In this episode we're going to explore a topic that has the potential to change the way you approach your running.

Many factors can impact our running performance and overall health, some of which we may overlook or not give enough attention.

I’m going to be opening up your awareness to a specific factor that may surprise you in terms of its impact on your running. It MAY also challenge you to look differently at the way you unwind and socialise.

So, stay tuned and get ready to discover how this one significant factor can make all the difference in your running journey.

WELCOME to the Run Better with Ash Podcast. I’m Ash, your Personal Podcasting Running Coach.

As runners, we understand the importance of proper training, nutrition, and rest to optimise our performance and achieve our goals. However, there's one neglected factor that may hold the key to unlocking our true potential.

This factor helped me run better, I was more motivated to run and run more often, I didn’t feel terrible on some occasions when I was running, I suddenly felt more productive and energised and I slept better.

This factor helped one of my clients knock over 30 minutes off his marathon Personal Best!

Theres a particular substance that has an impact on our running performance and health. It’s socially acceptable to take this substance but the science is clear, its affects are negative. That substance is: Alcohol

ALCOHOL AND ME

I think it’s important to set some context around this episode and explain my history with alcohol. I have done previous episodes about my story but I’m aware I have many new listeners that haven’t gone back and listened to all of my previous episodes.

So… my relationship with alcohol began when I first had a drink of alcohol around 11 years old at a family friends BBQ. Our families were all drinking and me and the son of the other family were sneaking little bottles of beer from the fridge when nobody was looking. We saw that all the adults were going to the fridge, taking bottles of beer out and it was making them laugh and dance so why couldn’t we drink some of what they was? We wanted to copy the adults.

That didn’t end well, we had to go home early as I got a little bit drunk and felt sick.

Alcohol was something that everybody around me drank. It’s engrained in our soceity in the UK. My dad would go out on nights out with his friends and wake us up in the middle of the night when he was being sick from over doing it. Everyone at my secondary school was drinking on Friday nights. Being the big tall kid I got served alcohol in shops and bars at 14 years old. They didn’t really check ID like they do now and if they did we used to get an adult to go in and buy it for us.

Drinking alcohol was a natural progression as you got older. I don’t ever remember having any conversations with adults, teacher, friends about the damaging affects of alcohol other than it can make you feel sick for a day or two.

My drinking started to become a bit more intense when my parents split up at the age of 17. I had a lot of anger and built up emotion that I didn’t know how to deal with. I dealt with negativity and stress the way that everyone else does, to drink alcohol!

I joined a band, became a singer and wannabe rock n roll star. Went through a particularly dark period in my life. Looking for ways to help because the alcohol wasn’t helping I started to take recreational drugs for a number of years. In my mid-twenties I stopped taking drugs and just drank alcohol. That’s cutting a 10 year period of my life down into less than 100 words.

But alcohol was the way I handled life. It’s the way we socialised. The way we escaped our reality. The way we escaped from the stresses and worries of life. It made me feel ‘normal’ although normal with a stinking hangover. It made me dance. It made me lose my inhibitions and feel more confident, for a short time whilst drunk!

In actual fact it was masking everything. It was burying everything that I needed to face. I stopped drinking over 9 years ago now after bringing in the new year feeling massively hungover. I made a pact with myself to not bring in a new year, a fresh start feeling so terrible and wanting to go back to bed.

So thats me. I have drank alcohol for a large part of my life. But not for the last 9 years! It was the best decision I made for my mental and physical health. I definitely do not miss feeling hungover on a Sunday morning. That’s why I run to the hills every Sunday morning. As a celebration of how I now spend my life. I’m grateful for my Sunday mornings nowadays.

RUNNING AND ALCOHOL - THE POST RACE CELEBRATION

You finish that big event you’ve been training so hard for. You feel elation at finishing. You get your medal, your t-shirt your goody bag and possibly your post-run meal if its a well organised event. Now what do you drink to celebrate?

It’s quite common for races to give out free post-run beers or fizz. Or maybe you go to the pub to celebrate?

Well this could lead to dehydration. Dehydration occurs when your body loses more fluids than it takes in, leading to an imbalance in the body's water levels. It can have several negative effects on your health including reduced physical performance, fatigue, impaired cognitive function, headaches, cramps, impaired kidney function and increased risk of heart related issues especially in warmer weather.

FACT: Alcohol is also a diuretic and drinking can lead to dehydration because the alcohol reduces the amount of urine our kidneys absorb.

