I am signed up to a running newsletter (RunnersConnect - probably a bit too "scientific" for my liking, but I have to confess it does appeal to that side of my brain!) who sent me today a link to an article on caffeine, which is definitely something I have wondered about before. Last weekend, for example, during my first nocturnal ultramarathon, I really felt I needed caffeine, but when and how much are big questions...
If you read the ProPlus instructions, you discover that the doses seem to be quite conservative: 50mg per pill, "do not exceed two tablets in three hours, or 8 tablets per day". So does this mean that you can take 8 tablets in one go (provided that was it for the next 24 hours), and just how drastic would that be?
What I like about the RunnersConnect article, is that is actually referring to sports research which is broken down according to a person's weight. I weigh nearly 70 kg, which surprisingly placed me squarely in the middle category of 150 pounds. This means that 200 to 400 mg (so 4 or 8 Proplus tablets) are beneficial. More than 400 won't be beneficial (but won't kill me either). To be taken 60 to 90 minutes prior to exercise".
Now the unfortunate thing here is that we are not told what kind of exercise it is. During my SaintElyon event, I started to feel real drowsy around about 2-3am after 2-3 hours of running and a quite moderate level of effort. Prior to the start, no caffeine really was required as adrenaline performs the wakefulness needs, and the subsequent effort is not sufficiently intense for caffeine to provide a fatigue-staving effect.
So the ultra-event represents a completely different scenario to the 5 km - half-marathon distances I presume are envisaged here.
Conclusion: Test taking 6 tablets 1 hour before next short race or simulation and observe the effect for distances no longer than half-marathon. Test taking perhaps 2 / hour over a 4 hour run for the lower intensity long-distance stuff.
Showing posts with label sluggishness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sluggishness. Show all posts
Friday, 7 December 2012
Monday, 24 September 2012
More sluggish than slug
Yesterday:
400ml Old Speckled Hen.
Very little sleep for several days.
11 km (half off-road, all at night)
Today:
23 km in 2:17.
One positive to be taken out of today's longer run (the 23 was "supposed" to be 25, but I am trying to take things a bit more by feel, and inspired as well by Ryan Hall's approach through prayer), was that although I felt really sluggish at the start and there was rarely that much drive, and there was mysterious cramping and tightness in my calves for most of the time, that things really started clearing up after the 20km mark. I actually felt almost brighter and stronger then than at the beginning. Wow!
The important thing to note is that the combined effects of sleep deprivation and the beer had a definite effect on my energy levels, both in terms of getting out the door and just how hard it felt even to run 5:30/km. The beer is easy to sort out: don't drink it, not until after the marathon that is! The sleep needs a bit more focus. Also, I do wonder if I may have peaked a little early with going for that 36 km run the weekend before. I was on such a high after and felt so ready, but perhaps actually there was something of a longer-term recovery needed beyond the initial day or two of more tangible recovery, and ever since I nailed that consistent hill run, I've just felt really tired and unmotivated.
I have, however, been focussing of late on the notion of "how we fall", which is linked to something I am taking my PE class kids through at the moment in their current creativity module. We need to learn to be neutral. We don't need to be on strong emotional pushes the entire time. What this means for me as my motivation begins to fall, as it invariable does and will, and I feel less desire and passion for running, that I revert to a more neutral, going-about-my-business approach, neither excited nor nor deflated, until the next push. True closeness to the date will no doubt bring this anyway.
400ml Old Speckled Hen.
Very little sleep for several days.
11 km (half off-road, all at night)
Today:
23 km in 2:17.
One positive to be taken out of today's longer run (the 23 was "supposed" to be 25, but I am trying to take things a bit more by feel, and inspired as well by Ryan Hall's approach through prayer), was that although I felt really sluggish at the start and there was rarely that much drive, and there was mysterious cramping and tightness in my calves for most of the time, that things really started clearing up after the 20km mark. I actually felt almost brighter and stronger then than at the beginning. Wow!
The important thing to note is that the combined effects of sleep deprivation and the beer had a definite effect on my energy levels, both in terms of getting out the door and just how hard it felt even to run 5:30/km. The beer is easy to sort out: don't drink it, not until after the marathon that is! The sleep needs a bit more focus. Also, I do wonder if I may have peaked a little early with going for that 36 km run the weekend before. I was on such a high after and felt so ready, but perhaps actually there was something of a longer-term recovery needed beyond the initial day or two of more tangible recovery, and ever since I nailed that consistent hill run, I've just felt really tired and unmotivated.
I have, however, been focussing of late on the notion of "how we fall", which is linked to something I am taking my PE class kids through at the moment in their current creativity module. We need to learn to be neutral. We don't need to be on strong emotional pushes the entire time. What this means for me as my motivation begins to fall, as it invariable does and will, and I feel less desire and passion for running, that I revert to a more neutral, going-about-my-business approach, neither excited nor nor deflated, until the next push. True closeness to the date will no doubt bring this anyway.
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