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As runners we give up so much in our pursuit of what we love, running. To fully do the noble art of running justice you have to give away a few things in life. Like all good things there is a price to pay.
The week after the marathon is a magical time when really you get to do what you want without the constant fear of not training. If you want you can do no exercise the week after a marathon and this has been shown to do as much good as gentler recovery. The only reason I run in the post marathon week is I love running and my treat to myself after a marathon is to run, albeit slowly. Can you treat yourself after so much running with more running, not sure ? Anyhow this is the week to go large on the ice cream scooper make multiple visits to your favourite deli and order that high fat, sugar laced muffin you normally just stare at in wonder.
Basically let yourself go (to a point) while you reload before your next goal, because people there is always a next goal. A runner without a goal is not a runner. With no goal why would you push yourself into the pain box on those interval sessions, run yourself close to vomiting on the VO2 sprints or push yourself to the limit on a fartlek and then go past that limit on the next sprint. All these things are done with a specific goal in mind, be that a marathon, an ultra or even shorter distances, runners need goals. This week though you have no goal but to enjoy being a ‘normal’ person. Not worrying about weight gain, fitness loss or recording every step you take on Strava. Imagine that, that’s why I go for a run.
So what do I consider letting myself go ? I do take Monday off running and maybe an extra coffee for a couple of days with a piece of banana bread. That’s about it, actually that sounds party sad really as reward for 3 months of running between 10-14 times a week but when you actually enjoy the running what are you really rewarding yourself for doing. ? If running is what you love than you can’t really reward yourself for doing it, can you ? Funnily enough you can because it is meeting your ‘goal’ you are really rewarding yourself for , which is why we needs goals. With goals you can do the thing you love and then still reward yourself for doing it via goal setting.
This week I will stand by my advice with slow and steady runs only. No double up days for a few days anyhow and no pace work for a week or two. The odd extra coffee and a few sweet tweets will be embraced off course but I’ve never been one to go mad or let myself go, too many goals to look forward to.
The week after a marathon can be a wonderful time but remember this is what normal people do and as runners we ain’t normal. We like early mornings, early nights, time in the pain box and hours upon hours of running. Life as a runner is a privilege, an honour and a joy, and once a week we even add the odd muffin, how good is that?
There are two trains of thought regarding recovering from marathon. Most suggest an easy first week of little or no exercise and then a slow second week, staying away from any speed work. Week three and four are still recovery weeks albeit slightly less so each week. I normally give myself 4 weeks of no racing as a minimum and certainly no speed work for at least two weeks. The second week can sometimes be the most dangerous time as runners are always keen to push the envelope and think they are bullet proof, so add pace before their bodies are ready.
The other train of thought (an apt description) is you just ignore the fact you’ve run a marathon and continue training like it never happened. This is what my good friend Tony ‘T-train’ Smith does on a regular basis and always posts his splits on Strava to wind me up. That was until today when I saw on Strava a very reasonable recovery run at a pedestrian pace, compared to the normal T-train sub-4 minute recovery sprint. I put this down to one of two things. 1. He is starting to listen to me and realises the error of his ways. (unlikely) 2. After finding him in the recovery position next to the bin at the end of the finishing chute yesterday he is still totally suffering from yesterdays beating he took at the hand of the World Masters marathon (likely)… NB. There really isn’t two trains of recovery, there is only one, slow and steady is the only way.
I use to give myself three days off and then start training on Thursday but these days I take the day off after the marathon and then it’s back into it, albeit at a very relaxed pace. I am now a firm believer in running on tired legs (and my legs are seriously tired at the moment!) is good training and as I have discussed before don’t underestimate the good work you could be doing just by getting out there. Thus I can’t wait to get on my compression tights (another good article of clothing to have for these recovery runs) and go for a very relaxed 10k tomorrow morning. With Spring finally sprung over here in Western Australia the mornings are glorious and I’m finding running tracks everywhere. Even this morning while walking from the train station I snapped this photo of what I see as great running track compared to what the general public just see as a bike path. I just can’t wait to get back into it.
This week is all about ‘smelling the roses’ with maybe a small gathering on Sunday for some pancakes and some ‘Masters Marathon debriefing’. As I said before only one thing better than running a marathon is talking about running a marathon, over pancakes and decent coffee of course. Next week is also another easy week , just adding distance if I feel I can. (Very important to listen to your body for the next two weeks). Recovery weeks three and four are similar but maybe the odd steady or tempo run and longer on the weekends but at a slow pace; more time on legs. After four weeks you are generally good to go.
So what next ? The World Masters has been my goal since June this year and now this goal has been achieved it’s time for a few short term goals to keep me honest. The first of these is my favourite off -road trail race the 6 inch ultra marathon, named after it’s big brother the 6-foot which is an event over east in the Blue mountains. ( http://www.sixfoot.com ) The 6 inch was started 12 years ago and has grown from a ‘fat-ass’ free entry race to a 350 runner sell out that it is now. ( http://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com/?page_id=71 You’ll recognise the athlete bearded runner in the link.) This will be my 7th year of running it and it is always a challenge given the terrain, the elevation and the heat. It is another special WA event though and, as the last run of the year, very sociable, it’s like a private party where the entry is a 48k pre-party run.
Finally an article from coach Jeff from Runners Connect gives you a few pointers about recovery. Funnily enough doesn’t mention the T-trains ‘train like it never happened approach’.
Recovering from a marathon is a critical component to a perfect training plan that runners often neglect.
Unfortunately, if you don’t properly recover from your marathon, you’ll increase your injury risk, increase the total marathon recovery time, and limit your long-term potential – making it harder to break your PR and stay healthy.
As a running coach, I’ve heard all the arguments from athletes wanting to jump back into training or racing immediately after their race.
More often than not, runners who do not follow a proper post marathon recovery plan find their subsequent performances stagnating or they suffer from overtraining symptoms.
Today, we are going to give you the best ways to recover from a marathon; this article will outline the science behind post marathon fatigue, so you can feel comfortable knowing you’re preparing your body for optimal performance down the road.
Then, I am going to provide you with an optimal post marathon recovery plan to help get you back to running your best as soon as possible.
Marathon recovery is critical and often overlooked. This article will provide you with the ultimate marathon recovery plan and the time it takes to get backWhat Happens To My Body When I Run A Marathon?
Marathons are tough on the body – there’s no way to sugar coat this fact.
Muscles, hormones, tendons, cells, and almost every physiological system is pushed to the max during a marathon race.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a Boston qualifier or it’s your first marathon, 26.2 miles is 26.2 miles and your body has undergone tremendous physical duress, let alone the stress you have put on your body running according to your marathon training schedule.
Here is a list of some of the scientifically measured physiological systems that are most effected after a marathon and how long each takes to fully repair.
Skeletal Muscle
Muscles soreness and fatigue are the most obvious case of damage caused by running the marathon distance.
One scientific study conducted on the calf muscles of marathon runners concluded that both the intensive training for, and the marathon itself, induce inflammation and muscle fiber necrosis that significantly impaired muscle power and durability for up the 14 days post marathon.
