I’ve been talking about carb depletion all week on Twitter and dailymile, so I figured I’d finally write a blog about it. I’ve been getting a lot of the same questions, so I might as well answer them here for everybody. Carb depletion has dominated my life since I woke up on Sunday morning. I’m intentionally eating only protein and fat in the five days before I carb load for Monday’s Boston Marathon. And I HATE it!
I’m no scientist, so I can’t give the most detailed, exact answers. But I’ve done this a half-dozen or so times and it’s worked for me. The basic premise is that when you deplete your glycogen stores — like really, really deplete them — you store your carbs better when you start to load. I’ve done it in varying lengths. I think you can deplete for as few as three days for the process to be effective. I think I’ve done it for three. I think I’ve done it for five. Now that I think about it, I think I cut down from five to three, but I didn’t remember that this time. Bummer … I could have done this for just three days!
There are a couple of other benefits to depleting. One, you lose a little bit of weight. You eventually gain most of it back, but for me, it hasn’t been until after the race, for the most part. Every pound is two seconds per mile, so being down two or three pounds can make or break a PR attempt. Also, I suspect that the extra protein helps in the final muscle recovery during the taper. Nobody has ever told me this, and I’ve never read this anywhere, but it makes sense to me. Protein is what helps your muscles recover, miles drop at this stage of a taper and your legs are solidifying to full strength. The protein couldn’t hurt, right?
The downfall is it’s really draining physically. It makes you lethargic and tired. I go on swings where I don’t feel well and then where I feel fine for a bit. I’ve been keeping up my running schedule according to my taper — since Sunday morning, I’ve run 42 miles and I still have six more tomorrow morning. In theory, I could probably have carbs before my run tomorrow and start my loading, but I’m just going to wait until afterwards. I’ll be that much more depleted and I’ll have that “I did it” sense of accomplishment.
Like I said, I’ve done this several times in the past and I’ve always had good results. I don’t want to jinx myself, but when the time comes that I deplete and crash and burn as a result of fueling and energy, I won’t do this any more. But it seems to work for me, unfortunately.
It’s been pretty much chicken, cheese, meatballs, scrambled eggs and sausage links since Sunday morning. Oh, and protein shakes. There were some small Butterfinger Easter eggs at work this week. I put three of them on my desk to save for next week. That was a killer temptation! So was checking out the bean burrito, chips and guacamole my oldest son had for dinner last night while I had two more chicken breasts covered in swiss cheese. That might sound like a good dinner, but when it’s been your dinner for four nights and lunch for three days, you get tired of it!
Anyways, after my run on Friday morning, I’ll immediately drink a sports drink I have before races called UltraFuel. I’m not sure the exact science behind it, but I know it’s good stuff with the right types of carbs. I’ll go straight from there to Denny’s, where I’m going to enjoy some all-you-can-eat pancakes for $4. I’ll have somewhere between five and seven. And then I’ll finally feel alive again!
Oh, I didn’t deplete at all last year while I was running 61 marathons and a couple of ultras. I decided before the year started that there was no way I could go on a weekly deplete/load cycle. I knew I needed to load, and that got old in a hurry, but I figured that if I was depleting three days a week, it would be a vicious cycle that would make me miserable. Operation Jack was tough enough as it was !
So, that’s about it. If you have any questions, let me know! I’ll see you back here on Monday or Tuesday with my Boston recap. If you want to track me (please do, I love the pressure!), text RUNNER to 345678 and when you get a text back, reply with my bib number, 2709.
Have a great weekend!
Jen Morgan says
Your carb depleting has been cracking me up. I do the same thing before a race, protein only leading up to the race, then load for about 2-3 days. Can’t wait to see you again this weekend! Can you believe it’s been a year since the last time I saw you?!?!
Ria Villa says
Thanks! That was great info 😀 Good luck on the Boston Marathon!
Sarah Reade says
Being a student, studying to become a registered dietitian I find this really interesting. So no fruits or vegetables either?
I love watching Boston and plan to have it on Monday, plus I’ll definitely be tracking you!
Karyce Telles says
GO SAM GO!!! Have a great race in Boston! By the way, loved reading your story on the Daniel Plan website. 🙂
Ally Phillips says
Hooray for Boston! Not so much hooray for carb depletion, but, you’ll be ready to rock that marathon.
Brandon Wood says
That’s a very interesting process Sam. I’d heard of carb loading of course, but not depleting before. Even though it doesn’t sound like “fun” in the classic sense of the word, I may have to give that a try before my marathon in June.
Good luck on Monday Sam, you got this!