Suunto Blog

As the skimo season comes to a close, Kilian Jornet is hanging up his skis and turning his attention to the big adventures ahead for the 2015 summer season. Quite literally, one stands out above all the rest: Everest. As part of his Summits of My Life project, which has seen him set speed records on seven mountains around world, Everest will be the project’s tallest order yet.Jornet is heading to Everest for his first time during the Himalayan climbing season, this spring, to begin what he says will be a long, patient process of preparation and discovery.“I conceive of this trip to Everest as a chance to learn,” Jornet says. “To really get to know the mountain and its surroundings and to learn everything my colleagues can teach me. And which photographer took this shot? Kilian himself! “I don’t know when we will be able to attempt the challenge as that will depend very much on the weather, acclimatization and the conditions we find there. I’m taking this first trip as an opportunity to learn.”His first visit to the highest mountain in the world will be focused on becoming familiar with the area, the planned route and, crucially, the effects of altitude. Everest will be Jornet’s first 8,000m mountain. Completing a rapid ascent on his first expedition is not something he says is on the cards.  “We know we have a long way ahead of us,” he says. “I think this will be a long-term project that we hope to complete in the coming years.” Depending on weather conditions, Jornet will attempt the ascent either via Norton Pass or Hornbein Couloir – both rarely climbed routes. After he’s returned from the roof of the world, Jornet's plan is to hit the trail running scene in Europe and the US.  He is not joining any fixed competitive circuit, but will run the races that most inspire him.His first race of the season will be the Mount Marathon in Alaska, one of the oldest in the world. It’s a vertical race to the top of the race’s namesake, Mount Marathon (922m), on US Independence Day. Next, he’s running in the Hardrock (USA), followed by the Tromsö Skyrace (Norway), the Sierre Zinal (Switzerland), the Skaala Uphill (Norway) and then finally, back on his home turf, the Ultra Pirineu in the Pyrenees. Main image shows Kilian on Denali. ©Summits of my Life

Ashley Relf is a professional coach. Here she gives you a mental-strength-adding workout that will help you finish a race strong. Ashley Relf is a San Francisco based coach and athlete. She started her athletic career as a successful gymnast and was training six hours a day already as a 12-year-old. Unfortunately a neck injury ended her career at age 13 and she shifted her focus to volleyball, soccer, basketball, and diving. At college she played soccer and ran track. Post college Ashley played soccer semi-professionally for a year but soon became an avid runner and triathlete. “Currently I am a mother of a 6 1/2 month old son, Joaquin and an elite runner training to chase after the Olympic Trials Qualifying time in the marathon,” she says. In addition to being a top athlete Ashley also holds a degree in Sport psychology, and a Certificate in Exercise & Sport Performance. She coaches individual clients as well as high school, club, college, corporate and professional level teams in both mental strength training and athletic performance in running, triathlon and strength training. “My strengths as a coach are that I understand the rigors of training to reach higher levels of performance and the psychological challenges of working through the extreme demands of competition,” she says. “I help my clients find the right steps to take to enhance their performance and reach a better understanding of her or his strengths and weaknesses and what needs to be done to move forward.” THE SPEEDY FINISH LONG RUN Ashley Relf’s workout, The Speedy Finish Long Run, is great for those who want a workout to help simulate pushing through mental and physical race fatigue towards the later stages of a race. “This exercise will help you finish a race strong and fast even when your body and mind are trying to get you to stop or slow down,” she says. The Speedy Finish Long Run is aimed at competitive runners who already have built a solid foundation with their base mileage. Note: Adjust the heart rates (HR) in the sample workout based on your own HR zones. Step 1 “Run the first 10 miles at your normal conversational pace.”Distance: 10 miles (15 km)Target HR: 70%–80% of your max HR  Step 2 “For the next 3 miles start running at your tempo pace (about a minute/mile faster than your normal conversational pace).”Distance: 3 miles (5 km)Target HR: 81%–93% of your max HR Step 3 “Run the next mile at your 5k race pace or an effort that you would not want to talk with your running buddy at.”Distance: 1 mile (1,5 km)Target HR: 94%–100% of your max HR  Step 4 “Run the last 2–3 miles at your normal conversational pace.”Distance: 2–3 miles (3–5 km)Target HR: 70%–80% of your max HR “The goal of this workout is to gain confidence from your speedy finish long runs to push through the mental and physical challenges and keep increasing the effort,” coach Relf says. For more info about Ashley Relf and her coaching go to www.traincompetegetfaster.com

