My Second Love

I've been reading a lot lately about caffeine supplementation in various publications. I'm not sure how legitimate the research is, but from everything I've read thus far it seems like it works? If taken properly, caffeine supposedly can have a performance enhancing effect. From what I've read, the recommended dose ranges from 3-9 mg/kg of body weight. Although it might not seem like much, it is actually a greater amount than one cup of coffee. This should be taken 60-75 minutes before training or competition.

I'm not going to lie... I am definitely a chronic user...especially during grad school :) For chronic users like me, (hahah i feel like a drug addict) the caffeine amount should be tapered three days before the racing. And most importantly, like all nutrition, should be experimented with prior to racing. For longer competitions, caffeine should also be taken at regular intervals every 90-120 minutes.

Anyway has anyone tried this? I casually have in the past with coffee prior to a sprint distance triathlon. During the swim, I just remembered having "coffee burps". Although I am a coffee drinker, I don't often drink it before racing because it upsets my stomach. However due to the recent research, I'm considering revisiting this in my training with a supplemental version. Anyway let me know if anyone has had success with this!