Accordingly, it will take your muscles about 2 weeks post marathon to return to full strength.
Cellular damage
Cellular damage post marathon, which includes oxidative damage, increased production of creatinine kinase (CK) – a marker that indicates damage to skeletal and myocardial tissue, and increased myoglobin levels in the blood stream (which often results in blood being present in urine).
One study concluded that CK damage persisted more than 7 days post marathon while another study confirmed the presence of myoglobin in the bloodstream post marathon for 3-4 days post race.
Both of these studies clearly indicate that the body needs at least 7-10 days of rest post marathon to fully recover from the cellular damage caused during the race.
These markers, along with a suppressed immune system, which is discussed below, is the primary reason that the optimal marathon recovery schedule avoids cross training the first 2-3 days.
Immune system
Post marathon, the immune system is severely compromised, which increases the risk of contracting colds and the flu.
Furthermore, a suppressed immune system is one of the major causes of overtraining. A recent study confirms that the immune system is compromised up to three days post marathon and is a major factor in overtraining syndrome.
Therefore, it is critical that you rest as much as possible in the three days following a marathon and focus on eating healthy and nutrient rich foods.
The research clearly indicates that the marathon induces significant muscle, cellular, and immune system damage for 3-14 days post race.
Therefore, it is essential that all marathon runners have a 2-3 week marathon recovery protocol that focuses on rest and rejuvenation of these physiological systems.
How To Recover After Running a Marathon
We’re going to outline a nutrition, rehab, cross training, and running plan for the 3 weeks after a marathon. This rehab plan is guaranteed to help you recover faster and return to training as quickly as possible.Immediately post race
The immediate post race recovery protocol can be a little difficult to plan ahead of time, so I wouldn’t stress about it pre-race.
Focus your energy on pre-race nutrition and race strategy. These notes are simply to give you some guidance after the race.
After you cross the finish line, try to get something warm and get to your clothes. You’ll probably get cold very quickly, and while it won’t help you recover, getting warm will sure make you feel a lot better.
Try to find something to eat. Bananas, energy bars, sports drinks, fruit, and bagels are all good options.
Many marathoners can’t eat soon after finishing, so grab a handful of items and make your way to friends and family.
When you get back to the hotel room, you should consider an ice bath.
Fill the tub with ice and cold water and submerge your lower body for 15 minutes. You don’t need the water too cold, 55 degrees is optimal, but anything colder than 65 degrees will do.
After your ice bath, you can take a nap or walk around to try and loosen the legs.
At this point, you’ve done about all you can do for the day. Relax and relish in your accomplishment.Days 1-3
Running: None
Cross Training: none
Recovery Tips and tricks:
Soak in a hot tub for 10-15 and stretch well afterwards.
Each lots of fruits, carbohydrates, and protein. The Carbs and protein will help repair the muscle damage while the fruits will give you a boost of vitamin C and antioxidants to help combat free radical damage and boost your immune system.
Light massage will help loosen your muscles. Don’t schedule a deep tissue massage yet, just a gentle effleurage massage or a light rolling with the stick.
Days 4-7
Running: One day, 2-4 miles very easy
Cross Training: Optional – Two days, 30-40 minutes easy effort. The focus is on promoting blood flow to the legs, not building fitness.
Recovery Tips and Tricks:
Continue eating a healthy diet
Now is the time you can get a deep tissue massage if you have areas that are really bothering you or that are injured.
Contrast bath your lower body. To contrast bath, take large trash cans and fill one with hot (hot bath temp) water and the other with ice water (cold enough so some ice still doesn’t melt) and put your whole lower body into the cold. Hold for 5 minutes and then switch to the hot for 5 mins. Repeat 2 or 3 times, ending with cold. This helps rush blood in and out of the area, which facilitates healing.
Epsom Salt Bath. About an hour before bed, massage your legs out with the stick or self massage and then soak in a hot/warm bath with 3 cups epsom salt and 1 cup baking soda for 10-15 minutes. After the soak, stretch real well and relax. This always perks up my legs quite a bit and you’ll also sleep great.
Days 7-14
Running: Three or four days of 4-6 miles very easy.
Cross Training: Optional – Three sessions total. One easy session and two medium effort sessions for 30-45 minutes.
Days 14-21
Running: Begin to slowly build back into full training. My suggestion is four to five runs of 4-8 miles with 4 x 20 sec strides after each run.
Cross Training: 1 easy session, 1 medium session, and 1 hard session of 40-50 minutes.
Don’t worry about losing any running fitness during this recovery period.
First, it’s much more important to ensure proper recovery so you can train even harder during your next training cycle.
If you don’t let yourself recover now, you’ll simply have to back off your workouts when it matters and put yourself on the verge of overtraining.
Likewise, you won’t lose much fitness at all.
In my experience, it takes about 2-3 weeks of training to get back into good shape and ready to start attacking workouts and planning races.
Try not to schedule any races until 6 weeks after your marathon.
I know you may want to avenge a disappointing performance or you’ll be coming off a running high and you’ll want to run every race under the sun.
However, your results won’t be as good as they might be if you just wait a few weeks and let your body recover and train a little first.
Patience is a virtue, but it will pay off in the end.
Well what a day. I am sitting here with a cup of tea and a few chocolate biscuits as this post could take all night. This has to rank as one of my best ever days running as it was just such a great event with great friends, great support and pretty good conditions. It really was everything running a marathon should be. There were times when you felt you could run forever, times when you just wanted to walk and give the whole thing away and of course the runners high when you realise you are going to achieve all your goals when you have asked yourself some tough questions and answered them all.
I know this sounds pretty dramatic but ask everybody who finished today and they all have their stories containing questions that had to be asked, time in the pain box, mental battles with fatigue and generally we all come out better at the other end. Funny thing now is I can only really remember the good things, like the last 10k with a tail wind and legs that had something left for the run home, finishing strong and getting a sub 2:45 time, 7th overall finish and 2nd in my age group. The feeling of running down runners who are far quicker then me (albeit they were probably injured.) and the relief when you see the finishing chute finally. Man, running gives you so much on days like these.
First of all lets break the race down into manageable chunks. With all marathons I’m a big believer in the first 21k is really where you should be relaxed and if you start to question yourself before halfway you are in for a world of pain. Proper training and a realistic goal should make the first 21k hard but achievable. Today was different. I had been second guessing myself since the Rottnest half. The week on Rotto’ after the half was probably not the most ideal training and although I ran twice a day I was certainly fatigued. This manifested in a good Masters 5k but not the PB I was hoping for. Thus the seed of ‘self doubt‘ was planted and then along came his partner in crime ‘weight gain‘ when I weighed myself yesterday and found to my horror I was 2kg heavier than 3 weeks ago. (I remarked to my Wife Karen in Yelo Saturday morning, while eating a chocolate and banana muffin, I had ‘let myself go‘, to her amusement !) Thus for the first 21k I was certainly running quicker than I should have really , given the conditions, but knew I was running in 3rd place in the age group so this is where I needed to be.
