? If not, the answer is probably no for a race as well.
So my wife and I had a few beers and a glass of wine (or two) last night, as we stayed at friends and felt a little obligated when they served us up an amazing feed. In total let’s say 1 beer and 2 glasses of wine.
This morning we both raced and set PR’s. Felt 100% the whole way.
We were having dinner and catching up on wine-protein and we wondered: would we have gone much quicker - if at all - had we not had consumed a few bevvies the previous evening?
Any insights from the ST braintrust?
That’s 3 for a PB ™.
Our lawyers will be contacting you shortly with a cease-and-desist order.
I’m a big fan of a few adult beverages the night before, and as per the slogan, I’ve set numerous PB’s by doing so.
I’ll warn you in advance however, that more is not MORE in this regard - 5 is right out.
I can’t imagine not having my beers when I get done with a long ride or run, and I’ve always had a few the night before a race. Well, OK, I have a couple every night. It’s beer, it’s food. Like any food, it’s fine at the level most of us exercise if taken in moderation.
And once in a while, eat a whole cheesecake and drink a 12 pack. You’ll have fun, and next week it won’t make a single bit of difference in your performance.
While 3 4 PB is clearly a winner and people really need to respect the TM…
IIRC the plan was developed to stop us from having considerably more than 3 the night before rather than as a PED. But then kicking back and having a drink or 2 and relaxing is sure more fun than geeking out about whatever the teetotalers geek out about while we are in the bar. A least it sure seems that way.
A friend and I have done an exhaustive study on pre-race alcohol. While there are negatives to alcohol, there are advantages as well.
before marathon’s , 1/2 IM, and IM, we have worked our way through various alcohol options. Bear in mind we are both MOP so your mileage may vary 
1 drink (the evening before), no apparent advantages or disadvantages that we could tell
2 drinks, similarly, nothing of note either way
3 drinks, relaxed chilled out evening, telling stories of how great we used to be, sleep well except for pee breaks, race fine the next day
4 drinks, tell obvious lies about past victories, sleep like a log, sleep late, wake busting for a piss. Tear off to race and barely make the race start
5 drinks, brag to anyone who will listen, just how close we came to winning Kona, spend all night dribbling on pillow, wake, skip pre-race meal barely make race start
6+ drinks, claim to have won Kona…twice, sleep like a dead man, wake late, grab triple shot short black coffee on way to race. Forget one running shoe, and wetsuit. not worried about forgetting race food as stomach is upset anyway. Swim like hell from wave 6 trying to catch wave 3! Vomit twice, and claim you “took on water” Suffer like a rented mule on bike, trying to regain tolerance for food, and wobble on the run, drinking gallons at each aid station, shouting “I can’t believe I’m so thirsty, I drank heaps last night”
2-3 seems to be my preferred approach, but I don’t race to win, so pick your number to suit your goals.
I’ve heard that Irish car bombs in transition have performance enhancing properties.
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A friend and I have done an exhaustive study on pre-race alcohol. While there are negatives to alcohol, there are advantages as well.
before marathon’s , 1/2 IM, and IM, we have worked our way through various alcohol options. Bear in mind we are both MOP so your mileage may vary
1 drink (the evening before), no apparent advantages or disadvantages that we could tell
2 drinks, similarly, nothing of note either way
3 drinks, relaxed chilled out evening, telling stories of how great we used to be, sleep well except for pee breaks, race fine the next day
4 drinks, tell obvious lies about past victories, sleep like a log, sleep late, wake busting for a piss. Tear off to race and barely make the race start
5 drinks, brag to anyone who will listen, just how close we came to winning Kona, spend all night dribbling on pillow, wake, skip pre-race meal barely make race start
6+ drinks, claim to have won Kona…twice, sleep like a dead man, wake late, grab triple shot short black coffee on way to race. Forget one running shoe, and wetsuit. not worried about forgetting race food as stomach is upset anyway. Swim like hell from wave 6 trying to catch wave 3! Vomit twice, and claim you “took on water” Suffer like a rented mule on bike, trying to regain tolerance for food, and wobble on the run, drinking gallons at each aid station, shouting “I can’t believe I’m so thirsty, I drank heaps last night”
2-3 seems to be my preferred approach, but I don’t race to win, so pick your number to suit your goals.
Our research seems to concur with your findings. Glad to see peer review working so well on ST.
NO. Booze is critical to survival and makes everything better - although the stronger the booze the better (i.e. bourbon is much better than beer)
2 or 3 a night is good for you.
I tried everything to get a beer at my first ironman distance, didn’t get it, didn’t finish, ergo…
Have secret stash for IMC.
After multiple failed attempts with higher doses, we figured we’d passed the “sweet spot” and have cut back to 3 the night before as having the biggest bang for the buck, without the nasty consequences.
LIfe is for living
“there can’t be good living where there’s not good drinking” - Ben Franklin (banned from early internet forums)
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“there can’t be good living where there’s not good drinking” - Ben Franklin (banned from early internet forums)
There is a supermarket chain here in New Zealand (called New World of all things) and their motto for a while was “everything in moderation, even moderation” The best TV ad was of a woman buying a huge pile of chocolate bars, and smiling at the checkout chick. “Funny as”
See, drinking alcohol is the answer. I keep my wife this but she doesn’t believe me.
Don’t change anything on race week. If you drink a a couple beers a night during training, don;t stop race week!
I was accidentally drunk the night before one of my best races. I feel like it helped…But I dont make a habit of drinking before races anyways.
I was accidentally drunk the night before one of my best races. I feel like it helped…But I dont make a habit of drinking before races anyways.
Accidentally drunk?! Hysterical. Curious how that works. Here’s some thoughts:
-I have no idea how that beer ended up in my hands.
-I was trying to hydrate. I swear I thought it was just water, not vodka.
-Someone spiked my sports drink.
-They held me down and forced me to drink it.
Glad you had a good race.