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→Glycogen Depletion and Breathing Rate
=Glycogen Depletion and Breathing Rate=
It requires more oxygen to produce energy from fat than carbohydrate<ref name="vent"/>. This may be why higher intensity exercise harder shifts to burning more carbohydrate. When our muscles become depleted of glycogen, muscles are forced to burn more fat. At any given exercise intensity we will use more oxygen when we are glycogen depleted. This means our heart rate will be higher and out breathing will be deeper and faster. It also means our perceived exertion is much higher for a given pace when glycogen depleted. This effect is most noticeable at the end of a long run or a marathon race, and it becomes much harder to stay on target pace. In fact, it can become up to 20% harder and this can be the difference between relaxed easy breathing and panting for breath. This [[Heart Rate Drift| increased demand for oxygen ]] can often be seen in the [[Running Efficiency Calculator|calculated running efficiency]].
[[File:Ventilatory response and glycogen depletion.jpg|none|thumb|400px|This graph <ref name="vent"/> shows the relationship between a cyclist's power output and their breathing rate in normal and glycogen depleted states.]]
=Glycogen Depletion and Muscle Damage=
Muscle biopsies taken after a marathon show damage to muscle fibers, but this damage appears focused on a subset of the fibers<ref name="Warhol-1985"/>. Some fibers show no damage, but adjacent fibers are badly affected. The damaged fibers are depleted of Glycogen and lipids (fat). It seems reasonable to me that this pattern of selective damage is due to the pattern of fibers recruitment, with the fibers that are recruited first becoming both glycogen depleted and damaged. Similar damage can be seen with [[Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness]]. The images below are taken from the gastrocnemius (calf), 24-48 hours after a marathon race,