Carbing up

[rolysmate]

How many of you carb up for a long training run, is it something I should be doing?

[misswobble Marathon]

I eat a goodly bowl of wholewheat pasta with salmon and spinach the night before a race I always eat porridge on running days

I eat carbs all the time but don’t load specifically , or overload that is. Unrefined carbs are best, espesh sweet potatoes and green veggies. Whole grains, legumes and fruit, brown rice, sweet corn

Etc 🙂

[Rignold]

Depends on how long your run is. Under 2 hours, your body doesn't need anything more than its usual glycogen stores. That includes chomping down sugary snacks en route too. The only advantage is psycholgical,

[ju-ju- Marathon]

If it’s a super long one then I’ll enjoy a bit of extra carbs the night before, otherwise just the usual food etc....

[rolysmate Half Marathon in reply to ju-ju-]

which is pretty much what I'm doing plus drink and energy snacks (raisins) on my run

[misswobble Marathon]

I was going to say that but forgot ☺️

It does give you something to look forward to on a long run and breaks it up nicely Maybe a break Halfway round for a drink and something to eat

The idea of it kept me going yesterday 😋. I was out over 2hours though

[rolysmate Half Marathon in reply to misswobble]

I just chew a few as I'm trotting along

[Rignold]

There is nothing wrong with taking a handful of raisins or dates or jelly babies or whatever as little rewards to look forward to to break up the distance, as you say, Wobble, and they are not going to impair your progress or have any detrimental effect. My point was it is a psychological boost rather than your body needing the fuel. I think a lot of new distance runners feel they need to be refuelling along the way (or loading additional reserves before they go) and get into the whole gel/Gu trap because of that. All the magazines like RW perpetuate this myth because advertising.

[mrrun Ultramarathon in reply to Rignold]

Advertising actually puts me off many products.

We talked hydration a lot, l find l don't need anything for 10-16k and don't feel an immediate urge for water straight after either. I'm doing the last 3-4 weeks before l go 21k for the first time so wandering if l should take at least some drink with me or a snack at least. An instinct says yes but..

No fuel stops, l'm running on my own, l don't run with the humans (my wife points out that the humans don't want to run with me).

[roseabi Ultramarathon]

And a lot of people also report weight gain whilst training for long distance races. I think it's best to eat what you would usually eat and see how you feel. For myself I like a little extra food when my weekly distances are high, but not just carb

[mfamilias Half Marathon]

I don't eat differently the night before but I make sure I have a banana or porridge the morning of the run. Yesterday I had a banana and a bowl of muesli before my half marathon. I had a few fruit & sugar jelly snacks in my running belt, but it's more instant sugar placebo effect than anything else if I eat on the way, and has to be followed by water if you don't want to feel like you've licked a badger's bum for the rest of the run.