Big race is coming up Saturday, and I want to make sure my glycogen stores are at 110%. I know right now is the time I need to be focusing on it and not waiting until friday night.
So what is the trick to maxing them out? I thought I read a protocol somewhere that consisted of specific workouts and meals that was supposed to trick your muscles into storing more then normal.
There is a protocol where you eat a very low carb diet and do strenous exercise about a week out from your race to deplete your muscle gylcogen stores, then the last 3 days you rest and increase carbohydrate intake but from all accounts this protocol is no fun either mentally or physically. I wouldn’t try it before a big race unless you’ve done it before.
Eating a high carbohydrate diet the 3 days before the event works almost as well at topping off your glycogen.
I follow this loosely for IM and other ultra races. It consists of a load on the day before the race. I don’t know what distance race you are loading for, but I’m sure this could be adjusted. Out of the different methods I’ve tried, this has worked best.
http://www.coachgordo.com/gtips/nutrition_body_composition/cho_protocol.html
I remember seeing something, possibly posted here (but I can’t find it now) about that method and how absolutely horrible it makes you feel. At the end of the discussion was a quick little note that said further research indicated that doing “blah blah blah blah” during the week before the race is just as effective and without the same side effects. I just can’t remember where I saw it or what the ‘blah blah blah’ was. If I remember right, the post/article was actually discussing some famous distance runner (that pioneered the technique).
Anyway,
Are there any particular foods/carbs I should focus on/avoid? I would also like to decrease the fiber, as I’ve had some pretty bad lower GI experiences racing this distance. It’s only a half marathon and I’ll be running in the 90’ range, so if my stores are full, I should be okay, but I want to make sure I’m 100%.
I remember seeing something, possibly posted here (but I can’t find it now) about that method and how absolutely horrible it makes you feel. At the end of the discussion was a quick little note that said further research indicated that doing “blah blah blah blah” during the week before the race is just as effective and without the same side effects. I just can’t remember where I saw it or what the ‘blah blah blah’ was. If I remember right, the post/article was actually discussing some famous distance runner (that pioneered the technique).
Anyway,
Are there any particular foods/carbs I should focus on/avoid? I would also like to decrease the fiber, as I’ve had some pretty bad lower GI experiences racing this distance. It’s only a half marathon and I’ll be running in the 90’ range, so if my stores are full, I should be okay, but I want to make sure I’m 100%.
Yeah, I saw that in the last few days/week on here too, about the protein/high exercise/carbo thing.
John
Found it. It’s in the thread titled “Breakfast Prior to IM”, and at the bottom of the first page there are links to the protein depletion/carbo load phase regimens.
Link here
John
What you want to do is get a nice order of Fettuccini Alfredo in a to-go container from your favorite Italian joint, get extra alfredo sauce if possible. Then right before the race starts you should pummel down as much as possible. You’ll definitely race better. Advice provided courtesty of Michael Scott, Regional Manager, Dunder Mifflin, Scranton.
Found it. It’s in the thread titled “Breakfast Prior to IM”, and at the bottom of the first page there are links to the protein depletion/carbo load phase regimens.
Link here
John
thanks,
that’s exactly what I was looking for
the depletion protocol is definitely old school, and no more effective than just eating a high carb diet during the week preceding your race - maybe even less effective. The only difference is you will feel worse on the depletion protocol, and you won’t be any fun to be around for the days you are on the high protein/low carb phase.
I have discovered the best carb loading protocol.
It also happens to be the best recovery protocol as well.
So, is that what you’ve been doing for 6 months? “Recovering”? 
John
I’m always well recovered. 1 per day, like an apple, keeps the doctor away.
That philosophy combines 2 of Ben Franklin’s most insightful sayings.
“An apple a day keeps the doctor away”, and, “Beer is proof God loves us and wants us to be happy.”
Let’s just say that over the last 6 months, in addition, I’m also exceedingly well tapered.
