bought a little tea house tea pot thing and now drink proper posh tea
inadvertently the first tea I chose was gunpowder tea which is caffeine free
and if just drink that tea all day I get slight headache from lack of caffeine
as someone who drinks lots of tea and a bit of coffee on the hour every hour, it's made me wonder about the effects of caffeine withdrawl during and after long runs maybe weening off caffeine is the way to go
thoughts peeps??
Caffeine screws my heart rate up therefore i try to avoid itOriginally Posted by Zinal
The older I get the Faster I was
I don't want to be seen as advacating the use of Caffine, but i really must admit, it really has helped me improve my training over the past couple of years.
I find that with my Job, I'm really tired before sessions, so caffine be it 'Red Bull' (or similar soft drink) or coffee. before i go training really give me the boost i need... i used to take a supplement in tablet form, but i can't remember the name of it now... but all these i had the effect of basically starting my engines, i was then able to do the rest myself, and can also recover quickly during interval work with a little help from Lucozade (or similar ).
I must Stress with all these i usually either water them down, or drink plenty of water with them, as they can have an adverse effect of obviously dehydrating you.
Can't beat a bottle of flat diet coke 30 mins before a short race. The perfect caffiene boost
Fitness can't be stored. It must be earned over and over, indefinitely.
Zinal, if you are going to go caffine free be preparted for a rough ride for a couple of days. Done it a few times, once falling asleep in the park whist supervising the kids
Caffeine is my stimulant of choice, particularly before a race.
Race morning usually consists of:
1. 2 slices of toast and jam with a huge mug of strong caffeinated coffee.
2. Trip to the toilet
3. Plenty of water to counteract the dehydrating effects of the caffeine
4. Several more trips to the toilet
5. Race - nice and 'empty' with heart rate already elevated by the caffeine and mind focussed on the job in hand.
Having gone through the same routine for several years I would find it really tough to race without it
I have also read that caffeine has the effect of mobilizing fat reserves in the body allowing you to burn fat more readily as a source of fuel so can be useful before long training runs when trying to burn off bodyfat - seems to have worked for me over the years...
MH
I can't train without a caffine fix... plenty of water as well though (is a must)!
interesting stuff thanks folk, the other thing say is that it's so flippin cheap
one fill of the tea house last all day
oh don't use milk either
anyone anything to say about caffeine withdrawl/headaches after long runs?
Last edited by Zinal; 03-03-2007 at 09:48 PM.
I'm having an old friend for dinner
Re: caffeine
ideally need 2/3 cups strong coffee about 1 hr pre run,provides central nervous stimulation plus increases free fatty acids so you use less muscle glycogen,recently proven to be not the diuretic previously thought and can add to fluid intake; withdrawal headaches due to vasoconstriction of cerebral blood vessels,cold turkey for 3/4 days should cure it!
I also have the withdrawal symptoms if I have no coffee at the weekend. Took me some time to work out what it was. For racing I like to have some coffee before the start. For long races, the gells you can get with caffeine in the are realy good for giving you a boost if you start flaging. My other major caffeine ussage is a 2L bottle of coke for the long drive home after a long race...
As for having none during a long race I have done mountain marathons without caffein, before I worked out it was the cause of the headaches. To be honest I did not notice the headaches or any ill effects, but then after 6-7 hours there is enough low level pain from the rest of my body to cover the headaches. Now adays I tend to have one or two of the gells with caffeine.
Ifor
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