i'm fully aware of carb loading, but I've never heard of carb depletion. a quick Google brought up a lot of bodybuilding links, but maybe there's a place for it in endurance events also...

I'll stick to carb loading. It sounds like a lot more fun.

I've heard of it, dabble in it once or twice, but meh, didn't stick to it. I *think* the idea is that you deplete your carbs [i]early in the taper week[i] before you re-load them pre-race, like running your gas tank in your car all the way down to E running errands and then re-filling it before you get on the interstate (to follow the analogy).

If this is the case, the concept is that (somehow) after running a carb deficit you can uptake and store more. Don't know if this is true or not, maybe psychological. If/when I do try it, it is for 70.3/140.6 and marathons. Seems a bit much for shorties.

Wed: Few carbs, mabye <100
Thursday: As little as possible (Carb Depletion)
Friday: Carb load like crazy all day, 500+
Saturday: Carb load breakfast and lunch, then no solid food the rest of the day
Sunday: Race

This is not meant to be argumentative, but if you deplete your glycogen stores and then do a massive upload, aren't you just replacing what was already there? As far as I'm aware, the energy density of muscle glycogen is not a variable - so, in other words, you can't deplete the bad fuel and replace it with a higher grade. You can, over time, increase the net volume of your glycogen stores through strength and endurance training. To beat a dead horse, it sounds like you want to intentionally drive the car to E, just for the sake of re-filling the tank. If there's proof of merit, I'd certainly be interested in hearing about it. Any advantage is an advantage.

In theory you are right we are just taking it down to E. But the way we store glycogen is more complex than a gas tank. By performing a full depleation we create a supercomposation effect. I'll find the literature on this, but I'm certain many professional endurance athletes do this on a regular bases.

there was an article on this in the free handout triathlete magazine at the Galveston Lone Star Tri. I think it's the latest issue. The depletion and supercarbing concept during the 80's or so was invented, but lost luster to more advanced techniques in better foods and fuels.