3 times a yr......bit over the top i think mate.....i appreciate getting steaming every other day is to far in the other direction but its always good to have a blow out....now if ur a pro then fair enough...but for age groupers....chill out, drink beer have fun!!! Got to have balance in the life, its all well and good doing ironmans in under 10 hours but there is more to life than just ironman...i say go out enjoy urself. Plus i find it makes me work harder the following week...and it gives you something to look forward to after a tough couple of weeks/months training!!

Never hungover, but occasionally I have felt the effects of dehydration following a day of training after having a few. This past week was my work Christmas party and I had maybe 3 drinks and on the way home, I drank a liter of water with 2 Nuun tabs in it and felt great the next day on a 75 mile ride! Booze in moderation is fine, just make an extra effort to replace lost electrolytes.

Usually not while hungover, although after being down for Mardi Grad one year a friend and I stopped drinking at 4 am, got up at 6:30 to do a 10 mile run, ran each with a bottle of gatorade and water and made it amazingly quickly through the run, still a little drunk. About an hour after we finished I got the hangover, that wasn't quite so nice.
Now I that I'm out of college and not doing that ever day I can't quite handle drinking that much, I just really don't ever want to get hungover again.

In response to the not drinking at all, I can certainly understand where it comes from and if you're winning Kona, then it certainly helps you. However at the level I'm at and will probably always be at, it's just for fun, and I like having a nice glass of wine with dinner or a good beer. I must say that the nights before I won my age group in 2 tri's and set my marathon and 1/2 marathon PR's I have had one or 2 drinks with dinner, so if you're responsible about hydrating and what you can handle, it's not going to kill your race.

Not me. Drinking saps my will, my energy, my motivation - everything. Drinking severly interfered with my training.

That's why I don't drink any more. Some people can drink and train diligently. I'm not of them.

Interesting replies, helpful comments and insight as always. So, I did go to the pool this past Sat.; a bit hungover and made it to the pool just a little later than my usual Sat. morning swim time.

Again, however, it worked --felt like crap as i got in the water b/c of the hangover. By 300 yds, felt great. I had alot of water before I went to the pool and some while swimming. Did 1800 yds (thats a lot for me --I just started swimming and tris in Feb. 2005)

Did not do the run after the swim though (unlike my last hangover).

I don't drink often (once or twice a year) and wouldn't think of drinking as much as I did last Fri. night during the racing season.

Thanks again for the replies.

I have faced a week of parties every other day for about a week.
Holiday party scheduling just worked out that way.
This is a rare occurance.

I limited myself to 1 or 2 beers for the most part and drank water as well.

My work party on Wednesday I had several more drinks but kept up the water in between. This is the only party all week I would say I was even buzzed.

Friday night I had 1 Sam Adams Winter Lager with dinner

This past Saturday morning I had my last long training run before Disney and I was wiped out.

Fortunatly I won't be doing much more drinking for a while.:rolleyes:

That Sam Adams Winter Lager is some GOOD stuff!

friend of mine ran a great ten miler still tipsy from a wedding the night before. doesn't work for me and one of the worst runs of my life was March 18th , the day after St. Patty's. never again.

was anyone at the WAIM afterparty...the last memory I have of that was dancing on one of the tables overlooking the dance floor while gulping down from my bottle of wine..... It was fair to say that there was no way I could have exercised after that night....in fact my mate had to drive all the way back to Perth cause i was so rough....took about 4 days to till I could put on another drinking performance of such magnitude.....

Nothing wrong with a bit of drinking as long as it's not done during the main portion of the season. I figure its helpfull to let off some steam some times, especially during the off-season. I limit my drinking as much as possible during the season, especially when leading up to a big race. But every now and then I feel its almost necesary to have a few. Maybe thats just because I'm in college though.

