Is it possible to mix alcohol and a sub 20 minute 5K?

aoa321

Which of the following options would you pick for the story below ...

(A) Perfectly plausible, what are you making such a big deal about aoa?
(B) He's a bit mixed up, probably meant no harm, he's an old-fashioned bullsh1tter.
(D) He's a bloody liar, this is impossible !!
(E) red bull makes you fly AND there's something seriously wrong with your training schedule aoa !!

Here's the story ...

I was running on Sunday, I was in the last Kilometre of a 5K race, pushing as hard as I could for my first ever sub 20 minute 5K (I failed by 19 seconds). The effort was REALLY stressing me and I was sucking hard to try to get some air.

A bloke who I've never seen before was running alongside me and he asked "is there long left"? I hate talking while running, but between gulps for air I told him we're nearly there. He then says it's hard to run after a "load of bottles" the night before, I admit that I had 2 small bottles of Heineken and it doesn't help (maybe this explains the 19 seconds I missed my goal by).

Ah, he says, "I had 13" (yes 13, that's not a typo) large bottles and then a "load" of vodka and red bulls. He goes on to muse that he thought he was "still pissed in the car on the way in".

Now, I was under pressure, I was pushing hard for a goal that I have worked towards since Christmas. I run about 4 times a week, my runs averaged about 40 minutes and I've tried to keep the intensity high .... and I'm still going to miss my target !!

I felt like telling this guy to p1ss off. Instead I told him that the finish is just ahead and I tried to push past him so that I wouldn't have to listen to him anymore - no such luck, he pushed on with me. "I've never run this far before" he says, now I'm amazed. I look across at him, he's not obviously Kenyan or Ethopian, he doesn't even look young, he's younger than me but still, maybe early thirties. My voice goes up a couple of octaves, "You've never run this far before?", "no never" he says, at this point I summon every ounce of energy I have left and start a push for the line, his chatter dies away.

Is is just me? What do youze all think? His first 5K, he's tanked up on alcohol, he's in his early thirties and he can match a time that has taken me 2 and a half months to get to - I've never tried red bull before but I'll be taking it before my next race !!

comer_97

His story sounds unlikely but you never can tell.

I've run many a race and have been passed by 80 yr olds and I was in great shape at the time. I didn't let it get me down, I was impressed by their hard work and good form.

Comparing yourself to random strangers is not good. You don't know their background or if they are telling the truth.

And as for missing your goal, maybe your training needs some tweaking. Different distance, different intensities, mix it up a bit...

justsomebloke

I would go with A myself, chances are that he may be reasonably fit and may play other sports where he would be running alot it just wouldn't seem to be a 5km (I know in aussie rules players can easily clock up 20km in a match). So Although it may be slightly unlikely I wouldn't say it is that improbable. And in relation to the drink it effects some people in different ways so his preformance mightn't have been effected too much

Hanley

5k isn't all that huge a distance. I know when I was playing football and GAA 6x a week I probably woulda been able to get close to it (I was running 3-3.15min per km, could go 3km in just under 10 mins).

I think it's perfectly plausible that he coulda done it. I don't believe that he had that much to drink the night before. If he was actually as drunk as he's claiming there's no way I can see him actually remembering it acccurately!!

Pherekydes

aoa321 wrote:

(A) Perfectly plausible, what are you making such a big deal about aoa?

Happy now?

aoa321

Slow coach wrote:

Happy now?

No. It's not fair, I'm slogging my guts out and he's out on the p1ss and he can run as fast as me - there is no justice in this world !!!

( well actually he only ran nearly as fast as me )

quozl

I still remember seeing a 5 or 6 month pregnant Paula Radcliffe JOG an 18 minute 5k.

Now that's embarassing for us mere mortals.

Pherekydes

The women's 5k road record is 14:46, so 20 minutes is not really difficult, I'm afraid. He may have been exaggerating about the amount of drink he had, and it would affect one's running the following day, maybe by up to a minute, but this would still only put the guy at around the 19 minute mark. 25 women ran sub 40 minutes for 10k in the Mini Marathon last year. That's 2x20 without stopping.

tba

He was still hammered so he couldn't feel the wall

quozl

tba wrote:

He was still hammered so he couldn't feel the wall

Probably true. The amount of athletes drinking from hip flasks at the start of the world cross country championships last weekend was ridiculous.