So as the course is a two lap course we started the second lap into a head wind which I knew would be my partner until the 32k mark and the last turnaround before the run for home. This was a double whammy as I felt this was not going to be my day and could feel myself thinking about all the (wrong) reasons to justify a slower second half. When I started to do the maths, adding on 1:30 for the second half, I knew I was in trouble. I managed to struggle to the narrows bridge and into the head wind from hell (I am assuming in hell you would probably be faced with a head wind as I suspect Lucifer is the sort of demon who would find that amusing. I, of course, will never find out as we all know BK will one day be God’s training partner.)
I digress. My mate Jeff managed to catch up with me at 28k (on his bike) when I was at my worst, slowing down and thinking of so many reasons that I could justify stopping. This is what running a marathon is all about. These times when you ask yourself some really hard questions, give yourself the easy way out and then decide to get back in the pain box and shut the door behind you. I reached a decision to get to 32k and introduce myself to the tail wind I knew was waiting for me.
32k, as already discussed, the ‘death zone’ for runners. If you are going to have a bad day it will normally start around this distance. Training, character, nutrition, fuel all get you so far, at 32k it’s time for the mental part of marathon running to take over. This is what running marathons is all about, the last 10k. As I have already discussed this is where the Noakes ‘Governor’ kicks in and the mind works with his old friend ‘fatigue’ to slow you down. (Commonly known as ‘hitting the wall‘) Surprisingly this time I had managed to convince myself that if I could get to 32k the tail wind would ‘caress’ me home. This was all I needed, instantly with a tail wind I was reinvigorated and knew the last 10k would be challenging but do-able. My race was saved. This proved to be the way it panned out and I even managed to move from 3rd to 2nd in my age group and catch a WA running legend Todd Ingraham , albeit an injured Todd Ingraham. Finished 7th overall, 2nd in my age group and even part of the Australian team who won gold as our combined times was nearly 2 hours quicker that the British who were second.
So what did I learn about today. When you race a marathon it never gets any easier. I certainly had to dig deep, real deep, to pull this one out of the fire. The City to Surf and Perth earlier in the year were both a lot more pleasant, I won’t say easier. I went out too hard and ‘trusted my training’ to get me home in one piece and with the help of the tail wind I got the job done. For marathon number 41 I may have once more managed to avoid ‘paying the piper‘ but this time he was close, real close.
Other highlights of the day. The support on the course was just amazing. I tend to keep my head down and try and zone out during a marathon so if it looked like I ignored you, believe me I didn’t. Every shout of ‘go bk’ was registered and helped, trust me. Of course I must mention Tom Millard and his family for the ‘Run BK Run’ sign at South Perth, that made my day and I certainly made a big effort not to let them down as I passed. Thanks guys.
Myself, Mike and Mark stayed around for the awards ceremony which actually took longer than the marathon but was worth hanging around for just to be inspired by the runners taking the stage. We learnt a lot from the national anthems and specifically Chile has the longest national anthem in the world. Hearing it for the first time we all assumed the recording was stuck as it seemed to go for ever. Imagine our amusement when about 10 minutes later it was played again. Those Chileans love their national anthem, and why wouldn’t you when it starts sounding like a Mozart tune and ends up more like Justine Bieber. We were also concerned for the two oldest Japanese runners who took to the stage when the wind was virtually at typhoon stage each holding large Japanese flags. At one point I was convinced we were going to lose them in a scene reminiscent of the opening scene of the Wizard of Oz !
My training posse also preformed admirably with Damien and the two Marks grabbing silver in their age group as the second fastest 35-40 age group team ‘in the world’. Well done lads. Mark C. also threw in a 29 minute PB , bringing his marathon time down from 3:33 to 3:04. I can’t take all the credit , the City beach pancakes and a ‘speed beard’ would have also contributed to this biblical PB. If he keeps repeating this feat he’ll be the first man to run sub 2 hours at the City to Surf in August next year. Now that would be worthing blogging about !
Finally a big thank you to the West Australian Marathon Club ( http://www.wamc.org.au ) and the army of volunteers. An outstanding job and it sounds like this could be the last time the World Masters holds the marathon as part of the bi-annual games, which is a pity but what a way to go out.
Right I may treat myself to another cup of tea…….
Everybody has their own routines a day before a marathon. Mine is to growl at the kids and generally mope around the house complaining. Actually my family would probably say that is similar to everyday in my household as most weekends I’m either racing or thinking about racing, by running a lot.
So 24 hours to go and it’s all about finishing off the carboloading (day three), arranging logistics to get to the event (normally means me driving, thanks lads ?) and mentally preparing yourself for the big day. Let’s start with finishing off the carboloading. By day three of a successful carboloading campaign you’re normally quite sick of the sight of carbohydrates in all forms. My go-to favourite, honey on wholemeal toast, does test you as you prepare it for the 6th time in 3 days. I reckon Winnie the Pooh would be over it by now, though looking at the size of Master Pooh I would suggest he could be a good fit for an ultra runner, more distance than speed; honey fuelled of course.
Important to stay hydrated of course so lots of fluid with electrolytes added in preparation for then heat tomorrow. The meal tonight shouldn’t be too large, big meal I find is better 48 hours out. I try for a small meal tonight, small portion of pasta and a couple of slices of garlic bread. I found this by trial and error and on two occasions when I have over eaten the night before a marathon I’ve paid the price. I think on both occasions I was trying to make up for lack of training. Not sure about my logic, not fully trained, solution, eat as much pasta as you possibly can the night before, ‘she’ll be right’. On both occasion she certainly wasn’t right.
Logistics is next. I’m driving , for a change, and have Mike and Mark scheduled to turn up at 5am. Twenty minute drive to the start. (it’ll be quiet at 5am on a Sunday morning, strange that?) , twenty minutes socialising, 5 minute toilet stop, 10 minute warm up and 5 minutes for ‘stuff’… what could go wrong ?
Finally mental preparation. This should have started earlier in the week really. Talk yourself up, trust in your training, hay in the barn, you can do no more etc. etc. Whatever it takes to get yourself in marathon mode. I’m a big ‘trust in your training‘ and drawing on experience man myself but each runner has their own ‘go to’ place for motivation. This will be marathon number 41 so I know what to expect and I’m coming off a great block of training and racing. This will mitigate any risk but the marathon is not one to follow the rules and I’m always prepared to any curve balls that will come my way. Remember the three goals, each one slightly less ‘exciting’ than the last but as long as you hit one of them the day will be considered a success.
Don’t worry too much about sleep tonight, if you get some great but really last night, and all week really , was the time to catch up on sleep. This is hit and miss with me. I sometimes feel if I sleep too well I’m not worried enough about the race and this can be a good or bad thing. I’m really not helping much in this post am I ?
Now it’s all about getting to the start line coiled like a cobra about to strike. Remember this is why we do what we do, enjoy the day and I recommend pancakes, and lots of them, afterwards. (Use this a mental go-to place if you struggle later in the race, have that one on me.)
