The Ultra Peps

Note: Episode 20 is using Japanese-English! Great fun today with Yusuke Tanka, elite trail-runner part of team Salomon Japan, running coach and cross-training explorer talking about speed training, why do we need to include it in our training routine and how to train during the winter season, when the trails are not the safest option to train. We will see that there are many ways to maintain our aerobic base while having a great time exploring new sports.    

Rowing this 2000 miles arctic route linking the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans is the next adventure awaiting Mark Agnew in 2021. Perhaps one the last big FIRST in the world. Mark is talking about this fantastic expedition and describes what it takes to get there in terms of logistics and preparation. We will also learn how  the expedition team will perform very serious climate change survey to document the impact of global warming in the Arctic.

https://nwp2021.com

The story of the founder and CEO of Nich Cycling, the first and only sport cycling brand in Thailand is an endurance journey. Grit and determination combined with time commitment to fit work, family, training, friend and social obligations ended up in an amazing adventure exploring and taking different challenges to the top.    

Do we necessarily slow down while getting older? Approaching training in a smarter way based on experience (when getting older) can set off the impact of ageing on our performances. 

Today's episode is about sports performance. What breaking the 4 minute mile has taught us about finding our limits? Roger Bannister, 1st human to a run a 4 minute mile, icon of success showed that our mind-set can enhance our natural abilities! Get the opportunity to surprise yourself and don't sabotage a potential achievement from the very moment the gun fires!

The 4 minute mile is a fascinating example, back then, it has been as much a psychological barrier as a physical one. Like climbing Mt Everest, the closer it is the more daunting it seems!   

I am with Suzanne Van de Venne, High Performance Coach and runner.

"You Are What You Eat".  Hi everyone, the topics today are all food related because hungry runners eat all day. Breakfast (or not?), nutrition toolbox, fuelling the long runs, training our nutrition strategies and plant-based running - - -> with coach Erik Böhm, founder of the Effortless Running method. 

A casual chat with Juliette Blanchet, elite trail-runner from team Vibram talking about refuelling during races. Getting the nutrition right on race day is as important as the training load invested in the race preparation! Thank you Juliette! 

Note: As we are both French it appeared more natural to hold a conversation in our mother tongue (I will try to study how to get the transcripts).  

Are you craving for potatoes chips during or after a run? Welcome to the club. I made this episode after a 6hours mountain run in the heat and believe me the main focus of the day wasn't the view. How much fuid do we need? What type of fluid are the most useful for us runners and ultra addicts? The hydration index of average sports drinks is very disappointing (not to say inefficient) to deliver fluid in our bodies. What causes cramping and how to avoid it are also today's topics.  Hydration brings a better running performance and perhaps most importantly recovery!     

Training for ultras and mountain races in town. Does it sound familiar? If you do not all have the chance to live near mountains or if you are too busy to hit the hills, this is definitely going to bring you a few creative ideas about how to organise your ultra-training in town. How to make the most out of the urban jungle and build those climbing legs? 

With Erik Böhm, founder of the Effortless Running Method. 

In this first Trail Talk, Carole introduces Juliette Blanchet, a French ultra-runner part of team Vibram France. Juliette and Carole will record a series of talks naturally structured around a theme, spontaneous and natural way to share their experiences. In this episode, Juliette recalls her experience racing the Diagonale des Fous (Grand Raid de la Reunion), the challenging and brutal 100 miles mountain ultra-running race with 9643m of elevation gain on Reunion Island. Juliette has been placed 2nd at the Diagonale des Fous in 2014-2016-2018.  

Note: Discussion recovered in French  

Inspired by Haruki Murakami's book, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, Carole and Yusuke Tanaka, an elite sky-runner and trail runner from Japan based in Sapporo start a series of talks about running. Communication when our mother languages cannot meet is not limitative. Runners speak the same universal language. This discussion presents new aspects of running trails, tips, technics and the mind set of happy runners and will continue to develop new topics around running. Yusuke is also a coach and works for Salomon Japan. He is probably the most joyful elite runner I met in Japan and it is contagious. He doesn't only climb on races' podium but he  definitely found the podium of happiness.       

