Sobriety hasn't supercharged my running
But has it still been worth it?
“The first month you won’t notice any difference. The second month you’ll start feeling a bit better and by the third month you’ll feel the fittest you’ve ever felt.” Those were the wise words passed onto me by a fellow running friend who goes sober for five months every year. Except this hasn’t been my experience. I’m into month 10 of sobriety and I still feel the same.
The backstory
Let me take you back, to where it all began. Christmas 2023 and I had the worst of colds. I laid on the sofa for three days between Christmas and New Year sniffling, coughing and feeling lousy. I didn’t feel up to running so instead I read a press preview of the book There Is No Wall by Allie Bailey. The running memoir is a raw account of her lifelong struggle with depression and alcoholism with a bit of running thrown in (I later wrote about Allie’s story for Women’s Health and the Daily Mail). Allie stopped drinking alcohol three years ago and although she admits many days are still a struggle, without the alcohol she is in a much better position to tackle her depression.
I had been toying with the idea of trying sobriety for a few months prior to reading the book. I had previously gone dry, on and off, in the lead up to big races, with my longest stint being five weeks. But as soon as the event was done I was back to drinking. I wasn’t necessarily drinking loads, but could easily have a couple of bottles of wine over the weekend, and I drank noticeably more than many of my friends (although a few drank the same - or more - than me). My husband gave up booze in November last year so it made sense for me to follow suit (he is back to drinking now but drinks far less).
After reading Allie’s book I felt like I had run out of excuses. If Allie could do it - after years of being an alcoholic - then surely I could do it? So I had my last drink before midnight on New Year’s Eve 2023 and I haven’t had one since.
I don’t suffer from depression but I had my reasons. My motivation was two fold. I was about to start paying for a running coach and wanted to see how far my fitness could take me. So cutting out booze would support this. I hoped that my recovery after training and big races would be quicker, and like my friend suggested I’d feel the fittest I’d ever felt. And I would be able to ward off any nasty bugs because the running, plus a healthy diet and no drinking would mean my immune system was tip top.
Secondly, it was a bit of an experiment to see if I could cope in social situations without alcohol as a crutch, and if I could relax on a Friday night without a glass of wine. I decided I would give up alcohol for 12 months and then reassess.
The results
If I am 100% honest I have been trully disappointed with the side effects of nine months of sobriety. I do not feel fitter, stronger or more immune to illess. I am currently struggling with a lingering cold which has been hanging around since the beginning of September. And if anything, my recovery from races seems to be taking longer.
The biggest problem has been my sky-high sugar cravings. These tend to rise anyway when I am training for an ultra marathon but since the booze has gone the cravings have intensified. I can binge eat sweets and (vegan) chocolate during the day, and in the evenings, and if there is nothing sweet in the house I gorge on roast peanuts. I thought I’d save money from not buying alcohol but it turns out fancy vegan chocolate is very pricey, so my wallet isn’t any happier either.
Yet everyday I see headlines like this one: “I’m 54 with a 35-year-old body. It all started because I gave up drinking.” What a crock of shit. As Allie Bailey explores in her book, she was a functioning alcoholic running 100 mile races, and the first time she did not finish a race was when she became sober. It is perfectly possible to be fit and healthy while drinking (depending, obviously, on the amount you drink). The liver is remarkable at healing the body and if you lead an otherwise healthy lifestyle with exercise and a good diet, then a few drinks a week is not going to damage you.
But that doesn’t mean giving up alcohol is a waste of time. I’ve definitely found benefits, they just haven’t necessarily been health and fitness related. I love not having hangovers and it definitely gives me more time at the weekend as I sleep better and wake earlier. While I could always run with a hangover (which in itself legitimised my drinking) it’s much nicer to run without one.
And I have had some good race results this year. I may not ‘feel’ fitter, or that running is easier but I did get through my first 100km race without any issues, and last weekend I got a half marathon PB with very little race specific training.
Social events have also been absolutely fine. In fact it has enabled me to come out of my shell a bit more, without a drink, which is very reassuring. It no longer feels weird to have ‘drinks’ or dinner with friends where I am nursing a Heinekein Zero, Nosecco or glass of water. I’ve had some cracking nights out with friends this year, all without the need for a drink.
The only exception has been a night out with friends when I had to leave once everyone starting necking shots. Suddenly I felt totally excluded and like I didn’t want to be there. Luckily I had a race the next day so it was easy to make an excuse and leave early.
In terms of relaxation, I have pretty much broken the habit of needing a drink to relax. And when things do become tense (like six teenage boys having a sleepover at our house) I reach for a zero alcohol drink and the placebo effect works a treat. Over the summer I drank more alco-free wine and beer when the sun was shining, but I seem to have come out the other side of this phase and rarely drink it now.
The biggest change is not being a slave to alcohol. I don’t need a drink to do X,Y,Z and I also now don’t want it either.
The outcome
So what am I to make of all of this? To be honest I am still on the fence. I intend to stay sober until the end of the year, because this was my goal. But I have no idea whether I will drink again.
I am very proud of the fact I have got through the summer holidays, a boozy press trip in Bermuda and several birthdays without having - or wanting - a drink. There has definitely been a shift in mindset.
But part of me really misses the taste of a great glass of wine, and it seems rather silly to prevent myself from having one, just for the sake of it. But I also know it is a slippery slope and drinking in moderation is not something I’m very good at. So maybe I need to set myself some new boundaries - I just don’t know what they are yet. Or maybe I will continue along the road of sobriety and see where it takes me. Perhaps I need a little longer to feel the fittest I’ve ever felt.
What is your experience of running and drinking? Or have you also given up alcohol and seen good / ill effects? Let me know!
Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter. If you have any running news for me, let me know! Send feedback to lilycanter@yahoo.co.uk or suggest topics you’d like me to cover.
