Extra Carbs Aid “Overreaching In Run Training

Increased training loads increase carbohydrate needs disproportionately compared to fat and protein needs. Thus it is reasonable to speculate that increased carbohydrate intake would help runners handle the stress of increased training periods and perform better in key workouts within such periods.

Brazilian researchers recently tested this idea with a group of 24 male runners. This group was divided into two subgroups, both of which engaged in an eight-day preiod of “overload” training. During this period, one group got 61 percent of daily calories from carbs while the other got 54 percent. At the end of the overload training period both groups performed a three-part workout consisting of a 1000m time trial followed by 10 x 800m at 3000m race pace followed by another 1000m time trial. Yikes!

Members of both groups performed equally well in the first two parts, but members of the high-carbohydrate diet group saw their 1000m time increase by 5.3 percent between the first and second runnings while members of the moderate-carbohydrate diet group saw their times increase by twice that amount. Researchers also observed lower cortisol concentrations and higher post-workout blood glucose concentrations in the high-carb group. These findings suggest that increased carbohydrate intake helped runners to better handle the stress of an overload training period.