Carb loading? I'm finding this more challenging.....

lculian

than I thought it would be! I thought carb loading=happpy eatting! I'm preparing for my first half marathon and I read an article in Runners World that talked about carb loading. They suggested 600 g of Carbs a day for the 2-3 days prior to your marathon or half marathon. I weigh about 15% less than their example so I figure I should shoot for 510 carbs a day.

My meal plan today is bagel, rice chicken and veges for lunch, banana bread snack chocolate milk post taper workout, rice and beans with chips and salsa for dinner and an English muffin with jelly for a late night snack. I'm still 50 g under for the day!

What do you add to your diet to carb load properly? I don'e mind if I go over a bit in calories for the next few days, I just want to be sure my body has the fuel it needs for the race.

Do you have a favorite carb loading snack or drink?

Thanks guys and HAPPY RUNNNING

MissMaryMac33

If I ate like that.. I wouldn't be able to run a marathon, I would be bloated and passed out from carb coma.
I can't even imagine doing 200g a day and not feeling like crap... if I had to do it, I would get it from higher carb protein shakes where I'm still getting at least some good protein. Maybe try some quinoa.

KimertRuns13_1

When I "carb" load before a half marathon I do this...

bfast - eggs, eng muffin, fruit
lunch- chicken, baked potato, fruit
dinner - protein, pasta/rice, fruit
snacks are protein, fruit and maybe a half bagel or eng muffin w/pb.

I do that for 2-3 days before. I try to make "better" carb choices than the ones I know I'd love to have (cookies, cake, poptarts.. lol).

micpen2

Personally, I don't worry about Carb Loading prior to a race. I think the benefits are minimal when running 9 min miles pace or slower. I instead use a energy gel during the race. I like GU (https://guenergy.com/), but try a couple to see if you like them. Try them on a couple of you long runs to get use to eating on the run. Be prepared to drink plenty of water following eating the gel, sometimes it can be hard to wash them down without the help.

martinh78

I've done it in teh past. I mixed boiled rice with baked beans and had it on 6 rounds of wholemeal bread for breakfast, followed by tuna pasta for lunch, and baked potato in the evenings...

I'm not saying that's ideal, and knwo that the gi of teh white rice, baked potato and pasta is high so have cut back.

Try an oat flour shake, made with milk.

Also I used energy drinks, such as those by SiS. They contain lots of carbs, and I just sipped a bottle little by little through the day. Aids hydration as well as carb loading.

Be careful trying anything like that before a race though, some disagree with your stomach and it takes a while to find one you like.

RMinVA

I have done lots of 10 milers and a couple of half marathons. I just make sure I have at least one healthy carb a day (brown rice/sweet potato) in the couple of days leading to the race. I might eat a bit of extra fruit also, but I don't worry about downing "x" amount of carbs. Hydration in the days leading up to the race is just as important!!

And as someone pointed out, this is not the week to change your eating habits. That's one of the worst things you can do before a race.

IMO carbo loading is not all it is cracked up to be. Lots of marathon runners eat very few carbs...it just depends on the person. The argument for carbo "loading" assumes that you are depleting your glycogen stores on a daily basis, and not allowing ample rest and refuel time. Most people just don't do enough exercise to warrant it on a regular basis.

cleigh86

I actually spread my carb loading across 4-5 days instead of just the couple before. It's easier for me without trying to cram them in! Now I don't know if this works as well as the traditional way, but I like it...good luck with your race!

martinh78

If I ate like that.. I wouldn't be able to run a marathon, I would be bloated and passed out from carb coma.
I can't even imagine doing 200g a day and not feeling like crap...

Funny thing is I was advised to cut my carbs to aid fat loss (makes sense when explained) and I felt like crap. Flu liek symptoms, run-down, tired, aching. By teh end of the week I wasn't feeling good at all. Went home, drank two carb shakes and you know what, within an hour I felt great. I've put my carbs back up now, don't care what anyone says. I lost 20lbs in 10 weeks on high protein, low fat and felt really good. I'll stick to that!

wolfchild59

To the first replier - Carbs for longer distance runners are like gasoline for a car. You don't eat like that right before a run, you eat that the few days leading up to it, with a more reasonable dinner the night before and normal sized breakfast with something like a bagel, a banana and some PB a few hours before the race. It's all about storing glycogen in your muscles to be able to run for 2-4 hours straight. If a person has properly carbo-loaded, they should gain about 2-3lbs by race day.

To the OP - I'd add in some pretzels for the carb and salt combo. And don't worry about exact numbers, just make sure you're keeping full and not eating anything that will upset your stomach during the race. Since white rice has higher carbs and less fiber it's a better pre-race rice option for loading, so that switch would be good if you're eating brown rice right now. Same with whole wheat pasta vs regular and sweet potatoes vs white. Cereal is also a good option, stuff like Kix or Regular Cheerios that has carbs, sodium a bit of sugar and not a lot else going on, but don't have too much dairy close to the race, so either eat it dry or with a non-dairy milk. And have an awesome half! I'm out on injury right now but plan on training for my first after the new year and running it in the early Spring.

mlb929

Personally, I don't worry about Carb Loading prior to a race. I think the benefits are minimal when running 9 min miles pace or slower. I instead use a energy gel during the race. I like GU (https://guenergy.com/), but try a couple to see if you like them. Try them on a couple of you long runs to get use to eating on the run. Be prepared to drink plenty of water following eating the gel, sometimes it can be hard to wash them down without the help.

This is what I do. I've ran a marathon, a half, and I'm running my second half on Saturday. I've never carb loaded before any run. I keep my carbs low in general and have not worried about it. If you have trained just fine w/o carb loading, don't do anything to your system you wouldn't do regularly. My kids have celiac, so we don't eat wheat, and my carb choices are generally healthy carbs like fruit or sweet potatoes. I'm a firm believer in proteins rather than carbs, IMO the sports beans I eat during the race are more important to me.

UrbanRunner81

Personally, I don't worry about Carb Loading prior to a race. I think the benefits are minimal when running 9 min miles pace or slower. I instead use a energy gel during the race. I like GU (https://guenergy.com/), but try a couple to see if you like them. Try them on a couple of you long runs to get use to eating on the run. Be prepared to drink plenty of water following eating the gel, sometimes it can be hard to wash them down without the help.

^^^ this. I didn't really carb load. I did kind of eat whatever I wanted the day before. I took GU chomps during my race and found that helped a bunch. What I would worry about is making sure you are well hydrated before your race.

MissMaryMac33

If I ate like that.. I wouldn't be able to run a marathon, I would be bloated and passed out from carb coma.
I can't even imagine doing 200g a day and not feeling like crap...

Funny thing is I was advised to cut my carbs to aid fat loss (makes sense when explained) and I felt like crap. Flu liek symptoms, run-down, tired, aching. By teh end of the week I wasn't feeling good at all. Went home, drank two carb shakes and you know what, within an hour I felt great. I've put my carbs back up now, don't care what anyone says. I lost 20lbs in 10 weeks on high protein, low fat and felt really good. I'll stick to that!

That's because of the high protein low fat --- if you upped your carbs and lowered your protein, you'd feel like crap.

lculian

Wow!!! Lots of great info. Thank you!!!!!