Caffeine has long been known to increase endurance, but when should you time your cup of joe (or perhaps your Run Gum) for optimal performance on workout and race days?
Coach Hayley explains in this daily podcast!
Audio Transcript
Coach Hayley: Hey Runners Connect fans. Welcome to the Runners Connect, Run to the Top, Extra Kick podcast. Hope you guys are having a great day, and thanks so much for tuning in.
We have a question from Louise today about when to take coffee for a race or workout.
Louise: When should I drink coffee for a race or workout, for maximum benefits?
Are there any side effects to be wary of? For instance, is coffee a diuretic? Can this cause cramping? Thanks.
Hayley: That’s a great question, Louise. I really love that one. I’m a massive fan of the pre-race coffee.
More than two thirds of Olympic athletes use coffee to improve their running performance, so they must be on to something.
Research has shown that caffeine boosts mental alertness, improves motivation, and reduces perception of effort.
It also enhances the body’s ability to use fat as a fuel, sparing glycogen for later in the race.
With so many benefits, it’s no wonder it’s also been shown to improve race times. Every 5K caffeine pre- race was shown to improve performance by 1-1.1% that’s over 10 seconds faster for a 20 minute 5K runner.
To answer your first question, when to take it. Most conducted studies have had athletes consume coffee, 60-90 minutes prior to exercise.
Personally, I like to take it 60 minutes before. This makes sure it’s had time to reach my blood stream, but hasn’t started to leave it yet.
However, timing isn’t too important, as it’s absorbed pretty quickly, and has a fairly long half-life. You could still get benefits from consuming it three hours beforehand.
I like an hour though, as I like having that routine pre-race. But knowing that it’s still effective with a large window, means that I don’t get stressed out if it ends up being more like two hours before a race, or if I don’t get it in till 30 minutes beforehand.
Onto the second part of your question, the side effects. You ask about the diuretic effect of coffee.
The answer to that is, in the quantities needed to boost performance, coffee is unlikely to have dehydrating effect.
Researchers have found that caffeine consumption doesn’t result in electrolyte imbalance, and that runners can have up to 550mg of caffeine. That’s five cups of coffee without affecting their hydration status.
As the quantities recommended for improved performance are around 5mg of caffeine for every 2.3 pounds of bodyweight, so that’s around 340mg for 150lb runner, you are unlikely to experience a negative effect on your hydration state.
I’d advise against consuming more than this though, and if you are a heavier runner, I’ll avoid doses of higher than 400mg.
That’s not to say that there aren’t side effects. Some people find that caffeine can cause nervousness, upset stomach, insomnia, anxiety, and a rapid heart rate.
With that in mind, I’d test it out first, to see if you experience these effects. Try it first before a few harder workouts, and see how it affects you.
Personally, for me, it can cause my stomach to be a little bit upset, but that’s quite common with racing anyway. And the positives way outweigh the negatives.
It can make me feel a little nervous and jittery, but I kind of like to be a little bit like that before a race.
It also gives me insomnia if I take it for an evening race. If I’m racing at say 7:00 PM and I take it at 6:00, there’s no way I’m going to sleep before 2:00 AM.
But as long as I’m not doing this more than once every couple of weeks, I’d take the performance-boosting effects over one night’s bad sleep.
I think if you stick to the minimum effective dose, try out and practice first, and don’t rely on it too often, you’ll find that it can be a real help to your race day performance.
Just do make sure you try it out before a hard workout first.
For those of you listening that want to have your questions answered by one of the Runners Connect coaches, head over to runnersconnect.net/daily and click the record button to send your question over.
I hope you enjoyed today’s episode. If you haven’t already, consider heading over to iTunes or your favorite podcast directory and subscribing or leaving a review. It will help us to reach more runners like you.
Finally, I want to thank our sponsor.
It can be so nice to take in your surroundings and be left to your own thoughts on a long quiet run, but sometimes I just need something to distract me.
I don’t often run with music, as I find it doesn’t suit me but I enjoy listening to podcasts like this one.
But one of the things I started to do recently is to use my long runs to listen to a good book.
That’s why I decided to give Audible a try and I’m so glad I did. It’s got a ton of great running and non-running related books to help your run fly by.
I love that you can listen to something comical, to keep your spirits up, or use the time to learn about something new in the world of training, nutrition, and psychology.
I can adapt it to my mood. I’m really into learning about nutrition right now, but sometimes I just need a good thriller to help me escape.
Audibles has a free 30-day trial to test it out and see if it’s for you. Check out Audible’s extensive running selection and start your free 30-day trial at runnersconnect.net/audible
Have a great day and be sure to tune in next time.
Enjoyed this question and answer? Consider subscribing to our daily podcast where we answer your questions.
By subscribing, you get to learn every day while you run or while at the gym. Plus, you can always skip over questions you already know the answer to.
Have your own question? Ask our coaches!