Figuring out where you are is fairly simple when you have a map, the visibility is good and you can identify a few landmarks. But when the going gets rough, the weather is against you and the sun sets, the task isn’t so simple any more. In this tutorial you will learn how your Ambit can help you to find your location.   The basics are simple: you can find your current position with a few clicks of the Ambit. Choose: Navigation – Location – Current To make sure you get the satellite fix as quickly as possible, remember to sync your Ambit regularly and keep it up to date. Once you have found the GPS signal you will get your current location in geographic coordinates. The most common coordinate system in GPS devices is WGS84, which is also used by default in Suunto GPS watches.   Use the same coordinate system on your watch and map If you need to give your exact location to someone in a rescue situation, WGS84 works. But when you start using a map and defining your location on it, you will need to make sure your GPS watch and the map use the same coordinate system. (To change your Ambit’s coordinate system go to General – Formats – Position format.) Latitude/longitude is the coordinate system used in marine navigation and is common on topographical outdoor maps. Latitude lines run horizontally. The zero latitude is the Equator. Longitudes run vertically and the zero longitude runs through Greenwich, England. The latitude is normally the first number expressed in lat/long coordinate (for example 60°16'19" N 24°58’23’’ E). WGS84, which uses latitudes/longitudes, is actually more than a coordinate system: it also includes a model of the globe that enables the use of GPS altimeters. UTM is a grid coordinate system that is used on many outdoor maps. It divides the map into a perpendicular grid in which each of the squares are the same size anywhere on the map. This means the coordinate system is tied directly to a distance in meters. This Norwegian map has both WGS84 (black) and UTM (blue) coordinates. The black numbers on the sides of the map are degrees latitude; the numbers on the top and bottom of the map are degrees longitude. To determine your location on the map, draw a west to east line through the corresponding latitude and a south to north line through the corresponding longitude. The intersection of the two lines indicates your position. The blue numbers are the northings and eastings of the UTM coordinate system. You can use them like the lat/log when finding your location on the map.   You can get support for your Suunto product at support

Patrick Sweeney may have pulled out of Race Across USA but he's continuing anyway in a bid to cross the States from California to Washington D.C. by foot. Since setting out mid-January in a running race across the USA, the Suunto-supported athlete has so far clocked 2,000 km of the 5,000 km journey. Unfortunately he had to pull out of the race itself, but is continuing the journey anyway with New Zealand runner Jup Brown as a fundraiser for various charitable projects. Patrick Sweeney is a barefoot devotee, whatever the weather. ©Patrick Sweeney Says Patrick: “Since Jup and I started Run With Us America we have been professional speakers at a health expo, interviewed by four radio stations, featured in three newspapers, spoken to hundreds of children at multiple schools, been joined by runners from five countries and at least seven different breeds of dog and received thousands of waves from passers-by. Most importantly we have had a lot of fun and inspired a few people along the way.” Continuing along the same route as Race Across USA, the pair’s main goal is to raise money for the 100 Mile Club, a non-profit that encourages children to run 100 miles a year, with the aim of improving fitness, learning and self-esteem. So far the team have crossed the states of California, New Mexico and Arizona. They are currently in central Texas, nearly halfway to the US capital. Watch a video of their New Mexico leg below. “We have been able to run 30-35 miles (48-56 km) each day. My Ambit3 is working great and keeps me motivated,” he adds. Main image: ©Patrick Sweeney

