by Adolfo Salgueiro | Apr 5, 2022 | Article, Reflection
By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro
As adults with a full life, alcohol is a ubiquitous part of most of our lives. Some of us enjoy the occasional drink in a social setting, some have one every day, some can’t stop consuming it, and some finally overcame alcoholism.
As far as I have read, there’s no proof that the occasional post-run beer will wreck your recovery, nor that it will help it either. Yet, alcohol has undeniable social benefits associated with consuming responsibly it with your buddies, like after a run. I am not a scientist or a wine drinker, but I’ve read about the benefits of a glass of wine when it comes to HDL cholesterol and antioxidants. I’ve also read how more is not necessarily better. You should not be having 3 or 4 glasses because it the positive effects don’t necessarily compound.
A post-run beer has many social benefits and won’t ruin your recovery. The operating word here is “A”, meaning “one”.
I am not here to proselytize on alcohol consumption, which is a personal choice. But as athletes wanting to improve on our fitness and/or racing times, we need to be aware what are the negative effects that too much alcohol can have on our recovery, which is half of our training (Work + Recovery = Training).
For starters, alcohol is a diuretic. A diuretic is a substance that promotes the increased production of urine. This means that it produces dehydration, a big problem for runners. The consequences of moderate dehydration are, among others, cramps and fatigue. Severe dehydration, which can occur after combining drinking and running, include urinary and kidney complications, low blood volume, heat-related injuries and even seizures. As if that weren’t enough, I am sure that running with a hungover must suck all the joy we could get of the sport.
As I was researching this topic, I googled “alcohol and running” and, among the 812 million results I got, the very first one was this paragraph, which resumes most of what I wanted to say: Alcohol is a powerful diuretic, and dehydration is never a runner\’s friend. The risk for muscle cramps, muscle pulls, muscle strains and general fatigue increases when dehydrated, so drinking extra water after a night of hitting the bars is more than necessary to regulate your body for your next run.”
As we have mentioned in this blog, many times before, the number one recovery tool in your arsenal is sleep, which is the time your body uses to repair itself from the pounding of your training and the stress of your day. Alcohol consumption affects and impairs your sleep. Don’t let anyone fool you by telling you that drinking makes them sleepy like a baby, so it doesn’t affect them. Even if you are asleep, drinking in excess will affect your REM sleep, which restores your brain and is good for your memory and learning. Sounds kind of important to me.
Wine has plenty of documented benefits, but they do not compound the more your drink.
Consuming alcohol in excess, also affects your fitness, which is the capacity of your body to recover so you can do it again. If your liver is too busy processing the excess alcohol you consumed, it would not be able to assist repairing of your body, which is needed after every training session, regardless of how easy it was.
The definition of “excess” is personal and individual. What is suitable for a fit, 200-pound male, may not be suitable for a 115-pound female recovering from Covid. Each runner must understand what is good for their lifestyle and make sure they can live with their decisions.
In a podcast I recently listened, Coach Jonathan Marcus made a comparison between two separate issues. One of those fits perfectly in what the last paragraph was explaining: “You can down a whole bottle of wine in 45 minutes. You can do it. You can, physically, get the liquid into your stomach. But what is going to happen afterwards is not going to be pretty. Or, you can have half a glass of wine in an-hour period, sipping on it though dinner, multiple nights in a row and enjoy it as part of a meal. Your body can extract the nutrients, flavors, etc. from that, versus being overly consumed by the poison of the alcohol that then forces a harsh and severe, nasty metabolic response”.
This post is not for pointing fingers, preaching on lifestyle or proselytizing on the virtuosity of abstention. Just make sure you understand what the consequences of mixing running with alcohol are for both your body and your training, so you can make the right choices when the time comes.
by Adolfo Salgueiro | Dec 29, 2020 | Article, Opinion, Science
By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro
As runners, we often enjoy a beer as a post-run reward when we finish a training run with friends. A post-race beer is the perfect excuse for having alcohol at 8 in the morning without having to worry if you’ve become an alcoholic. As ubiquitous as the beer/runner relationship is, there is no definite answer on the conundrum if both can coexist.
There is no binary answer to this dilemma. Scientists and science writers differ on the value and placement of this elixir in the running scene.
Finishing a race is the perfect excuse for downing a beer at 9AM without feeling like an alcoholic.
In the in-favor camp, we find Christie Aschwanden, author of the best-selling book Good to Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of Recovery. During a recent interview in the Run Smarter Podcast she stated:
“Beer and running go hand-in-hand. Together it can be a reasonable recovery drink. No one who does not drink beer should start drinking beer because it will help with their recovery. […] Where I think beer can be a nice thing is that it is a nice sort of ritual for groups that gather after a run and have beer as a social thing, in a way for unwinding. […] Where beer becomes problematic is when you haven’t had food and the alcohol goes to your head. A little bit is fine. The evidence is not there to say that one beer or a beer-and-a-half is going to wreck your recovery. There is evidence that knocking 6 or 7 beers in a row is not good for you. Hangovers are not good for recovery.”
They key to Ms. Aschwanden point is that beer per se has no magical powers as a recovery drink. The fact we do it as a social ritual after we put the mile in, is what makes it a positive stimulus. “The social aspect of relaxing with your friends is helpful”, she stated. The key, as usual, is moderation.