:-p
Not necessarily true. I’ve been doing a lot of research about race week/race day nutrition mapping and there are quite a few recent studies that support the efficacy of a carbo loading protocol (for which there seem to be about three equally effective methods).
Just thought I’d put that out there. I might go ahead and post the protocols after I take a look at the thread previous to yours.
Tim Noakes has an excellent, in-depth treatment of this subject in his Lore Of Running book. Seriously backed up with some real research. The depletion method was actually the least successful of the schemes tried.
which part isn’t necessarily true?
Just topping off carbs being as effective as carbo loading methodology.
maybe there is some misunderstanding wrt ‘topping up’ - the CHO intake has to be high, but a depletion workout prior to loading, or a period of low CHO diet, are unnecessary. for your review:
Burke, Louise M Nutrition Strategies for the Marathon: Fuel for Training and Racing. Sports Medicine. 37(4-5):344-347, 2007.
Muscle glycogen provides a key fuel for training and racing a marathon. Carbohydrate ‘loading’ can enhance marathon performance by allowing the competitor to run at their optimal pace for a longer period before fatiguing. For the well trained runner, this may be achieved by tapering exercise over the final days before the marathon and ensuring carbohydrate intakes of 10-12 g/kg/day over the 36-48 hours prior to the race. Sports nutrition guidelines recommend that the runner consumes sufficient carbohydrate to promote restoration of muscle glycogen between training sessions. This strategy should allow the runner to ‘train harder’ and recover optimally between workouts. A recent hypothesis suggests that runners might ‘train smarter’ by training with low glycogen stores, since this might promote greater stimulation of the training response. However, there is no evidence that a low carbohydrate diet enhances the outcomes of training or provides benefits as a depletion phase prior to carbohydrate loading. In fact, a low carbohydrate diet may even impair performance if carried out for extended periods. If there are benefits to manipulating glycogen stores for some workouts, this is likely to happen as the natural outcome of the periodisation of the high-volume programme of an elite runner.
Jeukendrup, Asker E; Jentjens, Roy L P G; Moseley, Luke Nutritional Considerations in Triathlon. Sports Medicine. 35(2):163-181, 2005.
Triathlon combines three disciplines (swimming, cycling and running) and competitions last between 1 hour 50 minutes (Olympic distance) and 14 hours (Ironman distance). Independent of the distance, dehydration and carbohydrate (CHO) depletion are the most likely causes of fatigue in triathlon, whereas gastrointestinal (GI) problems, hyperthermia and hyponatraemia are potentially health threatening, especially in longer events. Although glycogen supercompensation may be beneficial for triathlon performance (even Olympic distance), this does not necessarily have to be achieved by the traditional supercompensation protocol. More recently, studies have revealed ways to increase muscle glycogen concentrations to very high levels with minimal modifications in diet and training.
Robins, Anna MD Nutritional Recommendations for Competing in the Ironman Triathlon. Current Sports Medicine Reports. 6(4):241-248, August 2007.
The Ironman triathlon is an ultraendurance event that requires specific training and individually tailored nutritional practice. Carbohydrate depletion and dehydration are likely causes of fatigue, yet hyponatremia has been highlighted as a major concern during such events. As a consequence, triathletes are recommended to evaluate fluid losses during practice sessions and develop personal fluid replacement programs to ensure fluid balance. With regard to dietary preparation there are new methods of glycogen supercompensation, recommendations for improving fat oxidation while maintaining endogenous glycogen stores, and evidence aligned to the benefit of consuming combined carbohydrate intake during the race to increase exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rates. Although this review evaluates recent findings in order to make nutritional recommendations, it requires, at times, the generalization from a variety of endurance/ultraendurance studies. This highlights the need for further research within the triathlete population in order that future recommendations are sport-specific and therefore more reliable.
Bussau VA. Fairchild TJ. Rao A. Steele P. Fournier PA. Carbohydrate loading in human muscle: an improved 1 day protocol. European Journal of Applied Physiology. 87(3):290-5, 2002 Jul.