Red5 You haven't had pizza in a year? That might be worse than not drinking. Seriuosly though I am joining a local tri club and at the first meeting we will be eating pizza and drinking beer (carb loading). Have you every seen the t-shirts or bumper stickers that say I joined a drinking club with a running problem? I dont think that drinking in moderation is a bad thing but there is no way I could train with a hang over.

Yeah, I'm a bit of a food-Nazi :o . I drive my wife crazy with my diet :) .

What an interesting time to see this thread come up after a road trip to Alabama for the Divison 2 football national championship! (GVSU baby!)

Sometimes i get those workouts that feel great after a night of good times. For the most part, I just take the next day off. Maybe something in the later day if I'm up to it.

I think I'll keep my drinking stories to myself though, i have a feeling they'd make a lot of trifuelers' hair stand on end.

I have one really bad story, I did a nice easy 4 mile run after a Margarita 4 hours before. Now I was still a bit of a drinker but I always gave it 24 hours after I drank before I excersized... Well I had the Rita at 6 and ran at 10... Seriously I thought I was going to DIE. It hurt so bad it was rediculous I will NEVER EVER EVER do that again...

Seriously I can't stand beer, I could never develop a taste for that I just can't... My drinks are Martini's, Mojito's, Long Islands, Whiskey Sours, Hurricanes, Margarita's every now and then, Cognac with a very fine cigar (once a month if that)...

Thats a rather dichotomizing view point on alcohol. Haven't studies shown a correlation between moderate drinking and extended longevity, among other things? If someone doesn't get on the podium, I'd look at their training plan before their after party plan.

On the flip side of that, look what happened to Bode Miller.

...and wasn't it Dena Kastor (or someone like her) who has a glass of wine the night before a race to take the edge off? I will have to go home and rummage through my old RW issues, but that was last summer sometime.

I've trained and raced without any drinking and with moderate drinking and honestly for myself, it didn't make a difference either way, my results and times were the same.
I also subscribe to the notion of having a drink (a glass of wine or a beer) the night before a race to take the edge off especially if you are staying in some hotel in a strange bed with a bad pillow.

My main reason for never drinking before a race is because I sleep better knowing I did everything possible to prepare...

Me, too! I and because I did everything I could, I know this one beer or glass of wine wont hurt. Actually, my best race this year was after a night in which I had consumed THREE Coronas (not sure that qualifies as beer, and I dont even like the stuff...)

If you try a drink the night before and it doesnt work for you (and you could honestly say the alcohol limited your peformance), thats cool. I wouldn make a comment suggesting others arent doing everything in the power to perform to their best.

well--I tested this theory. Last night had 2 martinis and 2 glasses of wine. Went out and ran my 12 (tapering for Disney) and felt great! Ok, so it was the first time I have had a drink in months--but works for me :D

Yes...Alcohol is hard on the system and according to a recent article I read you should have no more than 5 drinks a week.
Of course, if you eat anything other than whats found on the "Pelo-diet" You are putting S*** into your body.
Of course...Exercise has been found to increase oxident levels in the body...which is bad. What are ya afraid of? Dying? "No one here gets out alive."
I enjoy a few drinks a week and don't give a rats ass for podium spots...And what do podium spots get you? Your 15 minutes maybe. I'd rather get mine helping others..Living a monks life is for...well, monks...who BTW used to brew and still do some of the best beers in the world.
To each their own..as long as they are not hurting others.

Oh...Happy Christmas!

It is a personal decision.
As in most things - moderation is the key.
Some will say none at all, others party too much - most are somewhere between.
Do what works for your lifestyle. Triathlons and training are all parts of that, but not the whole. Find your own balance.

Jstyle...Is that "Weird' or "Word"?
I have been accused of being weird which is fine..better that than a cog in the machine.
Have never been hip enough to say things like "word" although I still get caught using things like "groovy' "Hip" and "stone solid."
Hope ya had a great Holiday!

Vanilla who? (Joke)
Yeah..weather is blah...will go out and slop around on the MTB later...not for long...tapering for Disney.