Suunto Blog

Director of coaching at trainright.com, Jason Koop has been guiding elite athletes for decades. His book Training Essentials for Ultrarunning is a veritable goldmine of training knowledge. We caught up with coach Koop to talk about the book, which he says disproves widely held beliefs about ultrarunning.   Training for an ultramarathon demands high volume and time The first myth, says Koop, is really bad for the sport of ultrarunning; the widespread, and discouraging, belief that to run one you need to clock in a seemingly insurmountable number of kilometers or miles and hours each week. “It creates a barrier to entry for a lot of people because they think they have to train 18 or 24 hours a week,” Koop says. “The fact of the matter is you don’t need that much time and that much volume. While more is better, there’s a point of diminishing returns. After about nine hours per week, every additional 10% of volume doesn't correlate to a 10% improvement in performance or capability. It might only be 5 or 1% you get back. For a 100 mile race, Koop says doing 10 to 12 hour training weeks for eight to 10 weeks is enough. For the 50 km or 50-mile distance, it’s about nine hours for about six to eight weeks.© Philipp Reiter You need mountains to properly train for an ultramarathon While living and training in the mountains is helpful, it’s not essential. “Consider Kaci Lickteig,” Koop says. “She was second at the Western States 100 in 2015, yet she lives in Omaha, Nebraska and only does about 305 m of vertical a week. It takes her 20 weeks to accumulate the amount of vertical that’s in the Western States 100. But yet she has been really successful. It’s nice to train in the mountains if you can, but most normal people can be successful without them. The more important priority is improving your cardiovascular engine.”© Philipp Reiter You have to be freakishly talented to run an ultramarathon Koop says a lot of people believe you need to be genetically endowed with a sky-high vo2 max to be a good ultra runner. “I really haven’t found that to be the case,” he says. “Most of the guys and the girls we test, they’re not even close to an Olympic caliber marathon runner or even to a national caliber marathon runner. An ultra runner’s aerobic engine isn’t the sole determinant of performance in the way as it is for a marathoner. There is a lot of other factors that play more of a role in an ultramarathon – strategy, mental toughness and nutrition, for example. You have to be able to do a big mix of things and don’t have to be the biggest aerobic powerhouse on the planet.”© Philipp Reiter I would never be able to finish in time “Most ultra marathon cut off times are really generous,” Koop says. “The physiological talent or aerobic power that it takes to run at the pace to make cut off is actually within reach of most people. A typical cut off time for a 100 miler, for example, is 30 hours – that’s 18 minutes a mile. Just about everybody walks one mile in 18 minutes and 30 seconds. What that indicates is the fitness required to complete the task isn’t very high. So it’s an accessible sport from this standpoint.” Lead image: © Philipp Reiter

Transform your basic navigational skills to fast, competitive orienteering or take your trail running off the beaten path with these 10 essential tips by orienteering world champion  Mårten Boström . You don’t need a lot to get started so join your local orienteering event, choose a course that suits your skill level and start exploring! What equipment is needed to start orienteering? A map, a compass and sturdy shoes are the basic requirements. What’s the scale of an orienteering map usually? Maps are of scales 1:10000 or 1:15000, larger scales in urban events. That means that on the regular 1:10000 map 1 cm in the map depicts 100 m in the terrain. What advice can you give on the map symbols?   Maps are drawn with same symbols worldwide and the colors on the map roughly resemble those you see in real life in front of you. Blue stands for water, white for normal forest, green for thick forest, black mostly for built objects and yellow depicts open areas. However, brown representing elevation contours is the most important color for navigation. How is an orienteering course presented on a map? Start from the purple triangle and follow the connecting lines to the numbered control circles. When you have reached the double circle you can stop running – you have reached the finish! How to hold a map? Fold the map so that you can point your thumb to your last known position. Make sure you can see the whole distance towards your next control. How to orient a map? Always keep the map oriented according to your direction of travel. This way you'll see the upcoming objects in the terrain as you move along your thumb on the map as you go. How to decide the best route to the next control point?  Pick a route where you'll come across clear objects along the way all the way until the next control. It usually pays off to have a good plan and pick a route to suite ones navigational skills. Shortest is not always the safest way to find the control quickly... How to get the direction to the next control with a map and a compass? Place the compass' direction of travel line parallel to the control connecting line on your map. In the image above the line connects the start (marked with a triangle) with the first control (marked with a circle).  