Coffee on race day...?

I always drink coffee before my races much like I drink it every morning.  I haven't noticed anything too bad. 

There's only 1 downside I can se... let's actually just call it "2"

I pretty much think that your heart rate's gonna be up in a race whether you drink coffee or not.  If you are a daily drinker I wouldn't think you'd notice increased HR etc

You call that a down side...ha!  Thanks for the input....

keep em' comming

From 3/25/2009...caffeine can ENHANCE endurance performance...

I had read that in the past.  The article I just posted seems to debunk that.  There's benefit...regular user or not.

And caffeine does increase the heart rate and blood pressure in people who are not regular uses. “But after three or four days, that potentially negative effect is gone,” Dr. Tarnopolsky said.

I won't have it on the way to transition, but I damn sure won't leave home (or hotel) on race day or any day without my morning Joe. Wakes me up, gets me moving, and gets me moving.

That's not a downside! That's lightening the load!

It has been suggested that a bit off caffein can help your performance.  I make it part of my race prep.  One cup of coffee before I leave the house.  That also helps move stuff throught the 'system'.  I'm able to get into the porta potty at the race site and "lighten the load" you could say...

Plus the energy caffein gives is supposed to help with your race.

I can't have it before a race.

It leads to insane post-race urination...as in 4 hours after I have the coffee I have to pee every 5 minutes.  Happened to me during an Oly and I'll never do it again!  After the race I had to keep walking into the lake to pee because I didn't want to go all the way to the porta potties.

Unless you need to lighten the load in the middle of your race.  Much more of a downside then.

I'm no scientist but doesn't his success in 'guessing' when he took caffeine versus the vitamin C negate the whole blind testing thing?  If he was not able to guess which pill he had taken and his results still showed significant improvement I would be more impressed. 

I know that caffeine is a stimulant and has an impact on my heart rate but so does exercising (racing).  How I'm feeling at the starting line definately has an impact on my performance whether it comes from a cup of coffee or my own competative spirit. 

IMHO caffeine does not have a direct impact on my athletic performance but it does help me start the day!

I paid the most attention to what Dr. Tarnopolsky (spelling?) and the other medical research concluded.  I found the rowing "experiment" interesting but not central to my conclusion after reading the article.

If you normally drink coffe in the morning - drink it on race day.

It is not good to drastically change diet, habits or sleep 24 hours before a race.  Your routine is what your body knows.  Don't buck the system.

 I am a HUGE coffee drinker.  Because I don't want to pee during an event I have a little less the morning of a race but I NEVER skip it.