Fuel kinetics during intense running and cycling when fed carbohydrate

Abstract

On two occasions, six well-trained, male competitive triathletes performed, in random order, two experimental trials consisting of either a timed ride to exhaustion on a cycle ergometer or a run to exhaustion on a motor-driven treadmill at 80% of their respective peak cycling and peak running oxygen (VO_2max) uptakes. At the start of exercise, subjects drank 250 ml of a 15 g·100 ml⁻¹ w/v [U-¹⁴C]glucose solution and, thereafter, 150 ml of the same solution every 15 min. Despite identical metabolic rates [VO₂ 3.51 (0.06) vs 3.51 (0.10) 1·min⁻¹; values are mean (SEM) for the cycling and running trials, respectively], exercise times to exhaustion were significantly longer during cycling than running [96 (14) vs 63 (11) min; P < 0.05]. The superior cycling than running endurance was not associated with any differences in either the rate of blood glucose oxidation [3.8 (0.1) vs 3.9 (0.4) mmol· min⁻¹], or the rate of ingested glucose oxidation [2.0 (0.1) vs 1.7 (0.2) mmol· min⁻¹] at the last common time point (40 min) before exhaustion, despite higher blood glucose concentrations at exhaustion during running than cycling [7.0 (0.9) vs 5.8 (0.5) mmol·1⁻¹; P < 0.05]. However, the final rate of total carbohydrate (CHO) oxidation was significantly greater during cycling than running [24.0 (0.8) vs 21.7 (1.4) mmol C₆·min⁻¹; P < 0.01]. At exhaustion, the estimated contribution to energy production from muscle glycogen had declined to similar extents in both cycling and running [68 (3) vs 65 (5)%]. These differences between the rates of total CHO oxidation and blood glucose oxidation suggest that the direct and/or indirect (via lactate) oxidation of muscle glycogen was greater in cycling than running.