Carb loading

FoxyMcDeadlift

Crosspost from Marathon runners group:

Hi all,

I recently read a article on the London Marathon blog about carb loading, in the article, the author suggests you should taper your carbs to 50% for a few days prior to your load, before loading up for three days before the race. I notice a parallel between this, and the old form of carb loading where you exhaust yourself with a huge workout prior to the load.

So i was wondering, will this taper produce any extra benefits? My carbs are always pretty high and you can only store around 600g in glycogen anyway. Should i taper? How do you carb load?

Thanks!

trijoe

I race triathlon, and I carbo load. 2 days before a race, I'll have a big carb fest, at lunch time. Meatless spaghetti works great. My favorite is chinese noodles and boba tea.

That's about it, for me. I do try to reduce the hell out of my caffeine intake 1 week prior, and increase my NUUN water intake. That's about it.

jbrinda1

I have never participated in this notion of loading up several days out, i just always have a big carb fest, pasta and bread, or pizza with some lean protein the day before a marathon, and it always seems to serve me well. You don't have to wait til dinner. I usually do it at lunch, since I like to be in bed by 6 or so the night before a marathon, even if I may not sleep well.