Patrick Sweeney may have pulled out of Race Across USA but he's continuing anyway in a bid to cross the States from California to Washington D.C. by foot. Since setting out mid-January in a running race across the USA, the Suunto-supported athlete has so far clocked 2,000 km of the 5,000 km journey. Unfortunately he had to pull out of the race itself, but is continuing the journey anyway with New Zealand runner Jup Brown as a fundraiser for various charitable projects. Patrick Sweeney is a barefoot devotee, whatever the weather. ©Patrick Sweeney Says Patrick: “Since Jup and I started Run With Us America we have been professional speakers at a health expo, interviewed by four radio stations, featured in three newspapers, spoken to hundreds of children at multiple schools, been joined by runners from five countries and at least seven different breeds of dog and received thousands of waves from passers-by. Most importantly we have had a lot of fun and inspired a few people along the way.” Continuing along the same route as Race Across USA, the pair’s main goal is to raise money for the 100 Mile Club, a non-profit that encourages children to run 100 miles a year, with the aim of improving fitness, learning and self-esteem. So far the team have crossed the states of California, New Mexico and Arizona. They are currently in central Texas, nearly halfway to the US capital. Watch a video of their New Mexico leg below.   “We have been able to run 30-35 miles (48-56 km) each day. My Ambit3 is working great and keeps me motivated,” he adds.  Main image: ©Patrick Sweeney

In this week's Tuesday tutorial, you'll learn how to use Movescount's training plans and planned moves, and how to modify them to suit your needs. According to a famous author, any goal without a plan is just a wish. The same principle applies to training: a plan based on your goals, strengths, weaknesses and other personal variables will certainly help you achieve your objectives.  ‘A good training programme keeps you focused on your key exercises and won't stress you out. You don't need to worry about how often you train or what's going to happen next month. Just follow the programme. It will prepare you for your goal,’ says Janne Kallio, an experienced Ironman and digital marketing specialist for Team Suunto. ‘But there's another problem: no training programme can know how you're feeling,’ adds Janne. Janne himself follows a key training principle: he chooses certain compulsory workouts and trains the rest of the time according to his state of recovery. ‘When I'm mentally and physically ready, I make sure I at least do the compulsory exercises. But he also points out that training is only one part of life. ‘In a 12-hour working day, it's not advisable to do a long, intensive run, especially if you can put it off until the next day. So listen to your body and adapt your plan if necessary. USING TRAINING PROGRAMMES ON MOVESCOUNT  Movescount is a major source of training programmes. The community has already created thousands of them. To simplify your search for the most suitable programme, you can filter the results according to your level of activity, the sport you play and the popularity of the programme. You can find training programmes in Movescount under the Movescount Plan & Create drop-down menu. Training programmes are defined sets of moves for which a type of activity, duration, intensity and day of the week have been set. A plan can last several weeks.  Once you've found a training plan, save it in your library. To activate it straight away, add it to your calendar. You can also use it later. When you've saved a programme in your library, but haven't chosen to use it straight away, you'll find it under a drop-down menu of Planned Moves. The dates of the moves in a training plan are determined by the start week of the plan. As well as following an existing programme, you can create your own programme using the Training Programme Planner, or plan your training from day to day by adding planned moves to your calendar. A planned move is a training session with a date, type of activity, duration and intensity. If you regularly do the same move, for example if you always go to the same weekly run or indoor training session, you can drag and drop it into the My Plans library. You can then add the moves you've created over several days, or use them to create your own training programme. (Your My Plans library is available in Planned Moves and in the Training Programme Planner). You can also drag and drop moves when you want to modify a training programme or move planned moves from one day to another: choose the move you want to move and then drop it into the library. From the library, you can add the move to another day. Creating your own training programme is useful when you want to repeat a block or week of training more than once. Once saved as a training programme, you can add your ‘15-hour Endurance Training Week’ or ‘Competition Week’ to the calendar as and when required. Once moves have been added to certain days, they will be visible as grey symbols on the Movescount calendar. Once the planned move has passed, the symbol disappears. Only the move you created will remain visible. To display old scheduled moves again, choose Tools then Show old scheduled moves from the drop-down menu at the bottom right of the calendar. Your plans will be synchronised with your Suunto Ambit for daily use. A reminder is displayed on the watch on training days. One of the Ambit's screens also displays daily activity details (activity, time, distance). To start your planned training session for the day, simply press the start/stop button in the top right-hand corner of the watch - go for it!     You can get help with your Suunto product at www.suunto.com/support