As we all know the human body can get to around the 32k mark unaided, by that I mean without hydration or fuel. Similar to climbing to Everest base camp before pushing on into the ‘death zone’ where you either need oxygen from a tank or you have limited time. I’m not suggesting after 32k you enter a running death zone (although when the wheels fall off you may feel like it!) but you do enter into a zone where without hydration, as a minimum, and possibly fuel , you are going to ‘bonk’ (as cyclists call it. Basically the mind is willing but the body has had enough and engaged the handbrake)
This is why we taper, carboload and drink until we spend more time in the toilet than out of it pre-marathon so we are as ready as we can be for the final 10k sprint, after the initial 32k warm-up. On our long Sunday runs we regularly run 30k without stopping ,and without drink, but we do make up for it afterwards with pancakes and decent coffee. This in itself is enough to help up push through those last 5k, normally with a spring in your step. Could we carry on a run another 12k ? Probably not as we are training so not running marathon pace for the full distance, so although we run the distance we’re not running the pace required. This is a big game changer of course.
So how do we make sure we have enough fuel to finish strong ? The answer it seems these days is in the form of carbohydrates on tap in digestible packets, i.e. Gu’s, carboshotz, Chomps, Hammer Gels, caffeine shots , the list is endless. All are designed to give you a quick hit of fuel to get you firing on all cylinders again and propel you the the finish and through the last 10k of a marathon. These days at all marathons you see camel backs, running belts and shorts full of Gu’s and energy shots, it sometimes looks more like a confectionary store near the back of a marathon pack. There is some justification of course as the runners towards the back of a marathon are spending more time ‘out there‘ so it must make them very hungry. (Maybe this is why a lot of slower runners than start running ultra’s, as I have mentioned before a ready made excuse to eat more.) I have mentioned my friend Mark on a number of occasions who was famous for his belt of many pockets and also Rhys who I swear had at least 10 Gu’s on his race belt once for a marathon. That’s probably a kilo of extra weight right there, no wonder he needed the extra fuel. !
Lead runners of course survive on just water and maybe the odd electrolyte drink strategically placed on the course. They have their hydration and nutrition plan worked out before and will have also trained using said plan. The normal runner goes for the scatter gun approach and if offered drink or food will normally grab it with both hands towards the end of a marathon.
I have friends who survive on just water and run great times. My friend Michael Ho is now running sub 2:35 marathon times just on water and the T-train is another who considers ‘eating is cheating‘ and relies on water only. Myself I’m a Gu before the start, as well as a banana, and then a GU every 10k. If they’re free on the course I’ll take them when offered as I have a strong stomach and I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Do they make a difference ? I think so but maybe more of a placebo. A bit like all these vitamin tablets I take religiously but deep down wonder if they aren’t just a massive con.? Hard to say but I’ll go with the ‘everybody else is using them so they must work‘ approach. (very similar to smoking in the seventies I suppose? That’s not going to help is it…)
So my advice is to probably go for the extra help a Gu may provide as assuming you can stomach them they won’t do any harm. One every 45-60 minutes is normally the recommended dosage but anything is better than nothing so experiment in training. Somewhere between the T-train and Rhys is a happy medium.
Last thing about Gu’s, or any nutrition, that needs to be carried is the method of transport. In 2012 I lost the Melbourne Marathon after setting off a sub 2hour pace I was comfortably in the lead at 200m, looking forward to being the first man to break the 2 hour marathon mark. Unfortunately I was overtaken by the eventual winner as I was checking my Gu’s which I had pinned to my shorts. (Thanks for the idea coach Dan ‘the man with a plan’ Macey!) Anyway as you can clearly see from the photograph below the winner took advantage of my mistake and I never recovered. I ran a 2:43, which although a PB, was 44 minutes slower than planned. So there’s a lesson there, if you think you can run sub 2 hours for the marathon hand carry your Gu’s, it is a mistake I will take to the grave.
I normally run only on Tuesday and Thursday the week of a marathon. Tuesday I ran lunchtime but due to a heavy work load (on marathon week, how does that happen?) I needed to run Thursday morning pre-work. I set my alarm for 5am but was far too excited after so little running and woke at 4:15am. After contemplating going back to sleep I decided the best cause of action was to go for a run. Actually when prompted this is my go-to call, go for a run. ! So off I set around 4:30am into my old favourite 10k that I have now run 167 times (thanks Strava).
Being the second run this week (and it’s Thursday, when I would normally be on run 7 for the week) my legs felt heavy but this is to be expected at this stage of the taper week. It is normally around this time of the taper period you experience ‘niggles‘ , you’ll find you can just about finish your run and convince yourself you are about to have a major meltdown. I read on a tri-website that these niggles are just your body recovering but they don’t feel like that I can tell you. Fortunately this morning I was ‘niggle’ free, which should probably worry me.
Reading the article below by Isaac Walker it reiterates several points I have already mentioned in previous posts. Hay in the barn , trust your training etc. all common sense advice but worth a second read, if nothing else to put your mind at ease. Taper time is a testing time at best, helped only by the extra ‘tukka’ on offer for the last 3 days. (just before my old friend ‘weight gain‘ comes a calling…)
Must admit I’m tempted to sneak out tomorrow morning because it will be glorious and I hate missing glorious mornings. I must be strong, the right thing to do is lay in bed and relax but the call of old faithful, my favourite 10k, may be too much.
9 Ways to Deal With the Big Event Taper Blues By Isaac Walker
Sixteen weeks. Four months. One hundred and twelve days of early mornings, sore legs, injury worries, emotional highs and lows, and long hard weekend runs. And now you are supposed to ease right back on the throttle and cut your training. By a lot. You start to get moody. You have so much energy you feel like you are going to jump out of your skin. Your partner has had enough of your complaining. You think every little ache, sniffle and niggle is a catastrophic event-cancelling injury or illness. You start feeling sluggish and lazy. It sounds like you are going through what many runners experience leading up to a big event – the ‘taper blues’.
Tapering (for most) is a critical part of training plans. Whether you taper two days prior to a 5km road race or three weeks or more for an ultra distance, you are basically performing the same function. After stressing our bodies for so long the taper is there to let us heal and recover to a point where we can then operate the most efficiently and to our maximum ability on race day.
There are many differing views on tapering out there. My advice is simple – the shorter the distance the shorter your taper. The longer the distance the longer you taper. Reason being shorter and sharper training sessions will usually take a lot less time to recover from than long hard distance runs. Long runs beat your body up and you need that extra taper time to recover.
So the symptoms of the ‘taper blues’ usually kick in after a week or so of taper and are usually associated with longer distance events. If you have never had them before they can be quite discouraging and even a little scary. So here are a few tips and general points to help you pull through the taper blues and onto race day.
1. The taper blues are completely normal! You are probably not getting sick. You most likely do not have an injury that has decided to rear it’s ugly head one week prior to your big day. And yes, your other half is getting annoyed with your grouchy mood. Accept you are a little down then address it. Remember you are not alone. Chat with friends doing the same event or others who have been through this taper nonsense before.
