Hi there,
I have carbo-loaded for my last four marathon events, and have found it to be extremely beneficial each time. However, after talking to many different people in the build up to races I find that no-one seems to rate it as an important piece of preparation anymore. Has a better method come along, or do people not know enough about carbo-loading to want to do it?
All opinions invited.....
Comments
I have to admit, I don't see the first phase too much in the depletion manner - I look at it as time for the protein to assist in muscle repair, but I can see where you are coming from.
I have a number of theories about the whole thing, but I want to see what others think too.
I musat say that eating a good pasta, bread dish a good 15 ish hours before a race works great for me.
I also have found that giving my Shreddies with milk and a banana a good 2 and half hours to digest before the race works superb.
I think it is a trail and error for everyone.
If you thought that the carbo-loading -done properly of course- was to be beneficial to you and give you a better base to start the actual race with, then do you think you would try it?
Personally, I can't NOT do it now as it has become part of my routine, but most people seem to manage fairly well without it, so i can see why it is dying off, but to me, if the elite runners can still do it, then it's good enough for me....
I've only once NOT carbo-loaded for a marathon, and I had a complete 'mare ... though the failure to carbo-load was probably less important than the 14 weeks without training due to injury
Like you, Vicki, I can't imagine NOT carbo-loading, and take the glycogen-loading theory as an act of faith. I like to have my main eating-day two days before the race, and a relatively light diet (but mainly carbohydrate) the day before. Having said that, I won't turn down the opportunity for a pizza-party the night before a marathon!
I don't bother carbo-loading for shorter races but make a bit of an effort the day before 16+ mile training runs or long leg-mashing sessions out in the fells.
Fell running always sounds fun - is it? I should think that it provides a great fitness base to work from, marathon-wise.
I too will not turn down pizza the night before a race, but I still mix it with some spag bol. It always surprises me how dedicated I am toward the process, and how I just 'snap' right into the 2 different phases that i use - separating protein days from carb days. And as everyone tells me - you are only an average runner - why do you do it? I do it because I firmly believe it stops me from hitting the wall.
Fell-running is for harder nutcases than me. I'm just a hillwalker who wears Inov8s, doesn't carry those ski-stick things, and sometimes runs the easy bits. But 20 miles of Highland undulations certainly feels like a good workout
I've never tried doing a depletion phase, though the idea of living on cheese and fillet steak for a couple of days is quite appealing.
I mean in a more specific term. The way I was taught was a 10 day period - split into a depletion and a replenishment phase, with a training taper cut down to no more than 3 or 4 miles a day at a gentle pace.
When I do the maths, as I am, for want of a better phrase 'Built like a brick s@/thouse', I burn off an average of 4000kcal per race, so I find that the carbo-loading works for me because I can get more fuel into my muscles by carbo-loading, as I am never going to manage eating 4000kcal on the day of the race - either before or after the race.
Does that help?
According to the charts, I burn off well under 2,000 calories during a marathon (I'm built like a scale model of a person, and my running is so efficient that I'd probably use up more calories knitting) and suspect I'd get by quite nicely on a normal diet leading up to the race, a bite of brekky and a bottle of Lucozade Sport. For my last marathon, I didn't take anything during the race apart from a few swigs of the supplied isotonic drink, and was fine.
But that would be no fun at all
I am learning lots about myself after the fiasco that was the Chicago marathon. Whilst I had prepared thoroughly and was fine in the 32C heat, many people weren't, so when I came home I started planning for various 'eventualities' that may crop up during my next races, and am just learning about how people run marathons in the hotter US states, and how their preparations may differ from ours, here in the UK.
I want to be faster, fitter and even better prepared for the next one
Even though you burn off 2000 calories Velociraptor - that still doesn't take your average daily requirements into account. That is 2000 on top of what your body requires per day, so you can still have some fun
That's fair enough Popsider - I didn't want to do it at first, but I wanted to make sure I was completely prepared, and I hadn't seen anything stating that people didn't take much notice anymore. Now I wouldn't be without the process, but that's just me, purely because of the calories I burn off. I'm no Paula Radcliffe.
Maybe it is just beneficial to the 'larger ' runner - those of us who aren't of a runner's build?
I was proposing to take an energy gel every five miles during the race.
Mind you that'll probably give me the trots!!
Many peole who have problems with the gels find that it is usually a specific brand that causes problems, and so try many different ones. I personally prefer PowerBar gels, but they are difficult to get hold of - if I can't get them I either go without, or have jelly beans or jelly babies to get my energy. I did London with 2 granola bars from Starbucks, but if you are dehydrated at all, then they are difficult to swallow.
You could try your own 'energy' drink. I recommend a 50-50 mix of orange juice and water with a teaspoon of salt in. Mix up to a tablespoon of sugar to taste. It's pretty much natural, and with the lack of chemical additives in it, it may just help.
Where and when is your first marathon Mike?
I wouldn't use something I've not used before.
It works every time for me!!!! Im not as good a runner as marathons etc, but 10ks and 10miles are my thing.
But every training run I carb load for, it works and helps every time!