Train hard. Train often.
Caffeine
In humans, caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant, having the effect of temporarily warding off drowsiness and restoring alertness. Beverages containing caffeine, such as coffee, tea, soft drinks and energy drinks enjoy great popularity; caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive substance, but unlike most other psychoactive substances, it is legal and unregulated in nearly all jurisdictions. In North America, roughly 90% of adults consume caffeine daily. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists caffeine as a "Multiple Purpose Generally Recognized as Safe Food Substance".
Some of the latest research:
Caffeine and exercise: metabolism, endurance and performance.
Effect of repeated caffeine ingestion on repeated exhaustive exercise endurance.
Caffeine ingestion during exercise to exhaustion in elite distance runners.
Low doses of caffeine reduce heart rate during sub maximal cycle ergometry
Practical use (dosage)
Recommendations for endurance athletes:
-Ingest 3 - 7 mg of caffeine per kg of body weight about 60 minutes before the competition. Although blood levels of caffeine peak much sooner, the maximum caffeine effect on fat stores appears to occur several hours after peak blood levels.
-Consider decreasing from caffeine for 3 - 4 days prior to competition. This allows for tolerance to caffeine to decrease and helps ensure a maximum effect of caffeine. Be careful though, because some may experience caffeine withdrawal.
-Make sure that you have used caffeine extensively under a variety of training conditions and are thoroughly familiar with how your body reacts to this drug. Never try anything new on race day.