It is generally acknowledged that even without a glycogen-depleting period of exercise, trained athletes can store maximal amounts of muscle glycogen if fed a carbohydrate-rich diet for 3 days. What has never been examined is whether under these conditions this many days are necessary for the content of muscle glycogen to attain these high levels. To examine this issue, eight endurance-trained male athletes were asked to eat 10 g.day(-1).kg(-1) body mass of high-carbohydrate foods having a high glycaemic index over 3 days, while remaining physically inactive. Muscle biopsies were taken prior to carbohydrate loading and after 1 and 3 days of eating the carbohydrate-rich diet. Muscle glycogen content increased significantly ( P<0.05) from pre-loading levels of 95 (5) to 180 (15) mmol.kg(-1) wet mass after only 1 day, and remained stable afterwards despite another 2 days of carbohydrate-rich diet. Densitometric analyses of muscle sections stained with periodic acid-Schiff not only supported these findings, but also indicated that only 1 day of high carbohydrate intake was required for glycogen stores to reach maximal levels in types I, IIa, and IIb muscle fibres. In conclusion, these findings showed that combining physical inactivity with a high intake of carbohydrate enables trained athletes to attain maximal muscle glycogen contents within only 24 h.
A short and sweet 24-hour carb loading protocol: http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0974.htm.
OK, so I have a lot of experience with “old school” aka “scandanavian” depletion/reload approaches to carbo loading. I used them in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s for ultra running, and then through the 90’s and into the early 00’s for ultramarathon cycling events. I will describe the protocol, and and then make a few observations.
6 days from race: depletion workout - roughly 3 hours of aerobic endurance level exercise (“zone 2 to 3”) with minimal carbohydrate replenishment
dinner: zero to minimal carbs
5 days: zero to minimal carbs (eggs, legumes, meat, cheese, leafy vegetables, nuts)
short easy workout
4 days: as previous day
3 days: AM: short easy workout (this will be hard)
zero to minimal carbs
PM: resume carb consumption
2 days: short intense workout
maximum carb intake
1 day: short intense workout
maximum carb intake
race day: kick it!
comments:
summary: if i was training for FC508 or longer, i’d revert to the depletion/reload regime. for pretty much everything else,
there’s Infinit and Clif Builder bars (20g of protein, 240 calories per bar, and semi-decent chocolate to boot!)
OK, so I have a lot of experience with “old school” aka “scandanavian” depletion/reload approaches to carbo loading. I used them in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s for ultra running, and then through the 90’s and into the early 00’s for ultramarathon cycling events. I will describe the protocol, and and then make a few observations.
6 days from race: depletion workout - roughly 3 hours of aerobic endurance level exercise (“zone 2 to 3”) with minimal carbohydrate replenishment
dinner: zero to minimal carbs
5 days: zero to minimal carbs (eggs, legumes, meat, cheese, leafy vegetables, nuts)
short easy workout
4 days: as previous day
3 days: AM: short easy workout (this will be hard)
zero to minimal carbs
PM: resume carb consumption
2 days: short intense workout
maximum carb intake
1 day: short intense workout
maximum carb intake
race day: kick it!
comments:
summary: if i was training for FC508 or longer, i’d revert to the depletion/reload regime. for pretty much everything else,
there’s Infinit and Clif Builder bars (20g of protein, 240 calories per bar, and semi-decent chocolate to boot!)
Nice little overview of the carb program.
You forgot to mention that by dinner day 2 you will be able to eat a whole cow and actually want carbs so bad that nothing will suffice your ravenous behavior over then something crunchy like chips, I opted for burnt bacon.
Also the physiological problems that occur at breakfast day 3 are quite funny or could turn you into an animal if your wife decides to have pancakes while you are starving yourself. The sugar cravings were the worst for me.
On a side note: I have been told for normal brain function the average human body requires 60g carbs/day.