It is important that we drink plenty of water to stay hydrated, to replace water lost through physical activity and, if we drink any alcohol after exercise, drinking additional water is essential to prevent dehydration. (DRINKAWARE.CO.UK)

So, if you are going to reach for the post race beer or fizz you will need to drink extra water on top of what you would have done because your body needs to replace the lost fluids from your run and outweigh the dehydration caused by alcohol. This goes for any run you do, drink extra water if you drink alcohol post-run.

Don’t use the thirst feeling as a way to test if you are dehydrated or not. The saying goes that ‘if you are thirsty you are already dehydrated’ so you want to avoid ever feeling thirsty!

BE CAUTIOUS! THE MANY WAYS IN WHICH ALCOHOL AFFECTS OUR PERFORMANCE

Do you ever run the day after alcohol and feel like you’re energy tank is a bit empty? You end up slogging through it or you go a bit slower or lower the distance to try to ‘work the alcohol our of your system’ as I used to think you could do!

This is something I now advise against as the evidence is clear on this. Alcohol affects causes dehydration and also interferes with our metabolism. This can leave you feeling like you have a lack of energy, that’s why your hangover run feels harder.

This lack of energy is due to the affect that alcohol has on our blood sugar levels.

Alcohol interferes with the body's metabolism. Alcohol consumption causes an increase in insulin secretion, which leads to low blood sugar (otherwise known as hypoglycaemia). Exercise requires normal levels of sugar in the blood to give us energy. So, after alcohol, blood sugar levels will fall, and our sports performance won't be as good as usual.

So you won’t perform as well as you could have done because of the impact alcohol has on your blood sugar levels.

Alcohol also affects our brain. You must have heard the saying about alcohol kills brain cells?

The fact is it reduces our motor skills…

Alcohol compromises our motor skills, balance, hand-eye coordination, and reaction time, which negatively affect our performance and increases the risk of injury.

If you’ve ever run hungover you’ll have probably have felt less stable and balanced at points throughout your run. You may have even experienced dizziness. This is the affect of alcohol negatively impacting your brain and nervous system.

If you run the day after a drink you could be putting yourself at greater risk from injury, especially if you are out on the trails.

The scariest thing that I experienced when I have run hungover was heart palpitations. When I looked into this it really scared me to find that running the day or two after drinking alcohol can increase your risk of heart issues. One study found that the risk of heart attacks increased whilst running hungover. As well as the increased risk of other heart issues.

Drinking also increases the risk of abnormal, sometimes dangerous heart rhythms. This is a risk which significantly increases during exercise up to two days after heavy alcohol consumption.

It’s worth noting that heavy alcohol consumption is anything over 6 pints of beer or 6 glasses of wine per week. I would consume at least 6 drinks in one session, never mind in a week. That’s pretty much the norm amongst every single alcohol user that I know too.

My advice based on this. Don’t run the day after a drinking session. If you’ve consumed alcohol, don’t go for a run the next day theres a number of reasons I’ve just mentioned why it’s not a good idea.

ALCOHOL AND WEIGHT

I have clients that have weight loss goals so I think it’s important to explore this topic as it always comes as a surprise to people just how many calories they are consuming from alcohol.

Every alcoholic drink on average is like eating an average size chocolate bar. How many extra chocolate bars are you eating each week?

If you drink the 6 drinks mentioned above you will be eating the equivalent of 2.5 cheeseburgers extra every 6 drinks.

When you put it into those terms, how many extra calories are you consuming from alcohol a week that is contributing to your weight gain or lack of weight loss?

I have worked it out with some of my clients, I won’t name names! But one client in particular, he consumes 2000-4000 calories in a weekend just from alcohol!

When you consider our daily intake on average for a man is around 2500 and for a woman 2000 thats almost 2 full days worth of energy on top of what he already consumes. In a 7 day period he is taking in 9 days worth of energy consumption because of his alcohol intake. He sticks to his daily calorie intake with food but his intake from alcohol is not helping his weight loss goal.

We’ve also seen that it is not a healthy solution to think you will burn off the extra calories you have drank by going for a run. That can lead to further health issues.

If your goal is weight loss, cut down on your alcohol intake and watch how much your weight suddenly starts to move. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

ALCOHOL AND THE BRAIN

I’ve spoken a number of times recently, especially in the ‘Running Improves you Brain Health’ episode about how running improves our brain health through the release of BDNF and Endorphins.

Alcohol unfortunately damages the brain, a quote from Drink Aware.co.uk…

Alcohol is a depressant. It slows down processes in your brain and central nervous system, and can initially make you feel less inhibited.  In the short-term, you might feel more relaxed - but these effects wear off quickly.