2. Look back on what you have done. And be proud. One of the reasons we get taper blues is regret for what hasn’t been done. Think of the countless hours of training, early mornings and/or late nights and all the other strings that come along with training for a longer distance event. That is an achievement right there, regardless of what comes next.
3. Evaluate. Go back over your training and write down all the positives. All the things you enjoyed about your training. Then also write the negatives down and the things that may have not gone so well. These are the things to keep in mind and perhaps improve in your next training programme.
4. More events? It is a little crazy but many of us use the taper time to plan more events after the one we are tapering for! You don’t have much time to wallow in taper blues when you’re busy getting excited about your next goal. If you don’t have an event in mind then plan for something else. A personal fitness goal. A family holiday. Home renovations. Anything you can do to keep your brain ticking over and stimulated.
5. Taper means taper! You may be tempted to go out and get one last long run under your belt or smash out a hard tempo track session. You might be fine but my advice is once your taper period has begun, it is exactly that – taper time. Plus, this won’t rid you of your taper blues anyway. This means sticking to your plan and not being tempted to go out and possibly undermine some of the training you have done by adding fatigue to your system this close to your big event.
6. Active recovery more than ever. Taper time is a perfect opportunity to fit in more active recovery. Playing with your kids, massage, walking, swimming, stretching, rolling on your foam roller – anything that keeps you moving can be very beneficial. Don’t feel guilty for not going hard, that just leads to more taper blues. Enjoy the easy, liberated movement your fit trim body is allowing you.
7. The hay is in the barn and there is nothing much else you can do to enhance your training. You can however undermine your training by not tapering efficiently. So rest! Chill out! Make up some of those hours with the family and friends that you used for training. Spending time with loved ones will also help ease some of the tensions and stress prior to an event.
8. Last minute checks. Most people will have their nutrition and game plan locked down by now. It is a good time to run over everything and double check you have all your supplies ready to go. The last thing you want is to discover the night prior to your event that you left your favourite pair of socks in the washing basket.
9. Visualisation techniques. Visualisation can be a very good way to prepare your mind for an event and propel you out of your taper blues. Picture yourself standing at the race start. Imagine how you feel. Put yourself in a bad situation during the race and visualise how you would like to react to that situation. Place yourself being surrounded by your friends and family cheering you on as you come towards the finish line. Visualising these situations will help you prepare your mind for dealing with them in real life.
Big day tomorrow, I start to try and eat 700g of carbohydrates for three days on the trot. This in itself is a bit of a marathon as for the next three days you feel if you’re not eating something or drinking something you’re doing something wrong. I explained my strategy in a post earlier in the week and the Australian Institute of Sport has a similar outlook. Lots of toast with honey, orange juice and pasta. Repeat for three days while also consuming as much water as my bladder can handle, and then a bit more !
This can lead to weight gain apparently (no kidding!) but allegedly the benefit outweighs the negatives. (one of which is looking like Jabba the Hutt as already discussed!) The weight gain is mostly water retention so don’t be too afraid of a few extra pounds. As you tuck into your 4th round of toast for the day just think positive thoughts, carboloading done right is good for 3-5 minutes I reckon.
Points to note of course is you need to avoid too much high fat and sugar if possible, just low fat and carbohydrates. Protein is still ok as it will help with muscle recovery and everybody loves protein. Not sure where the go-to meal for runners, the humble muffin, fits into this diet but we can always find an excuse to scoff down a muffin.
So far this week I am feeling remarkably relaxed which is a two edged sword as I feel you should be nervous as this will focus the mind on the challenge ahead. Too relaxed and you won’t be focused enough. I’ll try and get nervous tomorrow, I’ll make a mental note to self to get nervous.
I’ve tried to avoid thinking about the heat but mentally have already written off a PB run due too the predicted temperature. Of course on the day I will re-evaluate but currently I’ll be aiming for position first and time second. When I say position I am targeting top 3 for my age group and/or top 3 Australian (age group) to go with my 2nd fastest Australian in the 5k last weekend. It will be difficult to see who I’m racing against on the day as I’m assuming all the race bibs will be similar ? In the end you run what you run and we’ll see how the cards fall, most important piece of advice is to run your own race.
Over the next few days it’s time to dial in a pace to hit your target finish time. This is your first goal. Next it’s time to dial in ‘plan b’, if you can’t make your target what would be your next target time, finally ‘plan c‘, this could be as simple as finish ! I’ve mentioned the different goals before and if nothing else they keep you busy over the remainder of the race, and it’s always nice to achieve your goal, no matter what it ends up being.
So one last article on carboloading from my main man on just about anything running, Matt Fitzgerald. ( http://mattfitzgerald.org ) It seems you have 3 options. The good old fashioned 3 day binge (my favourite), or the Western Australian 3 minute of VO2 max exercise and then binge the day before (risky) or ignore the whole thing and eat carbs on the run using Carboshotz etc..
No one said this running lark was easy….
You aren’t still putting yourself through a depletion phase, are you?
The practice of carbo-loading dates back to the late 1960s. The first carbo-loading protocol was developed by a Swedish physiologist named Gunvar Ahlborg after he discovered a positive relationship between the amount of glycogen (carbs stored in the muscles and liver) in the body and endurance performance. Scientists and runners had already known for some time that eating a high-carbohydrate diet in the days preceding a long race enhances performance, but no one knew exactly why until Ahlborg’s team zeroed in on the glycogen connection.
Subsequently, Ahlborg discovered that the muscles and liver are able to store above-normal amounts of glycogen when high levels of carbohydrate consumption are preceded by severe glycogen depletion. The most obvious way to deplete the muscles of glycogen is to eat extremely small amounts of carbohydrate. A second way is to engage in exhaustive exercise. The stress of severe glycogen depletion triggers an adaptive response by which the body reduces the amount of dietary carbohydrate that it converts to fat and stores, and increases the amount of carbohydrate that it stores in the liver and muscles as glycogen. Ahlborg referred to this phenomenon as glycogen supercompensation.
Armed with this knowledge, he was able to create a more sophisticated carbo-loading protocol than the primitive existing method, which was, more or less, eating a big bowl of spaghetti.
Ahlborg came up with a seven-day carbo-loading plan in which an exhaustive bout of exercise was followed by three or four days of extremely low carbohydrate intake (10 percent of total calories) and then three or four days of extremely high carbohydrate intake (90 percent of total calories). Trained athletes who used this protocol in an experiment were able to nearly double their glycogen stores and exhibited significantly greater endurance in exercise lasting longer than 90 minutes.
After these results were published, endurance athletes across the globe began to use Ahlborg’s carbo-loading plan prior to events anticipated to last 90 minutes or longer. While it worked admirably, it had its share of drawbacks. First of all, many athletes weren’t keen on performing an exhaustive workout just a week before a big race, as the plan required.
