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Caffeine cut off

Mark RobertsMark Roberts
in General Training Discussions

Considering cutting the caffeine before Chattanooga to maximize the race day boost.  I really only drink a few cups (2-3) of coffee in the morning but it is an every day vice.  When do you have to cut it off to adjust and get the race day boost.  Now? 1 week out?

 

Comments

  • Mark CardinaleMark Cardinale

    @Mark - I'm a caffeine junky, but i generally quit the sunday 1 week before my race.  I'll have a cup or two on sunday morning and then that's it until right before the race.  I get through the week with either decaffeinated tea or a decaf coffee.  However, i will have no more than 1 cup of decaf per day.  I get a slight headache on the first few days, but by friday or saturday i'm pretty good.  I take a caffeinated gel 15 minutes before the swim start and i feel like it gets me ready to go without making me jittery.

  • Peter GreaggPeter Greagg
    I don't have much caffeine normally (eg a Diet coke and maybe a coffee).
    I go clean for 2 weeks before races.
  • tim cronktim cronk
    This is another one of those "theory" things that I don't really believe has any merit... Don't think its ever been proven one way or the other... Sure maybe if you quit all caffeine for month's and then re-introduced it to your system??? But a few days or a week is likely to just mess with your bodies normal routines.... I don't know??? Having said that I consume a fair amount of caffeine daily , while training , and racing.... During race week I attempt to cut back the last couple days pre-race in the form of NO coffee after late morning in an attempt to enhance my sleep those last few nights.
  • Brad LoescherBrad Loescher
    x2 for two weeks out and then hold off on caffeinated gels until 2nd half of bike.
  • MattAaronsonMattAaronson
    I don't make any changes to my caffeine intake in the days leading up to a race.
  • William JenksWilliam Jenks
    If you want to play this game, you have to lose your addiction/adaptation. I'm sure Al Truscott or another physician (more acquainted with real data about addiction) could comment more authoritatively about the time frame. However, it has to be long enough that caffeine would have the "kick" it did when you first starting using it, not just the "I need it to get going" that a lot of people have. Think heroin, but tone it down. :-)

    I admit that I am totally guessing here, but I imagine you are talking several weeks, not 1-2.

    Again, someone like Al could probably comment on whether relatively high doses (a few hundred mg) are worth experimenting with if you are already addicted to caffeine. I'm not a huge fan, though I tried it in years past. Yes, I've seen some of the studies about reduced RPE (which is why I tried it), but I'm now concerned that I'd just elevate my HR and that would be counterproductive.
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