Rotate the compass capsule so that the red orienting lines are aligned with the map meridians and pointing north. Keep the map horizontal while you turn yourself so that the compass north arrow and the map meridians pointing to the north line up. Now the line of travel points towards your next control! How to keep your direction? After getting the correct direction using the compass you should look up into the terrain and pick a distinguishable feature far ahead to aim for. Repeat glimpse at your compass often to make sure the map's meridians and your compass north arrow line up – and pick new features in the terrain to aim for. How do you know you are at the right control? Control description define the exact location of the control (e.g. on the northeast side of the southernmost boulder in the control circle). Code numbers found in the control descriptions reassure you're at the correct control. Bonus: How to run fast in the forest? Keeping your gaze constantly about 20 m in front of you making micro-routechoices through the terrain will help you smoothly glide across boulder fields and swamps alike. Orienteers develop a seventh sense to run fast through all kinds of environments while reading the map only through extensive training, so get out there!   Learn more about Suunto compasses Meet the orienteer who runs a 2h 18m marathon Find your local orienteering organization through the International Orienteering Federation  

Suunto ambassadors Kilian Jornet and Emelie Forsberg moved to Norway for one reason – the wild places. Kilian and Emelie are living near Romsdal in Norway. © Kilian JornetAfter living at the base of the Mont Blanc massif for many years, mountain athletes and couple Kilian Jornet and Emelie Forsberg have moved to Norway. Chamonix was their training base for five years. From there Kilian prepared for and carried out some his fastest known time projects. For Emelie, Chamonix provided the ideal base to gather experience in training and competition. It had one downside – it’s too busy for the solitude-loving couple. © Kilian Jornet“It really is a paradise up here,” Kilian says about Norway. “It's pretty wild and there aren’t many people around. We can access the mountains and the fjords right from the house. “The mountains are very steep, with very technical terrain. It’s good for skiing, climbing and for running in summer.”Click to see Kilian's favorite training routes! © Kilian JornetComing from Sweden, Emelie always wanted to return to the north. Like Kilian, she enjoys the feeling of being alone in wide-open spaces. “Every now and then while we lived down in Chamonix I really missed the wild nature, and rougher conditions we have here,” she says. “We decided to move up here because we found a really good house to live that’s convenient for travel and close to the mountains. “It can rain for weeks up here and have really harsh conditions, which makes it more challenging finding the motivation to go out and train, but I really like the conditions as well. That’s how I became the athlete that I am. It feels really good to be back in the north.”Click to see Emelie's favorite trail running routes!© Kilian JornetAfter his best ski mountaineering season, Kilian has been enjoying climbing and skiing in the local mountains. He plans to compete in two trail running races over summer, the Zegama marathon in Spain this coming weekend and the Hardrock 100 Mile Endurance Run in the US in July. His main focus, however, is going to the Himalayas to prepare for a fastest known time attempt on Everest. Emelie is recovering from a serious knee injury and hopes to compete again soon. Lead image: © Kilian Jornet

Top triathlete Åsa Lundström shares 7 tips to help you get the most from your spring training camp. © OrcaSuunto athlete Åsa Lundström has been putting in 35-hour training weeks at a spring training camp at the Playitas Resort on the Canary Islands. She came fourth at the recent South Africa Ironman, qualifying herself for the World Championship in Kona, Hawaii this October – her main goal this year. Åsa says going to a spring training camp somewhere warm allows people from colder climes to boost their training volume to prepare for the coming season. “Most long distance triathletes have the Kona Ironman as their main goal and in order to elevate our base level we need to have a big training block and a spring camp is a really good way to achieve that,” Åsa says. “Most triathletes want to boost their cycling at spring camps because that's the hardest discipline to train at home during the winter months.”© Orca Don’t overdo it When you’re at a camp there are so many motivated people and groups it’s easy to get carried away. If you plan to start out with a three-hour ride and you go with someone who wants to do a four or five hour ride, it's very easy to get pulled along with them. Unsurprisingly, it’s not uncommon for people to train too hard and crash their immune system and then go home, catch a cold and not be able to train for two weeks. Being patient and not getting carried away is probably the hardest part of being on a camp.