They really need to ban vodka and redbull as a PED

I think Fionnualla Britton had at least 3 pints of larger and a packet of crisps in her. No wonder she did so well

rubadub

I remember reading about some marathon runner in the early 1900's who won some big event (like olympics) and was running on a cocktail of brandy and strychnine! (yep rat poison, but also a stimulant).

hunnymonster

The brnady and rat posion guy was
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_J._Hicks

If the guy was able to chat to you about how much futher was left then he wasn't running flat out so it';s quite possible that he ad been drinking. Lots of people I run with go out on the beer before runs. By the same reasoning, if you were able to answer him, you can lose those 19 seconds soon. Don't get disheartened by one race.

thirtyfoot

I remember the world beer mile record was something like 5:15. It involves drinking a 33cl bottle of beer at the start and then stopping at each lap to drink another bottle. 4 bottles, 4 laps. That was 10-15 yrs ago, some english student had it, could be sub-5 now. The sub-5 minute beer mile is one of those magical barriers!

quozl

Tingle wrote:

The sub-5 minute beer mile is one of those magical barriers!

LOL

brianthebard

aoa321 wrote:

No. It's not fair, I'm slogging my guts out and he's out on the p1ss and he can run as fast as me - there is no justice in this world !!!

( well actually he only ran nearly as fast as me )

Hang on didn't you say that you were out the night before/had a hangover? You know what probably would've made the difference between you beating this guy/your time and not?

thirtyfoot

http://www.beermile.com/records/ref_wr

According to this the Beermile record is only 5:40, I could have sworn it was 5:15. I reckon 5:40 is there for the taking, might setup a record attempt in the off-season in August.

Say 10 secs a can, that leaves 75 secs laps and a new world record, easy, easy!!

Now sub-5 minute beermile, could be trickier with 10 secs a can and 65 secs laps. Could get the 10 secs down to 5 secs and get around in 70 secs laps. It would all come down to race strategy I'd say.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

hunnymonster

I had my first ever red bull about 9/10 through a long race last year. It was really vile. The chicken soup on the other hand was amazing.

aoa321

daveirl wrote:

This post has been deleted.

Thanks daveirl, I was quite chuffed with my time - the third of the series of three 5K races is on this Sunday so I'll get one last crack at the sub 20. I was only joking about the red bull - but I migth try for the 5K beer world record !

davyjose

daveirl wrote:

This post has been deleted.

Probably only because the OP seems to be bellyaching. OP just keep your eye on your own goals. And well done; you're faster than I am right now (or ever )

aoa321

davyjose wrote:

Probably only because the OP seems to be bellyaching.

bellyaching in what sense? I was sceptical about the runner's claims, I looked for some opinions, you may not like the style of my approach but how do you make out I was bellyaching? I asked for opinion, I got some, generally speaking the concensus seems to be that it might have been possible albeit some posters thought that there may have been some exaggaration about the amount of alcohol that the runner consumed, my scepticism may have been ill-founded.

I find it so difficult to run the time - you can't run it at all - and this guy I met has had a lot of drink the night before and he's able to do it ... I thought it was worth asking a group of people with experience of fitness. I actually thought there would be some debate around the actual chemical effect of alcohol on the body and muscles - the thread turned out to be more entertaining than that!

I could have asked for some opinion from my workmates, but to be frank they wouldn't really know the difference between the difficulty involved in running a five minute mile, a 20 minute 5K or a 60 minute 10K, so I came here, it is a discussion board after all.

Diamondmaker

I had a similar experience in a race over 5k some year ago and it was won by a guy who had never competed before, he was a rower however.

If this mystery guy comes from a sporting background more intense than running ( only, in all fairness ) 5k- Id believe it.

Perhaps a boxer ?

empirix

Personally speaking - anymore than 2 beers the night before and i'd be fcuked and feel lousy on a run out