Second, maintaining a 10 percent carbohydrate diet for three or four days carried some nasty consequences including lethargy, cravings, irritability, lack of concentration, and increased susceptibility to illness. Many runners and other athletes found it just wasn’t worth it.
Fortunately, later research showed that you can increase glycogen storage significantly without first depleting it. A newer carbo-loading protocol based on this research calls for athletes to eat a normal diet of 55 to 60 percent carbohydrate until three days before racing, and then switch to a 70 percent carbohydrate diet for the final three days, plus race morning.
As for exercise, this tamer carbo-loading method suggests one last longer workout (but not an exhaustive workout) done a week from race day followed by increasingly shorter workouts throughout race week. It’s simple, it’s non-excruciating, and it works. Admittedly, some scientists and athletes still swear that the Ahlborg protocol is more effective, but if it is, the difference is slight and probably not worth the suffering and inherent risks.
Note that you should increase your carbohydrate intake not by increasing your total caloric intake, but rather by reducing fat and protein intake in an amount that equals or slightly exceeds the amount of carbohydrate you add. Combining less training with more total calories could result in last-minute weight gain that will only slow you down. Be aware, too, that for every gram of carbohydrate the body stores, it also stores 3 to 5 grams of water, which leads many athletes to feel bloated by the end of a three-day loading period. The water weight will be long gone by the time you finish your race, however.
A friendlier carbo-loading strategy was devised in 2002 by scientists at the University of Western Australia. It combines depletion and loading and condenses them into a one-day time frame. The creators of this innovative protocol recognized that a single, short workout performed at extremely high intensity creates a powerful demand for glycogen storage in both the slow-twitch and fast-twitch fibers of the muscles.The researchers hypothesized that following such a workout with heavy carbohydrate intake could result in a high level of glycogen supercompensation without a lot of fuss. In an experiment, the researchers asked athletes to perform a short-duration, high-intensity workout consisting of two and a half minutes at 130 percent of VO2max (about one-mile race pace) followed by a 30-second sprint. During the next 24 hours, the athletes consumed 12 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of lean muscle mass. This resulted in a 90 percent increase in muscle glycogen storage.
Runners have cause to be very pleased by these findings. Doing just a few minutes of high-intensity exercise the day before a competition will not sabotage tomorrow’s performance, yet it will suffice to stimulate the desirable carbohydrate “sponging” effect that was sought in the original Ahlborg protocol. This allows the athlete to maintain a normal diet right up until the day before competition and then load in the final 24 hours.
The Western Australia carbo-loading strategy works best if preceded by a proper taper — that is, by several days of reduced training whose purpose is to render your body rested, regenerated, and race-ready. In fact, several days of reduced training combined with your normal diet will substantially increase your glycogen storage level even before the final day’s workout and carbohydrate binge. When you exercise vigorously almost every day, your body never gets a chance to fully replenish its glycogen stores before the next workout reduces them again. Only after 48 hours of very light training or complete rest are your glycogen levels fully compensated. Then the Western Australia carbo-loading regimen can be used to achieve glycogen supercompensation.
An even newer carbo-loading protocol calls for athletes to eat a normal diet of 55 to 60 percent carbohydrate until three days before racing, and then switch to a 70 percent carbohydrate diet for the final three days, plus race morning. As for exercise, this friendliest carbo-loading method suggests one last longer workout (but not an exhaustive workout) done a week from race day followed by increasingly shorter workouts throughout race week.
Having said all of this, I would like to note finally that carbo-loading in general has been shown to enhance race performance only when athletes consume little or no carbohydrate during the race itself. If you do use a sports drink or sports gels to fuel your race effort — as you should — prior carbo-loading probably will have no effect. But it doesn’t hurt to do it anyway, as insurance.
Day three of the final week is normally when ‘self doubt’ rears its ugly head. By now you’ve had a light previous week and the odd day off and suddenly you start to feel flat. You’ve not been running as much as normal and all that free time plays on your mind. Runners are normally pessimistic people and any excuse to question themselves is normally embraced. Taper time gives runners too much idle time and rather than use this time for good they ‘worry’, a lot ! I’m as bad as the next runner and even with all my experience I question myself. I’ve posted so many times about ‘trust your training’ but typing the phase is a lot easier than living it.
To get over this ‘self doubt’ continually remind yourself of your previous training block distances and all the work you’ve put in over the last few months. The ‘hay is in the barn‘ so to speak and you’ve worked damn hard to put it there. As I have mentioned numerous times running is an honest sport and if you’ve put in the time you will be rewarded on race day.
Running marathons is a large part mental, especially after 32k, so you need to start to prepare yourself for the challenge ahead. Self doubt has no part to play nearer race day and certainly on the start line you need to be ‘bursting’ with confidence. Please note ‘bursting with confidence’ does not then mean running a 5k PB for the first 5k of the marathon like my good friend Jon recently did at the Geraldton Marathon and then had a walk break to recover. This coming from a man who has run over 40 marathons ! Even he couldn’t explain his enthusiasm on the day. Another friend of mine, also called Jon funnily enough, insists on running his fastest few kilometers in a marathon at the start and is often in the lead at the 500m mark. I would certainly not recommend this practice.
Another way to contain self doubt is to play back all the positive experiences you’ve had from previous races. (I’m assuming you’ve had some positive experiences, if not then they will come, trust me.) Also look at your training for the race and take confidence from the work you’ve put in. For the World Masters marathon I’ve certainly trained harder than I have ever trained before and been rewarded with PB’s and good times in a number of lead up races. This is another way to fight off self doubt, lead up races at shorter distances. The World Masters will be my 5th race in 6 weeks and although I probably wouldn’t recommend that many for all runners it does give me a good base for positive thinking. (assuming they all went well of course) I have highlighted racing before as a great way to break the monotony of training (sometimes it’s monotonous ?) and also as a way to boost confidence. You never work as hard as when you have a racing bib on your chest, or timing chip on your shoe. (or for my local club both!)
So to sum up todays post on my old friend ‘self doubt’ , trust in your training, take confidence from your training block and start to prepare yourself mentally for success. On race day you want to be standing on that start line ready to ‘explode‘ into action and for the last 10k you want to changing gear from 5th into 6th and accelerating into the finish. I can’t emphasis enough how important your mental preparation will be at the start and when you really need it at 32k onwards. Noakes talked about the ‘central governer’ and I have attached an articel from my old favourite Runners Connect by coach Jeff explaining this. It is worth a read as this will be invaluable at 32k when you start to feel fatigued. Think back to this article and it may be enough to get you over the line.
‘Bye bye ‘self doubt’, hello ‘over confident’……?
As runners, we spend countless hours focused on the physiological aspects of training – VO2max, threshold, aerobic development, etc. And for good reason. There is no doubt that improving these biological systems will help you run faster.
However, when it comes to racing, are physiological limitations all that matter or is there a mental component involved as well? What role does the brain play in our attempt to race as fast as possible?