Over time, if you regularly drink heavily, the central nervous system gets used to the supressing effect of the alcohol, which means your brain is affected if the alcohol level suddenly drops. You can go straight into ’fight or flight’ mode as the alcohol leaves your system – the same reaction as an anxiety disorder.

I think of everything I do within the context of my life purpose or life goals. Which is:

‘I want to live well into an old age to be able to play with my grandkids if my girls have them and I want to be able bodied and have my faculties.’

If I come across information that shows me something contradicts or damages my body I have strong motivation not to do the thing I now know causes damage because it goes against my life goals.

So in this context running makes my brain healthy and alcohol damages my brain. This is a simple equation for me, get rid of the alcohol. That’s my black and white thinking and sometimes can be quite extreme but it gives you an insight into how I approach health.

I recommend you create your own life goals or find out what your purpose is as this gives you strength in motivation to do something.

There are many more alcohol related negative health affects like the relationship between alcohol and dementia:

Recent research has found that the risk of dementia was increased in people who regularly consumed more than 14 units of alcohol per week

Alcohol and depression:

Drinking heavily and regularly is associated with depression.

The effects on your skin, your body fat percentage around your belly, damaging your eyes etc. BUT its worth noting that many of the negative affects of alcohol ARE REVERSIBLE if you reduce or cut out your alcohol consumption.

So there is a light at the end of the tunnel, hopefully the following tips will help you…

10 TIPS FOR REDUCING ALCOHOL INTAKE

Here are some practical tips and advice to help you or a friend on their journey to reduce alcohol consumption:

1. Set Clear Goals: Define specific, realistic, and achievable goals regarding your alcohol consumption. This could include reducing the number of days you drink or setting limits on the amount of alcohol you consume on those days.

2. Track Your Consumption: Keep a record of your alcohol intake to create awareness about how much you're actually drinking. This can help identify patterns and triggers that lead to excessive drinking.

3. Identify Triggers: Recognize the situations, emotions, or social environments that tend to make you reach for alcohol. By identifying these triggers, you can develop strategies to avoid or cope with them in healthier ways.

4. Seek Support: Reach out to friends, family, or a support group who can provide understanding and encouragement during your journey to reduce alcohol intake. Consider joining groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or seeking professional counseling if needed.

5. Find Alternatives: Explore non-alcoholic beverage options that you enjoy. Having tasty alternatives on hand can help replace the habit of reaching for an alcoholic drink. This might include mocktails, flavored water, herbal tea, or other non-alcoholic options.

6. Practice Stress Management: Develop healthy coping mechanisms for managing stress that don't involve alcohol. Engage in activities such as exercise, meditation, deep breathing exercises, or hobbies that help you relax and unwind.

7. Build a Supportive Environment: Surround yourself with individuals who support your decision to reduce alcohol intake. This can include friends who engage in activities other than drinking, or finding new social outlets that don't revolve around alcohol.

8. Plan Ahead: If you know you'll be in situations where alcohol is present, plan ahead and have a strategy in place. Decide in advance how much you will drink or consider abstaining altogether.

9. Celebrate Milestones: Acknowledge and celebrate your progress along the way. Reward yourself for reaching milestones or meeting your goals without relying on alcohol as a reward.

10. Be Kind to Yourself: Understand that reducing alcohol intake is a process, and there may be setbacks along the way. Be patient with yourself, practice self-compassion, and remember that each day is a new opportunity to make healthier choices.

It's important to note that if someone is struggling with alcohol addiction or feels they cannot control their drinking despite their efforts, seeking professional help from a healthcare provider or addiction specialist is strongly advised. They can provide personalised guidance and support for managing alcohol consumption.

SUMMARY

I understand this is a sensitive topic for some. I wanted to share my experience in the hope you can relate to it. Maybe you’re happy with your alcohol intake, that’s absolutely fine this episode is probably not for you.

I have those friends that say '“I’d love to be like you and not drink alcohol” so this episode is for them and for you if you do feel like you would like to change your alcohol intake.

The bottom line is: Alcohol is not good for our health and it affects our running performance and recovery. You can improve your running performance and recovery by putting these tips into practice.

If you need help or support with any of this mentioned in this episode please visit Drink Aware website for resources and to speak to someone.

I hope you’ve found this episode useful, I shall speak to you in the next one my fellow runners!

https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/facts/health-effects-of-alcohol/lifestyle/can-alcohol-affect-sports-performance-and-fitness-levels

https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/facts/health-effects-of-alcohol/mental-health/alcohol-and-anxiety