Wine and running

Why not beer for the carbs? I always enjoy splitting a pitcher of
something hearty with a friend over a nice plate of pasta or pizza the
night before a race. And, what the hell, why not have a glass of vino.

eNo said:

Many of you may have heard of the marathon in France where wine is served
along the way (at water stations?). You may have also heard warnings about
abstaining from alcohol consumption before a "big run." And finally, you may
have read about the anti-oxidant benefits of red wine consumed in
moderation. Taking care not to inject too much alcohol into one's system
makes sense, given that -- if I am not mistaken -- one's body turns sugar
into alcohol (althoubeit of a different kind) during a run.

So... what, in your experience, is okay wine consumption prior and following
a "big run" such as a marathon. How many days in advance must one abstain?
How many days after must one wait to resume moderate consumption, of, say,
1-2 glasses with dinner once or twice a week?

eNo said:

So... what, in your experience, is okay wine consumption prior and following
a "big run" such as a marathon. How many days in advance must one abstain?
How many days after must one wait to resume moderate consumption, of, say,
1-2 glasses with dinner once or twice a week?

I've enjoyed a glass or two after both a completed marathon and a DNF.
Couldn't, and can't, imagine what harm that'd do - unless you're in
pretty bad shape after the race, with a named condition like "severely
dehydrated" or worse, not just "kinda tired and beat up".

If you drink wine (or beer, or whatever) daily or nearly so, I'd also
think a single glass the night before unlikely to be a bad thing - and
if you're really accustomed to it, skipping that glass may even make it
tougher to relax and sleep, no? You could be closer to certain if
you'd tried it the night before long training runs and other races.

This is only based on my limited experience and reading others'
accounts; I'm no doctor nor alcohol expert. And lest you think me
overly permissive in these matters, I absolutely recommend against
eating a six course dinner with a couple glasses of wine and one of
champagne closer than 3.5 hours to an evening race, at least if you're
running for performance. Though some of those crazy ultra guys might
beg to differ. ;-)

"O, mais oui, mon cher. Such a busy body, too, you.
Been there. Done that."
~ Dr. Kay Scarpetta

"Charlie Pendejo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

If you drink wine (or beer, or whatever) daily or nearly so, I'd also
think a single glass the night before unlikely to be a bad thing - and
if you're really accustomed to it, skipping that glass may even make
it
tougher to relax and sleep, no? You could be closer to certain if
you'd tried it the night before long training runs and other races.

For me and only me, I will usually abstain for a few days before a race
and I don't know why, but I do like a pint or two to go with dinner the
night before. I claim it makes me sleep better but ion fact like the
taste and does not affect my running. As for after a race, unless I'm
feeling real bad from excess heat, the first thing I reach for after I
cross the finish line is a brew and lately that is Heineken. Good
carbs!!

I don't think it's a good idea to drink during a race although some of
my races do offer some.

Quoted message said:

This is only based on my limited experience and reading others'
accounts; I'm no doctor nor alcohol expert. And lest you think me
overly permissive in these matters, I absolutely recommend against
eating a six course dinner with a couple glasses of wine and one of
champagne closer than 3.5 hours to an evening race, at least if you're
running for performance. Though some of those crazy ultra guys might
beg to differ. ;-)

No comment. 🙂

-DougF

eNo said:

So... what, in your experience, is okay wine consumption prior and following
a "big run" such as a marathon. How many days in advance must one abstain?
How many days after must one wait to resume moderate consumption, of, say,
1-2 glasses with dinner once or twice a week?

None. Wine is for "candy-ass frenchies", here we drink BEER!

Doug Freese said:

"Charlie Pendejo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

If you drink wine (or beer, or whatever) daily or nearly so, I'd also
think a single glass the night before unlikely to be a bad thing - and
if you're really accustomed to it, skipping that glass may even make
it
tougher to relax and sleep, no? You could be closer to certain if
you'd tried it the night before long training runs and other races.

For me and only me, I will usually abstain for a few days before a race
and I don't know why, but I do like a pint or two to go with dinner the
night before. I claim it makes me sleep better but ion fact like the
taste and does not affect my running.

At least you're honest. Alcohol will have a
detrimental effect on endurance (it's a nervous
system and respiratory depressant) but in small
amount and with food not as much. As a diuretic
drinking during a race would clearly encourage
dehydration and loss of electrolytes, which is far
more serious IMO. Not a surprising practice in
France though...

As for after a race, unless I'm

Quoted message said:

feeling real bad from excess heat, the first thing I reach for after I
cross the finish line is a brew and lately that is Heineken. Good
carbs!!

I don't think it's a good idea to drink during a race although some of
my races do offer some.

Quoted message said:

This is only based on my limited experience and reading others'
accounts; I'm no doctor nor alcohol expert. And lest you think me
overly permissive in these matters, I absolutely recommend against
eating a six course dinner with a couple glasses of wine and one of
champagne closer than 3.5 hours to an evening race, at least if you're
running for performance. Though some of those crazy ultra guys might
beg to differ. ;-)

No comment. 🙂

-DougF

The Dolt said:

eNo said:

So... what, in your experience, is okay wine consumption prior and following
a "big run" such as a marathon. How many days in advance must one abstain?
How many days after must one wait to resume moderate consumption, of, say,
1-2 glasses with dinner once or twice a week?

None. Wine is for "candy-ass frenchies", here we drink BEER!

Wine is generally 11% = 12% ABV, while beer is rarely more than 5% (and
if you drink American "beer" (known in Britain as "gnat's [censored]) it's
likely to be less than that).

So no, you're wrong. The Frenchies are the hard dudes - it's the beer
drinkers who are wusses.

Doug Freese said:

I don't think it's a good idea to drink during a race although some of
my races do offer some.

