ok so I am going to try the whole couch to 5K deal again...this time with a friend who is a runner. We have a goal to do a 5K at the end of April However, she is telling me that I HAVE to have lots of carbs on the days I run. Rice, pasta whole grain bread etc. Well, I dont do well with lots of grains and the sugar in the after run replenish drink is waayyyy more sugar than I can handle. She says to drink a glass of fat free chocolate milk and eat a banana if I dont want a replenish drink.... Cant I just eat a normal SB way - which for me is low on grains high on veggies and protein - and be ok?

Thanks!
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Wendy

I've heard a lot of different things about this. I eat Paleo/Primal, which from what I understand is similar to SB in it's limitation of sugar and carbs. A lot of people eat a sweet potato as a "recovery" food. (I hope you don't mind I jumped in here - I *hate* it when people tell me to carb load!)

You could experiment; See how it changes how you feel, your mental alertness, your results. I always end up feeling tired after a large consumption of carbs. And I did my best running when I was on a limited carb diet.


Ultimately though, WHY are you doing the 5k? Is it to "win" or for competition? If you're doing this for your own personal best, I think you should do it YOUR way. Your friend means well

Carb loading is considered essential for long distances, 1/2 marathon +. I don't think it's necessary for a 5k.

Oh, and carbs should be before, not after (if you're going to carb load). You need protein after.

Your body only really needs carb replenishment when you are running hard for more than an hour, so doing a 10k+ really.

You might feel a bit sluggish if you try to seriously run on phase one, but with a proper phase two diet, you'll be good. Just eat a carb snack an hour before you're running. And by carb snack that could be a bit of quinoa and half an apple, it doesn't need to be half a loaf of bread or a pound of pasta.

With the C25K program you won't be running hard enough to really worry about it. Just listen to your body, if you feel like you are dragging through the workouts, then maybe you'll need to add an extra grain or fruit serving on days you run, or maybe not.

I agree with Aclai4067 and fozentusic, you probably don't need to carb load, but I'd make sure you're eating healthy carbs the week of.

Good luck