We are all born runners. No one is born talented. Effortless and running seems to be two contradictory concepts. We can all run effortlessly. Erik Bohm is explaining the running method he created to help runners at all levels to feel the joy of the movement. Running form matters more than we think and building the basics running posture may save you the extra minutes on your personal best and lead you to the finish line with a smile. 

"How to run on anger and win your first 100km trail race" could be the unexpected title. Carole is talking to Eric Böhm the founder of the effortless running method about their first ultra-trail running race. The North Face 100 Asia Pacific series. A gruelling 100km in the heat of Thailand. How the two long ironman triathletes prepared and survived the new challenge. How do you control negatives emotions when the unexpected happens during a race? How to keep going in the dark side? We can learn how to use obstacles to push ourselves to the finish line. Physical limits and mental limits are fascinating borders.   

Carole is talking about her nutrition strategy built during her time racing as professional triathlete. There are several ways to adjust our nutrition plan. Learning how become an hybrid athlete and knowing how to switch from a diet including carbs to a high-fat low carbs diet can be a solution to the biggest challenge faced by the endurance athlete: re-fueling.  Carole is using and transferring the same fueling methods to her ultra-running and mountaineering endurance life. Daily life, training and racing are calling for very different diets. How can endurance athletes maximise their performances? What do we eat before a race? How do we eat during training?     

In this Episode, Carole will be talking about nutrition. What is fuelling our performances? She will share her extended experience as an endurance athlete and the knowledge she built as a professional ironman triathlete, an alpine climber and ultra-trail runner. Combining 3 of the toughest endurance sports will help to understand the principles hidden behind each type of fuel available to our body: carbs, fat and protein. When and how much to use those will depends about our needs as endurance athletes. Carole will talk about different types of diets: high-carbs / low-carbs & high fat / low carbs & high protein. She will also refer to the carbo loading party and trendy food diets. Each type of effort will match with a specific diet. Fuelling our body is perhaps the most important aspect of endurance. 

Strength endurance training for endurance runners and trail hunters is a key to improve our power output during the race day and therefore our capacity to go further faster and finish stronger. Strength endurance is the capacity to maintain strength during fatigue. We will learn how to use our strength for longer. Developing this specific strength training will help our muscles, joints and metabolic demands to get ready to deal with the specific demands of a race. If you wonder how elite athlete can keep a perfect running while their legs are struggling in the pain cave, click on the PLAY button. 

Today, Carole Fuchs is talking about strength training and conditioning for runners, triathletes and endurance athletes. The benefits of strength training in improving performances in running and injury prevention will be developed in this podcast episode. Romain Chevalier, a strength training coach and personal trainer will talk about how to include strength training in a running programme and give a few strength workout suggestions. This episode focuses on general strength training development including the base needed to develop specific strength training which will be covered in another episode.  

Mountaineering and Everesting isn't part of most of women's everyday routine. I am talking to two female adventurers from Nepal, a film and documentary maker under extreme conditions and a journalist, Shanta Nepali and the Doma Sherpa first sherpa journalist to climb Mt Everest. We talked about our experiences into the thin air and what it takes to be a mountaineer and adventurer in our two very different societies. How our adventurers can inspire and encourage women to never give up their dreams is at the root of the series of lockdown talks we are launching here. 

Episode 2 How do We Manage our Fears is talking about performance psychology and uses Carole's experience on Mt Everest during her summit push to discuss the ways to develop mental toughness to prepare for any endurance challenge, mountaineering or ultra-running.  

Today's episode with Romain Chevalier talks about how to handle our training during the coronavirus crisis. We have to re-set our goals in a difficult time and keep our motivation up: a challenge when things are getting worse and it is hard to see the end of the tunnel. The corona crisis can teach us how to reflect on our long terms goals and learn how to enjoy the daily challenges we can build and embrace the running process in itself.