Many of you may have questions about caffeine.  What is it?  Is it good for me. etc.? Well, caffeine is a stimulant that increases mental alertness so you feel good.

Some sports studies have found benefits to consuming caffeine and that it may enhance marathon performance when taken properly. Research also shows that it stimulates the release of adrenaline from your adrenal glands.  This allows more fatty acids to be released into the blood so you are burning fatty acids at the beginning and can save muscle glycogen to the latter miles of a marathon.

Caffeine does have benefits like increasing your speed by just a few minutes.  But how important is several minutes to your time?  The goal of the GBI Marathon team is to train for a healthy marathon pace in order to reduce injuries and prolong your walk/run so that you can finish the race feeling good.  Our primary goal is maintaining a healthy lifestyle, not increasing our speed.

The bottom line is caffeine can benefit performance, but in the end, water is the most important fluid you should consume.  Remember you need at least 8 additional ounces of water for every 10 – 15 minutes of exercise.  Also, you should drink 1 pint of water approximately 30 minutes before training and race day.  So, the fluid to focus on the most is H2O! 

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about caffeine intake.

Happy and Healthy Training,

Prudence