According to exercise scientist Dr. Tim Noakes and a growing number of colleagues, the brain may play a more important role in race potential than runners have typically considered. Noakes’s hypothesis suggests that the brain acts as a central governor when racing, limiting our ability to push beyond perceived fatigue to ensure self-preservation.
In this article, we’ll look at the central governor theory in more depth, explore why it matters to those racing for personal bests, and outline some specific strategies you can use to overcome your own central governor.
What is the central governor theory?
In short, the central governor theory is based around the premise that the brain will override your physical ability to run and “shut the body down” before you’re able to do serious or permanent damage to yourself.
Noakes believes that the point in the race when you think you’ve given everything you’ve got is actually a signal or response from the brain to slow down to preserve health, rather than a physiological reality. In actuality, Noakes believes you have more to give physically when this happens.
Runners experience this during almost every race they run. At mile 8 of a half marathon, goal race pace is extremely difficult and the thought of running faster, even for just a minute, seems impossible. Yet, when you get within 400 meters of the finish, you’re somehow able to summon a kick that finds you running minutes per mile faster than goal pace.
Once your brain realizes it won’t die if you pick up the pace (because the finish line is close) it opens the biological pathways to run faster.
That’s not to say that the physiological demands of a race aren’t real. Rather, the central governor theory posits that racing is a balance between: (1) physical preparation and biological systems; (2) emotional components, such as motivation and pain tolerance; (3) and self-preservation. The exact combination of these factors is what leads to how hard you’re able to push during a race.
Why does it matter? Does this mean you don’t have to train?
Perhaps the biggest misconception of the central governor theory is that if we could just teach ourselves to push harder or somehow turn off this central governor of the brain, that we could run faster. However, as mentioned above, racing is a combination of three important components: physical, emotional, and mental.
As an example, if you asked an Olympic-caliber runner to run a 7-minute mile, they would do so easily and be able to carry that pace on for 26 miles or more with little effort. Ask a four-hour marathoner to run a 7 minute mile and it will be an all-out effort they can only maintain for a mile. The physiological differences between these two runners means that even if the central governor was turned off, the four-hour marathoner couldn’t run with the Olympic-caliber runner. That’s pretty obvious.
However, if that same four-hour marathoner can learn to push the boundaries of their central governor, perhaps by adding motivation, like a Boston qualifier, or improving their mental fortitude, then they can tap into this extra performance reserve.
How to overcome the central governor
So how do you do that? How do you push the boundaries of your central governor? While you can’t completely overcome the central governor, you can improve your ability to tolerate physical discomfort and prepare your mind for the physical demands you plan to place in it.
Workouts
The problem many runners face is that the experience of trying to push themselves beyond their comfort zone when their mind is telling them it can’t go faster only occurs on race day.
Typical interval workouts and tempo runs are performed at a consistent pace and the recovery between repeats allows you to recover to a state that is very unlike the corresponding point in a race. During workouts, you simply get to a certain fatigue level and then stop pushing.
This is great for building your physiological systems, but does nothing to teach you how to push the central governor and prove to your brain that you can in fact run faster, despite how bad you might feel.
One workout that trains this specific aspect of racing is called a hammer interval session. Succinctly, a hammer interval session is traditional interval workout except that on the third or second to last interval, you break from your goal pace and simply focus on running that specific repeat as fast as you can – hammering it. An example hammer workout for a 5k runner might look like: 8 x 800 meters at 3k to 5K race pace w/2mins rest, hammer (run as fast as you can) interval numbers 4 and number 7. Maintain the 2-minute rest after each hammer and do your best to get back onto 5k pace after each hammer.
The specific pace of the hammer repeat isn’t the important part of this workout. Rather, it’s the ability to chip away at the mental constraints late in a workout or race that tell you that you can’t go any faster.
Mental training and visualization
Running a PR is tough! No matter how well rested or prepared the body is, racing hurts. If you toe the starting line thinking that somehow you’re going to feel good or that pushing during the last miles is going to be easy, then you’ve already set yourself up to let the brain override your physical abilities.
Prepare yourself mentally. Don’t head into a race telling yourself that somehow this race is going to be different. Be prepared for it to hurt, but remember that you’ve trained yourself to push through this exact situation. Visualize the race during your training runs or while meditating and picture yourself hitting that point in the race when your body starts to hurt. Recall those feelings from your last race or hard workout and then visualize yourself pushing through that moment. By preparing yourself mentally, you’ll be ready to face the realities of the race.
Pacing
Finally, work to improve your sense of pace. Pacing is one of the ways the brain self-regulates the central governor. The brain “anticipates” all the known variables of a race – distance, topography, temperature, etc. – and then calculates an optimal pace that will get you to the finish without dying.
When you deviate significantly from your optimal physiological pace, the brain reacts by reducing the level of muscle activation in order to force you to slow down. By going out too fast during a race, you kick in the central governor early and even elicit physiological changes by the brain designed to slow you down.
Armed with this new understanding of the central governor theory and how the brain impacts your ability to race, implement these three simply strategies into your training plan and start to push yourself harder than you think you can.
There are times when being a runner can really be an excuse to eat great ‘tukka’ and carboloading is one of those times. Three days before your goal race, which should be a marathon distance or more (so don’t think this applies to 5k races, sorry !) , you try and eat 10g of carbohydrates for every 1kg of weight, i.e. me being 70kg , I need to eat 700g of carbohydrates for 3 days pre-marathon. It is actually quite hard to get this right unfortunately. A lot of runners just end up eating junk assuming all food is good food this close to the race or don’t hydrate enough. (You need to properly hydrated for the carboloading to work properly)
So what does a 700g day look like. Breakfast, weetbix and honey with orange juice. Brunch, 2 slices of toast with honey and another OJ. Lunch, pasta with chicken and some yoghurt. Maybe another round of toast pre-dinner of more pasta. Add in another OJ somewhere and a late night yoghurt or toasted muffin and you’re pretty close. Best thing is to google ‘carboloading’ and you’ll get the general idea. What did we do before ‘google’? Maybe I’ll google ‘what did we do before google’?
Also make sure you aim for high carbohydrate , low fat food; avoid the high fat food.
So carboloading, a good thing if done correctly and I’d say worth 4-5 minutes. C’mon, what other sport gives you such a return just by eating. Gotta love running……
This article written by AIS Sports Nutrition is worth a read on the subject.
‘Carbohydrate loading’ is probably one of the most misunderstood terms in sports nutrition. People commonly think anyone involved in sport needs to ‘carb up’ and the way to do this is to eat ‘flat out’ in the days leading up to an event. Read on to get the facts on carbohydrate loading.
What is carbohydrate loading?
Carbohydrate loading is a strategy involving changes to training and nutrition that can maximise muscle glycogen (carbohydrate) stores prior to endurance competition.
The technique was originally developed in the late 1960’s and typically involved a 3-4 day ‘depletion phase’ involving 3-4 days of hard training plus a low carbohydrate diet. This depletion phase was thought to be necessary to stimulate the enzyme glycogen synthase. This was then followed immediately by a 3-4 day ‘loading phase’ involving rest combined with a high carbohydrate diet. The combination of the two phases was shown to boost muscle carbohydrate stores beyond their usual resting levels.
