Carb Week

We're in the final stretch now. Just a few short days remain until Scott and I assemble with tens of thousands of other lunatics at the start line in Manchester. I'm cautiously optimistic about the run itself, even if I'm still experiencing maranoia about everything surrounding it. But before we begin the long journey north, there's still one hugely important factor that I've been eagerly awaiting for months now: carb week.

Pure, unadulterated carnage.

This is the time when distance runners do their carb loading. I'm eating bread, rice, and pasta in as many meals as I can. It's great. I love carb week. (I also love food, so I'm biased there). My wife is getting a bit fed up having so much pasta in the evening, but she's supporting me as much as she can - what a trooper. Thanks, babe.

I know I've mentioned before, many years ago, about the kinds of foods runners should eat before and after a run, but it bears repeating here. I'll be running for around five hours across twenty six miles. I'm going to burn roughly six thousand calories on the day. That's the amount I would normally burn over three days. My body needs to get its energy from somewhere.

Think of the human body like a steam engine. During a normal day, not much needs to be shovelled into the furnace to keep everything ticking along. But once you start to exercise and push yourself, the furnace needs more fuel to operate. For simple gym sessions and shorter runs - such as a 10k - water and electrolytes are sufficient to feed the furnace and keep you moving. But once you get beyond that, you need to plan your intake and prepare accordingly.

The body needs protein after serious workouts and long runs. Protein is the best nutrient to support muscles and help them grow. Bodybuilders, personal trainers, and people keen on expanding their physique will always say that protein is vital to muscle repair and regeneration. When Chris Hemsworth was bulking up to play the role of Thor, he would eat two entire roast chickens every day to make sure his body had enough protein - and that was on top of whatever else his diet required.

But if you know you're going to do a serious, intense workout or run a long distance, you have to make sure your body has the right nutrients in advance. For that, you need carbs. Think of carbs like the coal that gets thrown into the furnace of the steam engine. You'll need a good pile of coal to power the engine to travel a good distance, so you need carbs for the same reason.

When the body - the engine - is pushed hard, it burns through everything in storage. It starts with simple things, like sugars and fats. But once these stocks start to deplete, the body begins reaching for carbs to power the engine. The more you go, the more demanding that furnace becomes. Once you push through the exercise barrier and begin burning body fat - roughly one hour into a good run - the furnace demands carbs or you'll start to experience those dreadful muscular cramps.

You can replace carbs as they are burned. I plan to do this on the day with a couple of bagels. But you also need to make sure the furnace has enough carbs on-hand to keep you moving. This is the joy and beauty of carb week. In these last few days, it's absolutely vital that I prepare myself as much as possible for the challenge ahead.

And I will, as soon as I can.

So here I am. I'm tapering and winding down my distances. One last 10k run remains on my plan. The rest of the preparation is all about loading those sweet, delicious carbs into my body and making the furnace is fuelled and ready.

Hooray for carb week.