Carbo loading

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spammyanna
spammyanna Posts: 871 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Any carbo loading advice from the runners out there? I know I need to start thinking about it. I am running my first half marathon on June 23rd, and my second one on July 15th.

How many days before should I start? How many carbs? Recipe ideas? Percent of calories from carbs? I am not a big carb eater in general (not on purpose, just happened that way) so this is all hard for me to figure out. I've read stuff online, but I'd like to hear from people what worked and what didn't.

Thanks guys!

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  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
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    I'm not an expert. I ran a half marathon once. I'm going to run another in August.

    This Sunday I'm running a 10 mile race that gains 4100' in elevation. It will take me nearly 3 hours. For 2 weeks leading up to it I decided to eat at maintenance instead of at a cut... I feel fat and bloated and I've gained 4 lbs on the scale. But my measurements haven't changed and I'm running WAY faster and easier than I have with a lower HR. After my race on Sunday I'm going to go back to a cut and then do this again before my half.

    I also take 2 days off training before every race.

    From this experience alone I highly recommend going into a race like a half or a full marathon without being on a calorie deficit. Eat at TDEE for a week beforehand if you've been restricting calories. That will be enough... it only took me about 5 days before I felt like I was running like the wind.

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