Caffeine & The Early Morning Workout

I count my blessings I've never been one of those people who has to rely on caffeine to get going in the morning. Although I drink my weight in coffee each day, it's all decaf. When (highly caffeinated) friends blink in astonishment and ask, "Why bother?" I don't have a good answer other than I find the smell comforting and I like sipping from a piping hot mug of coffee while I work. One too many "Special Tasters Choice Moments" commercials in my childhood, I'm sure. 

Typically, I drink one cup of caffeine coffee a week. That would be on Saturday morning before my long run. My hope is the unexpected caffeine powers me through my run and I think for the most part it works.

What's happening lately, however, is I've been doing more early morning workouts and adding caffeine to my schedule to "wake me up" for the workout. Not every day, but I'm probably up to 3 days a week where I'll drink a cup of regular coffee at some point during the morning.  It's almost always before a workout, but it's still a trend I'd like to break before it morphs into a need/habit. 

When Blair and I travel, I almost always come home with a caffeine addiction. Russia and Egypt were bad. I don't think there is a word that translates into "decaf" in either place. I drank a LOT of coffee and had raging headaches when I got home and returned to my normal routine. 

So here's my "no caffeine" announcement. It's all decaf from here on in, except for Saturday mornings.

And okay, maybe one cup of regular coffee before Friday morning spin class with Crazy Nancy because that woman is a beast on the bike and that class wears my ass out. But I love it.

Cheers (alcohol free and decaffeinated),

Dena