I ran the The Wine Country Half Marathon in Napa California last year.
They were serving small samples of Wine at some aid stations. Since I
hadn't practiced drinking while training, I passed on the alcohol. I
did see some runners doing odd things, but I just assumed they were
local California types.

--
Phil M.

eNo said:

Many of you may have heard of the marathon in France where wine is served
along the way (at water stations?).

They also serve oysters, foie gras on toast and rib steaks at various
points. Those are for the "marathon tourists", no-one trying to run the
Médoc seriously will take anything like it during the race.

Quoted message said:

You may have also heard warnings about
abstaining from alcohol consumption before a "big run." And finally, you may
have read about the anti-oxidant benefits of red wine consumed in
moderation. Taking care not to inject too much alcohol into one's system
makes sense, given that -- if I am not mistaken -- one's body turns sugar
into alcohol (althoubeit of a different kind) during a run.

It makes even more sense in that alcohol is a diuretic and will cause you
to lose proportionally more fluids than you get from the drink. I had a
half-bottle of chianti with dinner before my last marathon and am certain
is wasn't a good idea.

Quoted message said:

So... what, in your experience, is okay wine consumption prior and following
a "big run" such as a marathon.

A glass at the end of the evening meal is fine if you're used to it and if
you remember to drink extra water during the rest of the evening to make
up for losses.

If you get completely arseholed, it can take days to get over it in terms
of peak racing form.

Quoted message said:

How many days in advance must one abstain?

None if you only drink just a glass with one meal during the day, but if
you can abstain, it's better.

Quoted message said:

How many days after must one wait to resume moderate consumption, of, say,
1-2 glasses with dinner once or twice a week?

None AFAIK. You might want to avoid alcohol on the day of the marathon
though many runners swear by a decent beer afterwards.

Steve, abstaining (again) alcoholic

Doug Freese said:

and I don't know why, but I do like a pint or two to go with dinner the
night before. I claim it makes me sleep better

The anxiolytic effect is quite real and I suspect is quite "useful" if, as
you say, it doesn't cause anything else to malfunction.

"eNo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Many of you may have heard of the marathon in France where wine is served
along the way (at water stations?). You may have also heard warnings about
abstaining from alcohol consumption before a "big run." And finally, you may
have read about the anti-oxidant benefits of red wine consumed in
moderation. Taking care not to inject too much alcohol into one's system
makes sense, given that -- if I am not mistaken -- one's body turns sugar
into alcohol (althoubeit of a different kind) during a run.

So... what, in your experience, is okay wine consumption prior and following
a "big run" such as a marathon. How many days in advance must one abstain?
How many days after must one wait to resume moderate consumption, of, say,
1-2 glasses with dinner once or twice a week?

My experience - yes, done in the interests of science - is that you can perform pretty
well for maybe 20 min after a glass of wine or can of beer, but after that it gets really
hard to regulate body temp. I wouldn't be surprised if a quick wine in the last two or
three Km of a marathon would be a plus. Before that, I think you'd put yourself into
serious distress. But maybe there is some more science experiments needed.

As far as tapering drinking before "the big day". I guess I wouldn't drink a whole
bottle the night before a 1/2 M, but two or three glasses, no problems!

I expect it would help with glycogen storage...

Chypho...

Quoted message said:

Wine is generally 11% = 12% ABV, while beer is rarely more than 5% (and
if you drink American "beer" (known in Britain as "gnat's [censored]) it's
likely to be less than that).

So no, you're wrong. The Frenchies are the hard dudes - it's the beer
drinkers who are wusses.

You couldn't be more wrong. I drink Guiness.

Quoted message said:

Wine is generally 11% = 12% ABV, while beer is rarely more than 5% (and
if you drink American "beer" (known in Britain as "gnat's [censored]) it's
likely to be less than that).

So no, you're wrong. The Frenchies are the hard dudes - it's the beer
drinkers who are wusses.

The only thing "hard" on the frenchies is the smell from the pigs.

Phil M. said:

I
did see some runners doing odd things

Butt sex is common in California.

"Phil M." <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I ran the The Wine Country Half Marathon in Napa California last year.
They were serving small samples of Wine at some aid stations. Since I
hadn't practiced drinking while training, I passed on the alcohol.

I have run while pretty tanked, in the summer on the way
home from a night at the bar. I must have had half a dozen
pints. I lived about 2km away and thought it would be fun.
It wasn't that hard, actually.

I wouldn't fare too well if I had to race, however!

cheers,
--
David Hirsh, director
www.urbanburn.com - half marathon, full throttle!
www.absolutelyaccurate.com - Hamilton's summer series!

SwStudio said:

I have run while pretty tanked, in the summer on the way
home from a night at the bar. I must have had half a dozen
pints. I lived about 2km away and thought it would be fun.
It wasn't that hard, actually.

I wouldn't fare too well if I had to race, however!

Alchoholics seldom do.

run through a vineyard and drink some great wine in Chile:
www.runningvacation.com

Quoted message said:

run through a vineyard and drink some great wine in Chile:

Most wine is best at room temp.

"Charlie Pendejo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

...
This is only based on my limited experience and reading others'
accounts; I'm no doctor nor alcohol expert. And lest you think me
overly permissive in these matters, I absolutely recommend against
eating a six course dinner with a couple glasses of wine and one of
champagne closer than 3.5 hours to an evening race, at least if you're
running for performance. Though some of those crazy ultra guys might
beg to differ. ;-)

Though I'm not a crazy ultra guy, rather I'm a crazy guy who has run a few
ultras, If my race is going to be over 2 hours it works for me to eat as
much as possible the day before a race (1.5-2x normal), but stopping by
early evening to insure assimilation. This doesn't include alcohol however.

-Tony