Get yourself a nice knee injury (a tear in your patella cartilage that requires 3-6 months rest from pretty much everything but breathing) and suddenly your training plan becomes a big gaping chasm of nothingness and drinking is your new best friend.....

@Ann, good luck for Saturday.

"you’re likely to find me in pyjamas with a cup of tea in one hand, deciding between the rival excitements of the tv remote...

There is hope for you yet.

I turned up to a race once with 2 hours sleep after big night out, wasn't pretty, quite traumatic actually. I keep that memory in my head when ever I have anything on the next day and usually keep things respectable.

Also I prefer training in the evening during summer to make the most of sunlight! Always picks me up and makes me feel great after the day, also means you can wake up at a decent hour :)

when i was a student i used to go straight from town to the pool and do my workout - i found i could push myself way harder as your pain threshold is increased dramactically, then you go home and sleep and voi la, you wake up with no hangover and you have already done your training! (and are about 3kgs skinnier!) not for everyone though, and now i have a job the whole going home after thing doesnt really work....

now i just push through it, i'm lucky i dont really get hangovers and i can drink a lot more than a lot of people - and it is quite fun when you turn up at work and everyone is nursing a headache and you casually mention you only ran 7km this morning due to last night (and they are struggling to even be at work!) - that's enough motivation for me!

J

Love the social life..... so generally 'social events' come before 'training events' for me. But I will compromise if the social event isn't a biggie. Have been known to have a big night out, and turning up for training the next morning. Have also been known to have big night out and NOT turn up for training!! Live life, love life :-) Good luck for the half Ann!

It comes down to:

Do you want to do something unique, that only a few do, like a Ironman. Or do you want to do something that millions of others do - drink alcohol, party, sometimes get hungover...

Take the road less travelled Ann! It is more scenic and exciting.

Alcohol, providing you didn't get blotto, is tolerable, as is a late night, but combined they are deadly to performance. Particularly on top of a normal week's workouts. On the good side I have always found a run the morning after the night before to be a good hangover cure. 9miles seems to be about ideal, it's what I traditionally aim for on boxing and new years days. This year both being on a Fri, which is my rest day I aim for a normal training week both weeks which will mean a 5.5 miler first thing on the Sat run easy followed by a long or a longish with two BIG hills runs on the Sunday absolutely first thing (which is 1 1/2 hours before sunrise).

The best tip is to drink as much water as you can hold just before you drop into bed. The old Scotsman's hangover prevention. Doesn't do anything to the alcohol but it stops the dehydration and the extra fluids to dilute it in doesn't hurt. Has the added advantage of making getting up easier as you are guaranteed a full bladder . . .