But not everyone is in favor of a post-race cold brew. According an article by Holy Martin, a San Francisco-based running coach and personal trainer, in the Run to The Finish blog: “After a training session, our body utilizes protein to rebuild itself, and to adapt to what we’re demanding of it while training. Alcohol can impede that process and make it much harder for our muscles to rebuild. Similarly, alcohol freezes muscle growth if you’re consuming it on a regular basis. So, if you’re working hard to build speed or strength, or to make any real changes in the gym, be mindful of your alcohol consumption.”
The social aspect of the post-run beer alone, has its positive recovery effects
When you think of it from the scientific point of view, this makes sense. But she also states at the end “be mindful”, not necessarily “refrain”. So it comes, once more, to moderation.
In an article published by Runner’s World in August of this year (2020), author Heather Mayer Irvine said that:” Experts agree that beer, which is considered a diuretic—thus dehydrating—isn’t the best recovery drink and should be paired with water when consumed after a workout. Still, a 2015 study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that when runners drank a moderate alcoholic beer (roughly 4.5 percent ABV) along with water after a workout, their rehydration was no worse than those who drank only water.”
Since we are discussing alcohol consumption, it is imperative that you understand that drinking right before or while running is a definitely no-no. You don’t want your liver using the glucose needed to propel you forward, processing the alcohol you are consuming. This is a recipe for a crash. If you can’t wait until the training or race is over, maybe it is time to make an appointment with an addiction specialist.
My Personal Conclusion
I am not a scientist or a doctor, so I speak from the experience of a runner who has indulged in the post-run cold one with his buddies for a few years. Sure, we can enjoy a post-run libation without ruining what we just gained, but at the same time, beer doesn’t have any esoteric powers in our recovery. The social aspect of it is what brings us joy while we are in a runners’-high state. It is this feeling what will bring us back to do more running so we can experience the ritual again. Of course, in moderation, and only after drinking enough water first, so we don’t rehydrate with alcohol.
by Adolfo Salgueiro | Dec 22, 2020 | Article, List, Science
By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro
Recovery. What a concept!! Who doesn’t love to pull off a hard workout feeling strong, ready to PR on that upcoming race? But at the same time, we know that if we had to do this same workout, tomorrow, we would not be able to do it, again. Why? Because we haven’t recovered.
Recovery starts even before you are done with your current workout. That’s what the cool down is for
Recovery, according to an article by Erin Strout in Runner’s World Magazine, “is the restoration of energy-producing enzymes inside the muscles, functional proteins, fat and carbohydrate stores, and the regeneration of the endocrine and immune systems. […] Recovery comes down to repairing, resting and refueling—while still allowing the body to adapt to the training workload and reap fitness gains”.
In other words, it is allowing your body to heal from the stress you just put it through, so you can do it again, soon, without stretching its abilities to the point where it can’t repair itself, thus, becoming injured.
The following are eight quick tips to kickstart your recovery so you can keep working hard on your training plan, pursuing that elusive PR and avoiding injuries.
1 – Cool Down: Either by dropping off the pace on the final mile or two; or walking the last mile back, or taking the time for your body to calm down, the idea es to reduce your heart rate, breathing rate, and core body temperature in order assist your body to return to its pre-exercise condition.
2 – Stretch: This is not for everybody and it doesn’t have to be a long process. But you should develop a personal routine that works for you while your muscles are warm so you can aid the start of recovery. You may feel much better once you’ve done so.
3 – Change clothing: If you are not planning to take a shower right away, make sure you change off your wet clothing. Your body needs to go back to its normal core temperature as soon as possible and your sweaty shirt, hat and socks are not helping.
4 – Hold that beer: A cold one with your buddies after a run is an amazing reward after a good workout. But make sure you hydrate yourself with water and electrolytes before gulping down your prize. Remember alcohol will dehydrate you, so don’t overdo it.
Owning a foam roller is not enough. You have to use it!
5 – Refuel your body: After you submit your body and its natural reserves to a stress consuming from its resources, it is essential to start renourishing it as soon as possible. This way it can start repairing itself right away and, you can do it again, sooner. Especially if you have gone through a 90-minute effort or longer, make sure you ingest a 3:1 ratio of complex carbohydrates and protein. Chocolate milk is a great option. Personally, I’ve had successfully experienced Recoverite, by Hammer Nutrition.
6 –Self-Massage: It is not enough to own a foam roller or a massage stick. You must use it and learn how to do so properly. These can foster blood circulation to enhance recovery speed as well as decreasing muscle tension while increasing flexibility, both good options to avoid injury.
7 – Do not sacrifice your sleep: Having no time to sleep as a badge of honor is a recipe for disaster. During our time asleep, the body repairs itself and the brain flushes away the waste byproducts built up throughout the day. Doesn’t it sound important enough?
8 – Days off: A training plan consists of work and rest. With very few exceptions and only by seasoned athletes, scheduled days off are must. You can’t be afraid of taking a day off to socialize, drop off your kid at college, attend your daughter’s recital, take care of personal business, or simply vegetate. Your body will thank you for it. And never eb afraid of taking an extra day off if you need it. Your body will thank you for it.
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