Carb load, the thing I heard about doing before big games or big races, but never understood. I kept hearing about it, though, so I dug in. I listened to podcasts and read articles. I decided to do it.
What? Carb loading can supposedly increase performance 2-3% (Hawley, Schabort, Noakes, & Dennis, 1997). When it comes to longer races, this can mean minutes off a time. Sign me up!
Why? Carb loading is only really beneficial for events over 90 minutes. It is at this point that the body runs out of glycogen in the liver and goes to the muscles for fuel (Adeva-Andany et al., 2016). Fully stocked muscle glycogen promotes further performance. While it is true that the body can burn fat for energy through ketosis, this is an energy intensive process, and that's not what performance athletes want (Boyers, 2019). They want all of their energy going towards getting a new personal record.
When? Carb loading can be done for 1-3 days prior to an event. I chose to do 3 days per the calculations from Feathersone Nutrition (n.d.). I think this was right per the calculator, and I wanted to give myself the best shot at success.
How? I used the calculator from Featherstone Nutrition. When I first looked at almost double the grams of carbs I think I usually eat, I balked. Then I realized this was about substitution, not addition (less fat and protein in exchange for more simple, easy to digest and store carbs). Here's what I did:
-Kept in low fiber, high carb fruits like applesauce and bananas.
-Swapped my spicy protein cocoa and hot chocolate for Nesquick (20-22 g net carb gain).
-Switched out high volume, high fiber carbs for low volume, low fiber cards (eg oatmeal for bagels (2-37g net carb gain).
-Added carb rich condiments like jam (10-20 g net carb gain).
-Increased carb rich snacks like oat bars and pop tarts (19-33 g net carb gain).
-Ate lots of pasta for dinner (about 50 g net carb gain).
-Added high carb vegetables (eg peas and potatoes) when I had vegetables (about 15 g net carb gain).
-Decreased vegetables overall [As Jen Scott (2024) points out, this won't hurt a person when it is just three days.]
-Drank sports drinks (about 35 g net carb gain).
Experience: I felt both hungry and full at the same time. I normally eat a higher fat, higher fiber, higher volume diet, so my stomach felt more empty, and more...I guess starchy? Overall, it was not bad. I do think I felt a bit antsier at times, as well as sleepier, but was that from all the sugars in my bloodstream, or the taper crazies (Gupta, n.d.; Olivas, n.d.)? I'll never know.
Results: It worked! I PR'ed by 10 minutes, which is about an 8% improvement from my first half-marathon (and that was five years ago). I never felt like I hit a wall in the race, and I stopped taking fuel an hour in. (I probably should have taken one more gel at 90 minutes, but I didn't.) I had a kick left at the end, and I ran 7:23/mile for my last tenth of a mile. While I was a little sore after the race, I seem to have recovered more quickly than I did the first time. I heard on a podcast after the race that carbohydrates during a run decrease fatigue and increase recovery afterward (Coyle, 1992; Brooks & Norris, 2024). Maybe carb loading helps with this, too?
All in all, I have to say I would do this again. It really was not as hard as I thought. It made a difference. I felt better. I enjoyed my run. Win!
References:
Adeva-Andany, M. M., González-Lucán, M., Donapetry-García, C., Fernández-Fernández, C., & Ameneiros-Rodríguez, E. (2016). Glycogen metabolism in humans. BBA clinical, 5, 85–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbacli.2016.02.001
Boyers, L. (2019, May 16). Burning fat vs, glycogen. Live Strong. https://www.livestrong.com/article/331651-burning-fat-vs-glycogen/
Brooks, A., & Norris, L. (Hosts). (2024, February 10). How far should you run before you run a marathon? An update... (No. 52). [Audio podcast episode]. In Tread Lightly podcast. https://lauranorrisrunning.com/tread-lightly-podcast/
Coyle, E.F. (1992). Carbohydrate supplementation during exercise. The Journal of Nutrition 122(3), 788-795. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/122.suppl_3.788
Gupta, A. (n.d.). Anger management tips: 6 foods to avoid when you feel angry. Health Shots. https://www.healthshots.com/healthy-eating/nutrition/anger-management-tips-6-foods-to-avoid-when-you-feel-angry/
Hawley, J. A., Schabort, E. J., Noakes, T. D., & Dennis, S. C. (1997). Carbohydrate-loading and exercise performance. An update. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 24(2), 73–81. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-199724020-00001
Olivas, M. (n.d.). RUN HACK: How to deal with taper for a half or full marathon. Run Eat Repeat. https://runeatrepeat.com/run-hack-how-to-deal-with-taper-for-a-half-or-full-marathon/
Scott, J. [@MarathonMama_RD]. (2024, February 7). @kaydiruns is showing examples of her carb loading today and she is doing a fantastic job. I know. [Video]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/C3EhtIUrsE2/
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