Caffeine Pills in Ultra Racing?

[worntreads]

My routine in the Trans Am was pretty standard. Cup of coffee as soon as humanly possible (sometimes this was rolling over to a gas station others were 40 mile slogs to the nearest joe), ride to the next town or 40+ miles, get more coffee, throw a pop in my bag and roll. Drink pop, replace, replenish, caffeinate caffeinate, caffeinate, then on the ride I met another rider chewing on some No-Doze.

I had thought about this before hand and for whatever reason, it felt like cheating. I know it's over the counter, but it still feels like cheating. Advil seems alright, but No Doze doesn't.

Am I the only one who feels this way?
Who else uses caffeine pills?

[Couloirman]

I have no issues with it. What if that person just doesn't like coffee? I don't see a difference between this and coffee, or caffeinated energy gels.

It's all over the counter caffeine any way you look at it, so all good to me. If someone brought their friends adderall  (amphetamine salt) that was not prescribed for them along on the race to stay up all night tweaking that might be a different story, but no doze= no problem.

[cccniuk]

Can't actually believe anyone can stomach caffeinated gels. Gels alone make me wretch. Caffeine ones are awful! Horrible bitter taste!

[worntreads]

Can't actually believe anyone can stomach caffeinated gels. Gels alone make me wretch. Caffeine ones are awful! Horrible bitter taste!

I lived off Cliff Mocha, they are about the only ones I can manage (okay and their double espresso)

[Done]

Caffeine pills are the same as coffee, just without the hydration or bad breath. I don't use caffeine on ultra races though, because the let-down doesn't make up for the buzz. Not cheating to use it though.

[Yogi the Barry]

Re: Caffeine
For my final 22-hour long push to finish this year's AZT 300, I mixed up a special drink to get thru the final few hours. Drink was a bag of Hammer's Mocha Latte Perpetuem with a Starbucks Via. BTW, I'm not a coffee drinker. Instead, I drink black teas for my moderate caffeine buzz. Mocha Latte Perpetuem and 'Bucks Via combo rocks! I downed this brew at sunset and got at least two hours of lift from it [~120 mg total caffeine?]. Finished AZT at 1:50 am and I'm sure the drink helped. I didn't take any caffeine pills for the AZT 300, but I had some with me, just in case I had to do an emergency push. A few times a year, I swallow half a pill [~100mg caffeine] to help safely drive thru the 2-6 am Twilight Zone. Also, lots of literature which suggests caffeine helps the body better metabolize fat as an energy source.
Re: Ibuprofen
I no longer take it, unless I have an acute need. Read up on it. IBU is not a good thing for endurance athletes to be taking for chronic issues or just to help push thru the pain/discomfort...

[worntreads]

I took painkillers for knee and foot pain. Joint pain, not muscle pain. I could definitely feel it weighing on my stomach. After a few days it passed and everything returned to normal. I also got to listen to This American Life talk about how acetaminophen kills you, even though it's better for your stomach. Well shit.

[Done]

I took painkillers for knee and foot pain. Joint pain, not muscle pain. I could definitely feel it weighing on my stomach. After a few days it passed and everything returned to normal. I also got to listen to This American Life talk about how acetaminophen kills you, even though it's better for your stomach. Well shit.

No pain, no gain.

OK, maybe not. But with IB and acetaminophen on the bad list, about all that's left is to embrace the pain in hopes that it can be mastered. Now, if only I could figure out exactly how to do that...

[ruthslp]

i would tend to agree that anything over the counter is ok to consider as fair game if your willing to take it.
caffeine is an accepted supplement in lots of sports, in various forms.
just be careful and do your research if you are mixing different supplements even if they are all over the counter (ie: extra caffeine with Taurine, etc)
 

[Nathan Jones]

Firm believer in caffeine pills, but in the Trans Am I only used them east of the rockies, cuz you know, shit coffee.  Why bother drinking crap joe!   Really never used them to beat others, just when it was go time and I had no go left in the last week.

[jktwice]

One can easily over do it with caffeine pills! As you train, try them out. I absolutely melted my stomache last year on the tnga, had to ride the last 40-50 miles in burning pain unable to drink or eat anything. I'm a big coffee drinker, but these pills roasted me.  No fun.