Run S.M.A.R.T.
Menu
Login
  • Custom Training Plans
  • Private Coaching
  • Dr. Jack Daniels
  • Running Calculator
  • Coaching Staff
  • News & Updates
  • Contact Us

Science on the Run: Carbohydrates For A Kick!

May 6, 2015 By Run S.M.A.R.T. In Nutrition tips, Training tips /  

UntitledLinking current research to running

By Nikki Reiter

Pacing is our body’s way of preserving energy and it is suggested to occur both consciously and subconsciously from our brain and local muscles. Pacing requires a complex integration of brain and muscle signals that is highly debated as the Central Governor theory (the brain) vs. the Peripheral Fatigue model (read more here) with the purpose of keeping our bodies from harming themselves through excessive exertion.

Regardless of what’s regulating fatigue, we as runners can try to maximize what we do know. While doping has been a way to bypass our given biological limits, nutrition is a safer (and legal) way to improve our capacities for both training and performance. Recent research has provided us with some direct applications to young runners, showing us that nutrition plays an important role for runners of all ages, and also that teenagers cannot get away with eating whatever they like!

Here’s how it went:  Nineteen boys aged 13-18 years old, trained in endurance running, ate one of the following diets that manipulated carbohydrates (CHO) for 48 hours prior to performing a 10,000m time-trial:

  1. Normal-CHO (56% of diet)
  2. High-CHO (70% of diet)
  3. Low-CHO (25% of diet)

The 10,000 m run was performed on an outdoor, 400 m track, with runners being instructed to finish ‘as quickly as possible and to pace themselves throughout the trial.’

The result:  The high-CHO diet led to a faster final sprint and better overall performance, when compared to the low-CHO diet. This would indicate that by eating a high-CHO diet, more ‘ready-energy’ (glycogen) is available for a final sprint in a 10,000 m race.

Interestingly, pace fluctuations were consistent across all groups, at ~7%. However, of the runners who were on the normal- and low-CHO diets, those who least varied their running pace ran fastest – pace fluctuations are energetically costly.

What this means:  A high-CHO diet will allow for a faster pace at the end of a race when tapping into a different energy system for sprinting. Not only is a high-CHO diet beneficial to performance, but a low-CHO diet could be considered harmful. This has implications for runners trying to cut calories through reduced CHO consumption.

A final comment:  The results of this study present some good advice for all runners – not all calories are created equally when it comes to performance. For example, with many runners adopting a ‘gluten-free’ diet, a resulting consequence can be a reduction in carbohydrates essential for supporting hard training sessions.

—

Nikki Reiter is a Biomechanist and certified NCCP Performance Coach in Endurance Running. She offers online gait analysis through Run Right Gait Analysis. Visit her website www.run-right.ca for more information.

 

Tags:
Nikki ReiterpsychologyScience on the Run
When To Start Training For Your 2015 Fall Marathon
How Swimming Can Make You A Faster Runner

Archives

  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • November 2007

Meta

  • Log in
All rights reserved.