Ongoing research has allowed the method to be refined so that modern day carbohydrate loading is now more manageable for athletes. The depletion phase was demonstrated to be no longer necessary, which is a bonus for athletes as this phase was very difficult. Australian marathon runner, Steve Moneghetti has described the depletion phase as making him feel like “death warmed up”. Today, 1-4 days of exercise taper while following a high carbohydrate diet (7-12g/kg body weight) is sufficient to elevate muscle glycogen levels.
Does carbohydrate loading improve performance?
Muscle glycogen levels are normally in the range of 100-120 mmol/kg ww (wet weight). Carbohydrate loading enables muscle glycogen levels to be increased to around 150-200 mmol/kg ww. This extra supply of carbohydrate has been demonstrated to improve endurance exercise by allowing athletes to exercise at their optimal pace for a longer time. It is estimated that carbohydrate loading can improve performance over a set distance by 2-3%.
Who should carbohydrate load?
Anyone exercising continuously at a moderate to high intensity for 90 minutes or longer is likely to benefit from carbohydrate loading. Typically, sports such as cycling, marathon running, longer distance triathlon, cross-country skiing and endurance swimming benefit from carbohydrate loading. Shorter-term exercise is unlikely to benefit as the body’s usual carbohydrate stores are adequate. Carbohydrate loading is generally not practical to achieve in team sports where games are played every 3-4 days. Although it might be argued that players in football and AFL have heavy demands on their muscle fuel stores, it may not be possible to achieve a full carbohydrate loading protocol within the weekly schedule of training and games.
What does a high carbohydrate diet look like?
The following diet is suitable for a 70kg athlete aiming to carbohydrate load:
Breakfast
3 cups of low-fibre breakfast cereal with 11/2 cups of reduced fat milk
1 medium banana
250ml orange juice
Snack
toasted muffin with honey
500ml sports drink
Lunch
2 sandwiches (4 slices of bread) with filling as desired
200g tub of low-fat fruit yoghurt
375ml can of soft drink
Snack
banana smoothie made with low-fat milk, banana and honey
cereal bar
Dinner
1 cup of pasta sauce with 2 cups of cooked pasta
3 slices of garlic bread
2 glasses of cordial
Late Snack
toasted muffin and jam
500ml sports drink
This sample plan provides ~ 14,800 kJ, 630 g carbohydrate, 125 g protein and 60 g fat.Are there any special considerations for females?
Most studies of glycogen storage have been conducted on male athletes. However, some studies suggest that females may be less responsive to carbohydrate loading, especially during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. This appears to be, at least partly, because they have difficulty consuming the larger amounts of carbohydrate required for a complete CHO load. Further research needs to be conducted specifically on females.
What are the common mistakes made when carbohydrate loading?
Research indicates that many athletes who attempt to carbohydrate load, fail to achieve their goal. Common mistakes include:
Carbohydrate loading requires an exercise taper. Athletes can find it difficult to back off training for 1-4 days before competition. Failing to rest will compromise carbohydrate loading.
Many athletes fail to eat enough carbohydrate. It seems athletes don’t have a good understanding of the amount of food required to carbohydrate load. Working with a sports dietitian or using a carbohydrate counter can be useful.
In order to consume the necessary amount of carbohydrate, it is necessary to cut back on fibre and make use of compact sources of carbohydrate such as sugar, cordial, soft drink, sports drink, jam, honey, jelly and tinned fruit. Athletes who include too many high fibre foods in their carbohydrate loading menu may suffer stomach upset or find the food too bulky to consume.
Carbohydrate loading will most likely cause body mass to increase by approximately 2kg. This extra weight is due to extra muscle glycogen and water. For some athletes, a fear of weight gain may prevent them from carbohydrate loading adequately.
Athletes commonly use carbohydrate loading as an excuse to eat everything and anything in sight. Consuming too many high fat foods will make it difficult to consume sufficient carbohydrate. It may also result in gain of body fat. It is important to stick to high-carbohydrate, low-fat foods while carbohydrate loading.
Day one was uneventful really. Busy at work so didn’t have time to think about running. How does that happen ? Note to self must never let that happen again. ! So I can look forward to a run tomorrow morning, probably my go-to 10k that I run between 3-5 times a week religiously, normally as a second run after work on auto-pilot. These go-to runs are important as they allow you to drift away and think about ‘stuff’ , be that family, work or leisure ‘stuff’. The ‘stuff’ thinking is not as important as the benefit the time on legs is giving you. As you know I am a big believer in the two runs a day, distance, not pace theory. I firmly believe the second run , which may or may not be on tired legs, is a massive benefit and allows you to really make a big difference to your running aspirations.
I have dabbled with double-days before but never for the length of time I have sustained it this training block, pre-Masters. I think this is probably week number 17 of upwards of 10 runs a week. What has surprised me is how fresh I have felt. I have certainly felt a lot more fatigued when I have run less k’s and less total runs a week but heavier workload i.e. faster average pace. Will this work for everyone ? Probably not, every person is different, they have different aspirations, different threshold for distance and pace, different constraints allowing them only a certain amount of running time. Double-up days does mean some ‘juggling’ of work and family life and maybe once in a while one of these will suffer. To quote Ned Kelly ‘Such is life’, or was that Ben Cousins for the Australians among us. The benefit of distance cannot be over stated, if you can run more (and not get injured of course) then I recommend you do it. With running the more you run the better you can run. Obviously there is a point when you do start to slow but when or where that is I do not know and I’m nearing 50 and haven’t found it yet. (and don’t intend to anytime soon.)
So I digress, for a change, this post was meant to be about taper day 1 for marathon week. Uneventful and no real thought of running to tell you the truth, which for me is strange but after so many marathons I realise the benefits of not running more than twice on marathon week gives me a spring in my step come Sunday. I’ll venture out for a slow 10k tomorrow morning and a similar one Thursday and that will be it. Remember ‘it is impossible to do too little on marathon week, the only option is to do too much.’ The only reason I run at all is to retain my sanity as I grapple with my old favourite ‘weight gain‘. So far I have been lucky and avoided ‘self doubt’ and ‘niggles’, with no one ill on the train, that I could see , and all my work colleagues looking quite sprightly today I may even avoid ‘everyone is trying to infect me…
An uneventful post today but with taper week in full swing I need to focus elsewhere until Thursday when its my favourite time, carbo-loading. I’ll discuss that tomorrow because although carbo-loading can be a good thing for runners who like to eat , it is not an excuse to binge on chocolate and muffins for three days. Sorry guys there is a certain requirement to meet to make carbo-loading work and chocolate and muffins , although a small part (maybe!) , is not the complete picture. Running really is a cruel sport…..
I’ve attached a photo as all good posts need photos. This was taken on Saturday at the Masters 5k by Jon Storey. A great photo, a talented man with a good camera, a good combination.