© Orca Stick to your plan Create a training plan for the camp with your coach before you leave so you have a clear idea of what you’re going to do. This helps you to avoid overdoing it. Of course if you feel fresh and you feel strong it’s important to push a bit harder. You need that to stay motivated and to get the endorphins. But still don't get carried away and overdo it. The risk is you will hit the wall. Rest and eat well Most people train a lot more at a camp than they do at home. They go to boost their training. It's important to remember then that you need more sleep and to take good care of your nutritional intake by eating good quality food. At the beginning of a camp you are so filled with endorphins and energy and you’re in the warm sunshine, it’s easy to feel like you don’t need so much sleep. Even if you’re only on a one-week training camp it’s important to get eight or nine hours of sleep every night even when you feel you don’t need it.© Åsa Lundström Take your nutrition If you’re going to a training camp where you haven’t been before it can be difficult finding the sports nutrition you use for your training. So if you don't know what you can get there, make sure to bring enough of your own. Find a buddy Training with a buddy, or even just around other triathletes, means you can push yourself to a higher level. If you train for many hours it’s always good to have a partner. If you have someone who is at your level, it’s a constant source of motivation because you will be racing against these people. © Åsa Lundström Foam roll and stretch I go to the gym to workout, stretch properly and do foam rolling. I do it as prevention. A light massage half way through a camp is a good thing. Avoid deep massage because that can make your muscles sorer and they might need a rest afterwards. Focus on volume Most people go on a spring training camp because they can’t get the volume in at home because it’s too cold. So the natural thing is to do the volume training, which is cycling and running. Take the opportunity to do longer sessions. It’s also a good time to practice open water swimming if you’re somewhere where the water temperature is nice. Don’t focus on technique, but build strength and practice navigating. Lead image: © Orca/Gines Diaz

Elite South African trail runner and Suunto athlete Meg MacKenzie also works as a coach, helping runners to develop the mental skills required to achieve their dreams. She writes below about drawing on the power of commitment.© Sven Musica As the trail running season gets closer runners sometimes overcommit to too many events or don't fully commit to any. Both result in half-hearted goals that may or may not be reached. My advice is to think carefully and commit to one or two really important goal races with 100% whole heartedness. Here’s how! IMT (inspiring, moving and touching) Choose an event that is inspiring, moving and touching. Choosing an event to commit to 100% requires that it’s an exciting for you. Otherwise your discipline is bound to waver; you will begin to look at other races. Choose wisely and dream big! Make sure it is out of your comfort zone by about 20%. More than this and you may be overwhelmed. Less than this, and it’ll be too easy. Click to read Meg's tips on how to bring mindfulness to the trail!© Sven Musica Use the power of speech There is very real power in our words when we talk with others. We have the ability to create what we desire through our word by using it as an action. A speech act is a verbal declaration of what one is committing to, and by when. For it to be effective, it should be a clear, strong and specific commitment: “I promise to …” “I commit to …” “I shall …” Avoid weak sentences: “I’ll try…” “I want to …” “I would like to …” Whatever you verbally commit to must be followed by a clear goal about by when it will become a reality. For example: “I commit to running a sub 3h30m marathon on October 12, 2016.” This is much clearer, and more specific than: “I’ll try to do my best at the marathon.” Another good example might be: “I will lose 3kg by May 30 this year” as opposed to: “I’ll try to lose weight.” Be specific! © Sven Musica Take responsibility As people, we constantly try to find reasons as to why things happen to us. Perhaps we keep getting injured, and we look for something to blame. Or our running buddy keeps bailing and then we feel our lack of fitness is his or her fault. The more A type personalities out there might find a convenient reason to justify why they didn’t stick to a rest day. The list is endless! It’s crucial to simply accept and take responsibility for your actions, whatever they are. When you can do this fully, imagine the power your commitments have!© Sven Musica Watch the little things Your subconscious mind is a super powerful recording device that remembers all the times you have or haven’t done what you said you would do. It doesn’t record the excuses, and whether they are legit or not. If you promised to go to gym at 6am but you press snooze and go at 6.30 this is recorded and your integrity is compromised. Likewise, if you promise to meet a friend for coffee at 11am and you get there at 11:05, it’s recorded as a time when you broke your word. These add up and impact your overall integrity or character. The gist is, how can you expect yourself to reach your BIG goals if you cannot trust yourself with little ones? They are directly related, so keep a check on your integrity. It’s the fuel behind the power of your word.

