Is coffee dangerous?

[Matt]

Chasing people's thoughts on having a coffee mid/late race. I am not a coffee drinker but am a shift worker and have had one or two when I'm dead set shattered. Anyone's thoughts (good or bad) on having one at last checkpoint if needed to perk me up and get me through. Don't know if this will upset the guts or not.

I know that one of our rules is to not try anything new duirng an event that we don't try during training but with only 11ks to go it might just get me across the line when all I will want to do is lie down and sleep.

Any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated.

Mattress.

[ranga]

they supply gels at every ckpt so have 1 every 45mins idid last year, & when i finished have chocolate milk.

[Jaci]

I drink coffee nd find that the Gu gels with caffeine really help. However, if yr body isn't used to it prob not wise to do a test run with only 11km to go! Maybe do some training runs with a coffee stop near the end, or have one before u head out. Last thing u want is to find that yr body is already too shattered to tolerate something new right nr the end

[Andrew]

Hey Matt,

I'm the same and love to have a coffee to keep me going at work. I carry a packet of chocolate covered cocoa beans during the run. They're tasty and certainly give you a boost. Give them a go if you don't like the gels.

Cheers,

Andy

[Andrew]

Apologies. It's been a long day and I probably need a coffee. I meant expresso beans.

cheers,

Andy

[Jeffrey]

Last year I didn't do coffee, but I did have tea at the last two CPs. 

I can say that they definitely helped my race ... if for no reason other than they helped warm me up.  I do drink coffee regularly and knew that I could stomach it on the run without any problems.  I'll often have one right before an early morning run anyway.

The best thing to do now is to experiment while you are training.  Even if just on a short mid-week run.

Jeff

[Osbert]

Andrew or anyone, where to pick up chocolate covered espresso beans (yummm) in Sydney?

I need a tup of Hammer perpentum as well if anyone knows a good deal near Sydney CBD

[Andrew]

Obsert, I pick the chocolate covered expresso beans up at a local coffee shop up here in Toowoomba, QLD. My wife assures me that David Jones or Myers also stock them. I am sure that most good coffee shops and Delis will have them. Good luck.

[Adam]

I am very sensitive to caffeine and only have one coffee in the morning, but I have discovered that caffeine will give you a boost. I have also discovered that too much will affect your performance badly, so be careful!

I'd test before the race....

Adam

[Andrew]

One thing I would add from my experience is that if you are a regular coffee drinker you may want to ease off the caffeine in the build up to the race. Otherwise the desired impact of the coffee hit my not pack the punch you;re looking after. 

I'll be ditching the coffee shortly until race day so the choccy covered beans do the trick on those dark sections.  I had been off coffee for about 4 months before I did GNW last year and then after 24 hours of running and with about 40kms to go had 4 pieces of vegemite on toast and three coffees. Needless to say that I felt better on that section than any other!

The downside of course is that it can make you pee more than normal, so you need to make sure you are getting plenty of other fluid into you.  A hot drink in you through the last couple of sections of TNF can be a real boost, and can make the cold dark trails easier to combat. I favour a pot noodle which really hits the spot, fluids, salts, carbs, and it cleans the claggy taste you get in your mouth after 10 hours of running.

Try it out and enjoy the experiments!

Andy
www.ultramarathonrunning.com.au

[Osbert]

Great tip on the easing off caffine before the race. I'll aim for 04 April to start

[Nick]

Matt, no real harm to come from having a caffeine boost during any long race, whether in the form of coffee, gels with added caffeine etc. Typically, if you are a coffee drinker, the caffeine shouldn't upset your stomach. Probably the main issue for you is whether you want a cup of hot drink at that stage? If cold & wet, a hot coffee could be perfect. If not, try a cold coffee or look for something else with a dose of caffeine in it. Don't forget that (flat) Coke or Red Bull or V may provide a similar stimulus and give a handy kick along. ;-)

[Tegyn]

One thing i've found in using a heart rate monitor for a few years, is that my avg heart rate increases when I drink coffee, although my pace stays the same.  Not a problem in itself, but if you're aiming to keep your heart rate at a certain level (e.g. Maffetone) this might be of interest to you.

That said, i'm addicted and caffeine in some form will definitely be along for the ride

[Simone]

If you want to stop and get cosy around the fire and have a coffee then go for it - but its hard to get going again! Gels with caffeine or a No Doze are better, for me anyway. The No doze is pure caffeine and doesn't have all of the artificial stuff that gels have that can make you feel queasy late in the race. That's me anyway. Was recommended to me by my sports nutritionist and have been using in training ever since, just don't overdose on it. one every 4-6 hours is enough. Save it for the home coming!