Coffee, anyone?

I didn't drink coffee until graduate school, when I was pulling all nighters trying to get my schoolwork done as well as prepare for the next teaching day. I had some coffee drinkers as friends though. My good friend and house-mate Foster would down 5-6 espressos a day. Colin, another house-mate, would put instant coffee granules in his upper lip, like he was packing a dip, and stay up all night writing papers. I remember growing up the smell of coffee after dinner, as my family always did desert and a pot of coffee post-meal.

So, when a former athlete of mine asked me if caffeine was OK for runners, I immediately assumed it was. I drink it every day, and even though I am not the fastest anymore, I can still get around a course. Colin was an D1 Nordic skier, Foster was captain of the rugby team. Personal experience tells me that it is fine for athletes.

I did some research around the Internet and in some physiological journals I dug up. Turns out that, as usual, there are two sides to the story. Some researchers found out that coffee decreases blood flow to the heart, and others discovered that it increases aerobic capacity in the lungs. There seem to be lots of studies showing both sides of the coin.

But I liked what Dr. Lawrence Armstrong, from the Univ. of Connecticut, said about coffee. "Caffeine has both a physical and a psychological effect on athletes, and that even a little bit can make a difference." I read into this as a little coffee is good, maybe 1 cup a day, but overdoing it, just like overdoing anything, is probably detrimental. Everything in moderation, as some smart person once said.

Personally, I like my coffee black. Not regular, but black. Mmmmmm.... the coffee pot is jus going off now, how coincindental!