Carb loading before long runs
Cate4035
Posts: 19 Member
Any recommended websites / resources for planning meals prior to a half marathon? Or formulas for calculating goal carb intake those days? Thanks!
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Replies
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You shouldn't need to do much out of the ordinary for a half marathon race effort. Eating well, say at maintenance level, and getting enough sleep during race week are good ideas. If the race is in the morning, eat a good breakfast several hours before the race starts.
If your run is going to last for several hours, then you might decide to consume a gel or some liquid electrolytes to help maintain performance. This is probably overkill for many runners, but if you think consuming a gel or electrolytes would help, then its something to practice on long runs prior to race day.3 -
As stated above, you don't really need to carb load for a half marathon. Just eat as you normally do before a long run. I find that avoiding a lot of fiber and fat the day before helps keep my stomach calm.1
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Do whatever you have done on your long runs/night before long runs- you don’t want to accidentally eat something that upsets your tummy! I personally do run better if I have eaten big meals the day before or in the mornings-even if I use drinks and gels during. These are things you should tinker with before race day, but like others said for many runners it may be overkill. Do what works for you!0
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I’ve never carb loaded for a race. I would advise eating normally, but not a heavy meal the night before.
Race day nutrition depends on your body and pace. Don’t eat anything before or during the race that you haven’t eaten before or during a training run.
I routinely fuel during longer runs. Maybe it’s not necessary for people who are faster, but my HM time is over two hours and that’s a long time for me to run without eating. If you choose to eat during the race, either bring your own fuel rather than eating whatever they provide on the course, or find out ahead of time what they’ll have at aid stations and practice with that.1 -
For the vast majority, there is no need to carb load. Many people use this as an excuse to eat a ton the night before the race when in reality you could be setting yourself up for a sick stomach and feeling overall crummy.
I will make a point to eat a balanced breakfast that includes carbs. I do not eat or drink while I run though.1 -
BrianSharpe wrote: »
Thank you for actually answering my question! I tend to eat a very low carb diet and have noticed a difference in my long runs when I make it a point to change how I eat ... but want to do it the right way 😁
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BrianSharpe wrote: »
Thank you for actually answering my question! I tend to eat a very low carb diet and have noticed a difference in my long runs when I make it a point to change how I eat ... but want to do it the right way 😁
That would have been useful information in the first post bh. It's likely that it would have changed most of the responses.8 -
Its always helpful to list what crazy assed fad diet you are on when asking questions. It will change the answers and keep you from having to be a smart *kitten* in your reply.
Good luck.12 -
BrianSharpe wrote: »
Thank you for actually answering my question! I tend to eat a very low carb diet and have noticed a difference in my long runs when I make it a point to change how I eat ... but want to do it the right way 😁
Your need to carb load is therefore completely different to most people doing endurance cardio,....
In your case you might want to up your carbs for a few days before an event whereas most people for that duration of event might just be thinking of a having carby breakfast.
Practice in training what you might have to do in the event.
BTW - are you just hoping to complete the half or compete in a half? Two very different ambitions even if the competition is just against yourself.1 -
BrianSharpe wrote: »
Thank you for actually answering my question! I tend to eat a very low carb diet and have noticed a difference in my long runs when I make it a point to change how I eat ... but want to do it the right way 😁
Silly me for not knowing your background information. My apologies for a "too general" response.
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BrianSharpe wrote: »
Thank you for actually answering my question! I tend to eat a very low carb diet and have noticed a difference in my long runs when I make it a point to change how I eat ... but want to do it the right way 😁
So basically, thank you for Googling "how to carb load before a race" because the people who actually answered your question just get a snarky comment because they didn't answer what you wanted them to answer.5 -
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If you want to carb load, you need to eat about 8g carbs per kg of mass 36 to 48 hours before the event.
If you are very low carb, your underfuelling your training and all your results are suffering. If your choice is weight loss over athletics, that's fine and you don't need to carb load at all. Just take in enough simple carbs during the event.
If you want to win, you've got to properly fuel yourself all the time4 -
In fairness, OP asked a pretty simple, straight forward question. It was most of us who assumed we knew better and told her what we thought she should know rather than answering the question.2
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In fairness, OP asked a pretty simple, straight forward question. It was most of us who assumed we knew better and told her what we thought she should know rather than answering the question.
I think in this instance all the initial answers made sense had the question been accurate. Even the article linked to doesn't really apply in the circumstances the originator has identified.
At face value, if you're carb loading for a half something is seriously wrong.0 -
MeanderingMammal wrote: »At face value, if you're carb loading for a half something is seriously wrong.
Not really, if your half takes at least 90 minutes. The science backs 4-10g/kg 36 to 48 hours before a race causes glycogen supercompensation - muscles holding more glycogen than normal.
That's the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine. I'm not looking up further sources though
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In Matt Fitzgerald's book "The New Rules of Marathon and Half-Marathon Nutrition" he describes a way to eat extremely low carb for 10 days during the taper and then describes how to carbo-load from that state. The carbo-loading part may interest you. Of course he blasts low carb diets for runners for any other time (just an FYI). I briefly considered doing this until I started researching some more... Now I'm not 100% convinced carb loading does much at all. Of course I'll still do it because that's what we do.
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In Matt Fitzgerald's book "The New Rules of Marathon and Half-Marathon Nutrition" he describes a way to eat extremely low carb for 10 days during the taper and then describes how to carbo-load from that state. The carbo-loading part may interest you. Of course he blasts low carb diets for runners for any other time (just an FYI). I briefly considered doing this until I started researching some more... Now I'm not 100% convinced carb loading does much at all. Of course I'll still do it because that's what we do.
I’ve never been one to argue against a plate of pasta!!1 -
scorpio516 wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »At face value, if you're carb loading for a half something is seriously wrong.
Not really, if your half takes at least 90 minutes. The science backs 4-10g/kg 36 to 48 hours before a race causes glycogen supercompensation - muscles holding more glycogen than normal.
That's the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine. I'm not looking up further sources though
I should have phrased more clearly. If you need to carb load... You can finish a Half fairly easily without any special fuelling strategy.
And in the case of someone who is eating very low carb, the disruption is as likely to cause GI issues anyway0 -
Is no one else picturing Michael Scott eating a huge portion of Alfredo before the rabies fun run? That’s literally all I have to offer in this conversation.1
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