Carb loading for 10K?

[Deleted User]

Hi everyone?

I've not been in a race for two years and finally I'm getting back into it. I've got my first race coming up (LINCOLN 10K)

faced loads of injuries and slipped disc recently but I'm still determined to run.

my question is how effective is carb loading? especially over a short distance as 10K?

does it help?

I've never really followed carb loading before and manage quite well. ran a half marathon in 1:35 on two weetabixs = not clever i know!

any advice is welcome.

all I want is to beat my previous best time on that course which is 42:35. it should be possible to beat as my fastest 10k is 38:23 so fingers crossed.

anyone else running this race?

M.ister W

Don't bother carb loading for a 10k, it's a complete waste of time. Just eat your normal, healthy diet the week before.

A half marathon on a breakfast of 2 weetabix is perfectly okay. I know people who train and race with no breakfast.

PhilPub

Yeah carb-loading is irrelevant for 10k. Just make sure you're well watered and have a proper warm-up to help get you up to race speed comfortably.

2 weetabix sounds like good prep for a HM to me!

[Deleted User]

Re breakfast. I cant stomach any. Ive tried allsorts. So Im one of those who can race without brekkie. Wish I could stomach 2 weetabix beforehand!!!!

The ten k's Ive done Ive just eaten my usual stuff really. Just made sure that I had plenty of water the day before. Though I think having something with pasta for my lunch gives me a psychological advantage!!! And steak for tea has always produced good results!!!

[Deleted User]

cool thanks for your advice.

the Half marathon was late in the day. thats the only reason i thought two weetabixs was a little low for both breakfast and dinner.

do you really think warming up helps? I personally do a few stretches and thats it. i take more time mentally warming up than on my muscles. but i suppose everyone is different.

Gavo

Bit of a jog for a warm-up should be enough in case you want to set off at a certain pace. But the last time I warmed up for a race was about 4 years ago so can't really remember what you're supposed to do.

M.ister W

Don't stretch before you run, it's counter productive. You'll be making your muscles relax and that's the last thing you want just before you run. For a 10k you want to warm up by running gently for a couple of minutes to get your heart rate up and get your muscles working.

[Deleted User]

I thought stretching pre warm up shortened the muscles making them less effective and more prone to injury? So yes, don't strech before.

PhilPub

Apogee,

I'm no race veteran but in my limited experience I've benefited greatly from a proper heart-beat raising warm-up. My 10k times are in the same 'ball-park' as yours - you're not hanging about and I'd guess that your HR would be over 90% of max pretty quickly into the race. I reckon this is much less of a shock to the system if your CV system has already had a bit of a work-out, e.g. a good couple of miles working up to a reasonable pace, and working up a decent sweat (well, I do anyway).

I definitely see the purpose of a 10k warm-up being to get the body, including cardiovascular system, into 'race-gear' rather than just limbering up or stretching out a few muscles.

[Deleted User]

thanks all. makes sense when i think about it.

but i thought that the more relaxed the muscles the better they are at performing?

maybe i have this wrong.

thanks

M.ister W

Apogee, if your muscles are relaxed then they'll perform worse. Think about it. If they're all relaxed then how are they going to contract quickly to get your legs moving?

[Deleted User]

Apogee - I echo all the far wiser comments. Just eat normal the week before, and don't do anything unusual that your body might take offence at. I'm also doing the Lincoln 10k; will be running (hopefully) about three minutes behind you. Being hydrated is the most important bit - although, at Lincoln, that involves using some of the crappest race toilets known to man!