THE BIG DEBATE CAFFEINE: SHOULD IT BE ALLOWED?
Nicola Joyce chairs a controversial debate between two expert open water swimmers
Does this, or any other, issue in open water swimming get you hot under the collar? Vent your thoughts to us by email to let
ers@h2openmagazine.com. Why not suggest a topic for a future debate?
Whether you choose an espresso, Americano or tall-skinny-decaff - mochaccino-frappe-lat e, many of us enjoy a cup of coff ee. But do you use caff einated drinks to boost your race performance? Should we be enhancing our performances with legal highs, or does drinking even just one cup of coff ee prevent a level playing fi eld?
YES
“I recommend a cup of coff ee to all my athletes before a race or training session. Caff eine brings about several useful physiological responses: it raises heart rate, and can help to burn body fat because it increases the body's metabolic rate thus speeding up the process of converting food to energy. “A cup of hot coff ee can also give a great
psychological boost to open water swimmers, simply because it makes you feel warmer. I'll always take a thermos fl ask or thermal mug to training with me.
"I've been drinking a cup of black coff ee before training and racing
for about fi ve years. I recently won the European Age Group Sprint Triathlon Championships in Ponteveda, where I had to be up at 4:30am for an 8.05am race start. I drank one black coff ee along with my food beforehand and felt great throughout the race. I put my gold medal down to race prep, of which coff ee is a key part. I wouldn't be without it. "I rarely see any detrimental eff ects from drinking caff eine, although I always warn my athletes that it acts as a diuretic. You must also be aware of any limitations put on caff eine consumption by the governing body you are racing under – the last thing any winner wants is to be tested and found positive for something silly, simply because they haven't read the rule book. "You can boost the eff ect by laying off your daily dose for a couple
of weeks before the race (I'm not sure I could manage this). It will then have a far more stimulating eff ect on race day. "Unless it upsets your stomach or prevents you from sleeping, I think it's worth giving it a go, but never try anything new on race day. Caff eine is readily available to us all, so why not use it?
A CUP OF HOT COFFEE CAN GIVE A GREAT PSYCHOLOGICAL BOOST
JO LEWIS Jo is the current British and European age-group triathlon champion (55- 59). Jo began running at 39, achieving her fastest 10k and half-marathon times at age 47. She works as a triathlon coach with
tri50.co.uk
DON’T BECOME RELIANT ON ANYTHING YOU'RE NOT GUARANTEED ACCESS TO
"I made the decision a long time ago not to drink coff ee, not because I don't like the taste but because I've seen how reliant some people get on it. In training and in racing, I prefer to rely on sports nutrition and real foods. I get my energy from stuff that's good for your body and hydrates you at the same time. As an endurance athlete, these factors are really important to me.
NO
“I'm also wary of the diuretic eff ects of caff eine. Dehydration can be enough of a problem, without worrying about fl uid loss through caff eine consumption.
"One of my club mates came off his bike during a race recently. He lost the sports drink in his bot les and split his gels so he had to rely on the aid station nutrition, none of which was caff einated. Because he always uses caff eine, he was really stuck and went on to have a disappointing race. It confi rmed my instincts not to become reliant on any substance that you're not guaranteed access to. "On the odd occasion I have had a coff ee, I've been bouncing off the
walls and then experienced a slump in energy. That peak and crash is the last thing I'd want to go through in a race. "Caff eine is legal and not a banned substance so obviously people can use it if they want. I do suspect, though, that if an athlete is using it on a regular basis, the benefi ts will be lost. In that sense, I'm probably in a bet er position. If I was to have an espresso before a race, I'd be off like a rocket! "If caff eine was banned, it would make sport more of a level playing
fi eld, but I'm completely happy with my decision to lay off the caff eine and perform as well as I can on the day, just as nature intended."
ALICE ALBROW Alice is a club triathlete with a passion for open water swimming. She raced the 3.8km Hampton Court swim recently and is busy training for this year's Antwerp Ironman 70.3.
35
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76