I typically drink 2 cups of DECAF everyday at work. Actually you could call it one large cup. It took a while but I totally weened myself off of caffiene recently. Anyway, does anyone think that there is any performance effect from drinking DECAF? I kind of doubt it, but do you think it has any effect on hydration? I should also note that I avoid GU etc that has caffeine as well…
sz
Coffee? Yes, please. Decaf? No, thank you.
I cannot understand why anyone would do this to themself. Why remove one of the very few pleasures of getting up in the morning? 
Decaf coffee has some caffeine in it, but nothing that I would worry about. I doubt very much that it has a measurable effect on hydration or anything else.
Please don’t tell me that you also don’t eat chocolate!
Dawn
Humm,
I used not to drink coffee at all!
Then I started drink a little before races!
Last race I drunk too much!!! lol…
I think coffee in SMALL amount is beneficial!
Last race my heart beats were so high that I started to feel tired. But I don’t drink coffee everytday and before the race I had a BIG mug of black coffee.
I will keep drinking coffee before my races and maybe every other day but in small amounts!!
Peace,
Bruno
I am truly a recovering caffiene addict. I just saw too many detrimental effects from coffee and too much caffiene. I enjoy the taste still, but I must admit it is not the same. If I really need a boost, I will drink a cup.
And no, I love chocolate–I’m not crazy enough to give that up.
I drink decaf too and get wierd looks.
but the caffiene is bad for you, its better to be not addicted to things.
but the caffiene is bad for you
Have you ever heard how they get the caffiene *out *of the coffee? Not exactly a health recipe.
Coffee is not bad in moderation. It is one of the things I enjoy guilt free - I drink it black so zero cals. Have two cups in the a.m. … grind the beans, make in a bodum … aaahhh sweet nectar of the gods !
Decaf just doesn’t taste right !
Tri Hard !
" its better to be not addicted to things. "
And what do you call training every day twice a day?
I like it in the mornings, but can do without as long as I get a morning workout.
But the 2:30 p.m. cup is MANDATORY, but only on work days.
As much as I drink, I should be an addict. But on weekends or vacations, I don’t even think about drinking coffee. I think it’s more of a psychological thing for me.
I just saw too many detrimental effects from coffee and too much caffiene.<<
And this would be???
G.I. effects and dehydration which couldn’t seem to be countered by drinking water to balance it out. It might just be me.
I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE, I LOVE CAFFEINE,
oh yeh did I mention I LOVE CAFFEINE
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I too drink decaf. I gave up my 4 mugs of full test when I got pregnant, and started drinking decaf. Haven’t gone back for most work days, unless I’m super wiped and really need the pick-me-up. If I drink the full-test stuff all the time, the effect of the caffeine is negligible. If I only drink full-test occasionally, I really notice the 'ffeine.
I dunno. Guess it’s just oral fixation. 
I HAVE to have one cup of coffee every day. I guess that’s an addiction, but doesn’t seem too bad because it’s just one cup. That one cup is good for up to a two hour workout for me. No more during the rest of the day. Chocolate, what’s that?
I quit drinking coffee in 1974! Before that time, I was a serious runner and read an article around 1971 how drinking coffee straight (without sugar or cream) increased your endurance in long races. Evidently the caffeine in coffee helped free the fatty acids in the blood and allowed the body to use it as a source of energy during your long run. Well I tried it the morning of my usual 20mi training run. About the only thing it did for me was to give me heartburn and I made several pit stops. Some people swear by it, but I always did well without it. It’s funny because just recently I think in a running or triathlon magazine, I read an article on the benefits of coffee in endurance type sports. It was written as if this was something new!! I think you’re better off not having a craving than trying to control a craving.
Coffee has recently been shown to provide no detrimental effects as far as dehydration. IN fact studies show that you take in just as much fluid as you do if you were to drink the same amount of water. As far as physiological benefits, I know the africans are notorious for drinking coffee prior to a race, as far as it is for me, a workout never really gets going without my coffee. And god forbid I forget my flat coke in a race!
I only like caffiene in the following forms: black coffee, coca-cola, mt. dew, red bull, that new eBud drink, chocolate, and gels. Other than that, I try to avoid it.
my job involves getting caffiene into people’s system - in the form of espresso
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Last year I quit a gallon-a-day iced tea habit. Didn’t notice any hydration effects (I replaced the tea with diluted Gatorade). However, I now take caffeine pills before training rides and this REALLY makes a difference if your system is clean of caffeine most of the time.