© Sven Musica With her mother, father, and aunt all distance runners, it was inevitable Meg MacKenzie would follow suit. She grew up on a farm, and enjoyed cross-country through her school years. When she was 25, and without training, she came second in the Three Cranes Challenge stage race, and was first in her age group. “From there I started thinking about trail running more seriously,” she says. She began working with a coach, got sponsorships and has since had a string of podium and first place finishes in stage and trail running races. Her specialty is mid-distance racing.“I don't know what it is but I keep entering those shorter, sharper races,” she says. “You can race more if you do the 30 k to 40 k distance. And I love racing. That's part of why I do it. I crave competition.”Meg also coaches other runners to reach their dreams. She practices meditation daily and uses mindfulness in her approach to life and coaching. “I've had a lot of experience in the trail running community and “I can see that women in particular struggle to get started, and if they do get started they struggle to maintain what they're doing,” Meg says. “That spurred me to help people, particularly female runners.”Many trail runners rely solely on mental toughness to push themselves, but there are other ways of approaching training and racing. “Listen to your body and really try to get a mind-body connection going because that's the most important connection you can have. Pushing through isn't always the best option.” Meg's three tips for bringing mindfulness to the trail: Create your context for each training session By consciously determining what you want to get out of each session, you will avoid tumbling along in an unconscious blur of day-to-day slog. It takes five minutes, and when you get better at it, one minute. Before you step out the door ask yourself what you want to get out of the next few hours. Maybe it’s an escape after a long day. Maybe you want to learn more about your downhill running. Perhaps you need to relax and take it easy. Or maybe you want to consciously push yourself to the correct splits and times you laid out for yourself. Whatever it is, take a quiet moment to determine it consciously before you set off. Forgive yourself Forgive yourself for any training or racing that didn't go how you wantedAcknowledge what happened, give up the resistance to what happened, let go – it creates freedom. And make a decision to move forward. This will allow for more flow and energy rather than getting stuck in one off day, week, month or race. Drop the story The story is everything we create in our heads about the present moment and most of us allow that to stop us. For example, you would like to go for a run BUT its a bit rainy and cold, you don't have quite enough time, you really want to BUT maybe you could go tomorrow when the weather is better, or when you get out of work a bit earlier. The story is everything after BUT. The 'is-ness' is that, yes, it is rainy and cold. And you have promised yourself to go for that run. So what is your decision? If you act from is-ness, you acknowledge that it is cold and rainy and you make a decision to go anyway because that is the best decision to make out of what IS. So drop the story and move on in the present! Meditate Meditation is a powerful tool to use before or after a race or as part of your daily life. It allows you to create space in your mind and be more present. This, in turn, allows more flow, as you will be more conscious with the present moment, instead of rushing through another day of training stuck in the future worrying or feeling anxious about the past. There are lots of guided meditations out there, try one, start small and just be.