Finishing week 3 (with a hangover)

[amalthea52]

Had a few impromptu gins last night on an empty stomach. Woke up this morning feeling pretty gross, cant seem to drink without feeling rubbish the next day these days!

Wasn't sure whether it was a good idea to run on a hangover, felt tired, headachey and dehydrated, but didn't want to get out of my routine either. Decided to eat a banana, top up on water and go for it.

Such a hot, sunny day, not a good combo to be honest, but I tried to enjoy the scenery and take it as it came. As usual, the first ten minutes was tough until my breathing settled down and legs got going, but I managed to complete all the running sections okay, and got to a point where I felt good. Weather was gorgeous. Nice breeze so not too hot.

Only thing was that my legs felt a bit heavy and wobbly. The walk back was tougher than usual (sometimes I throw in a little run depending on how long I have) and now my legs and arms feel a little jelly like!

Is it a good idea to run on a hangover? I've heard that exercise gets rid of it, but I now have jelly legs and I'm starving!

Hope everyone enjoyed their runs in the sun today (if you had it).

[ClareO65 Graduate]

Love an impromptu gin. The main thing is you did it. Your body will tell you whether it was a good idea. I always think you never regret a run. Also, running shouldn’t stop you having fun. Well done you. (She said enjoying a second impromptu gin in the sunshine)

[Jay66UK Graduate]

I’ve done one run with a hangover. I won’t be doing a second one! Enjoy the next run.

[Adam657]

It depends on your idea of a 'hangover'. Some people complain of headaches after just 2 drinks the night before. I wouldn't say it's disasterous for such people to exercise.

Similarly if you have hydrated throughout the day, and eaten properly, there's probably little harm in exercising in the afternoon/evening.

Chugging masses of water, waiting an hour or so is not 'hydrating' if you are dehydrated, it's better to be slow and steady.

Other than the dehydration aspect, alcohol impairs your liver's ability to regulate blood glucose (it's busy detoxifying the alcohol) so blood sugar levels are lower than normal after drinking, which explains your hunger (and also the line outside the kebab shop at 3am on a Friday!). So your muscles will struggle more to get their energy. Again waiting until later in the day is better.

Unavoidable the next day is the tiredness from disturbed sleep. After drinking, rather than your sleep rotating through cycles of deep, deeper and REM (dream) sleep, you plunge into stage 4 sleep as soon as you hit the pillow, stay there for half the night as if comatose, and then there is 'REM rebound' in the second half of the night, where you stay in superficial, restless and dreamy sleep, this is not restfull or restorative sleep at all.

Most concerning is reading some people on the internet say their morning workouts feel 'easier' after drinking. This implies they are still drunk! Temperature regulation, co-ordination and pain/ache warning signals are dulled. This is why people find they may have aching muscles the day after clubbing. They danced like a mad person and all the warning signals that it was 'too much' for their body were blunted.

Phew! Look at me going on and on. In short the length of the workouts in earlier weeks are probably not too much of an issue if hungover. But try and be hydrated such that you've peed a couple of times and it's a light colour, and wait til later in the day, and be careful if the weather is hot as it is today. Avoid exercise entirely if you still feel nauseous or dizzy.

Hope that helps!

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

Not a great plan.. and you do need to be well hydrated... in combination with the unaccustomed warmth.. the jelly legs happened. Rest up, drink plenty..not gin... and enjoy your next run more

[RobW73 Graduate]

First of all congratulations on finishing the week.

Secondly, congratulations on completing a hung over run. If you are determined to go running with the remnants in your system, then banana and water is probably the best approach.

If it happens again, perhaps postpone the run until late afternoon or evening. That will allow you to sort out the standard hangover cure: double bacon, double sausage, double fried egg, grilled tomato, grilled mushrooms, baked beans, black pudding, fried bread, orange juice and strong tea. There are a few variations, but that should bring you back to the land of the living...