Suunto Blog

Francois D’Haene is simply put, one of the best distance runners around. He’s competed in almost every major ultra on the planet, and took home first place in plenty of them – including three wins and a course record on the UTMB, a FKT on the GR20, and lately, a FKT on the ultra-gnarly John Muir Trail in the western United States. His latest run was an incredible achievement – and the story is very well told in the mini-doc below. Have a look – then read on to get Francois D’Haene’s tips for really, really long runs. Do it for the adventure For me ultra trail is an adventure and an experience. I want to discover myself, some new mountains, a new place and a new landscape. The competition between the runners is important for me and I play a lot with that during the race but it 's not my priority when choosing a race. When I choose an ultra trail I choose it because of the challenge that it is for me. It must be something really challenging to excite me and motivate me during many months and many training days. For me this is the main difference between ultra trail and a classic trail race around 50-60k. On the ultra trail if you focus on the competition, and not on yourself and the adventure, it will be difficult to finish the race. On a 60k race I think that the motivation can be more based on the competitive aspect and less on the challenge of the race. Listen to your body Try to learn how your body works. Learn what it’s telling you. What are the signs that you are tired, hungry? Know them. Keep your feet healthy and happy I have my preferred shoes and I'm really confident in them – I feel really comfortable and protected inside. Then I have some socks. I always use them many times before the race day so I know exactly how they work. And of course, anti-chafing crème! Eat the same thing, all the time In training I try to use exactly the same food as in the race. You have to experience it and to prepare your body to use it. For me, that’s Nutrisens energy drink – about 800 ml an hour. And then each hour I eat a small energy bar. It's not a lot of variety, but it works for me and I have to be confident in that before a long race so I'm happy with that. During the race in the aid station, I’ll sometimes drink a hot bouillon or soup. Always have a goal… or three or four For me it's important. It cuts down pressure at the start line. You can always say to yourself: “I will try to do my best, but no matter what happens, I have some amazing projects later. So anything is possible today, and I'm happy with all the possibilities.” If you have only one goal... you put a lot of pressure on achieving that one goal. Go slowly If you’re new to trail or new to ultra distances, take your time. It's two different worlds. Your body needs to adapt itself. It must take some time. You have to understand how it could possible for your body. Make it a team sport When you, as a racer, are lucky enough to have an entertaining assistance crew around you, you really feel like you're running for a team. And preparing for an ultra takes a long time – a really long time. You have to program it in your social life and you have to find your personal balance with training, your job, your family, your friends. If you plan it well, people around you can – and will – help a lot. So when you run your adventure, you will think about all those moments, all those people behind and around you, and you will have the sensation that you've run it all together. Know your numbers I have my personal screen that always has five pieces of data: time/altitude/ascent/distance/duration. During a race, I put the GPX in the map to make sure I can find the way when I’m not feeling confident. Save your battery On the John Muir Trail, I put the watch settings on ultra mode: less GPS precision, no automatic lap, no heart rate. I look at the watch every 15 minutes or so to just check the time and see how I’m feeling. Recover later, enjoy the moment first Recovery depends on your personal habits. After a race for me it's more important to have a moment with family, friends, and enjoy a party. So I don't take time for massage, relaxing and different things like that... If you have small children you understand that it's important to take care of them and give some free time to your partner. Because it was hard time for them too during your race!! Again, go slow Take the time to plan your race, and be happy with that. With the right balance, everything will be easier. You will train and race with pleasure, good motivation and good health. All images © Damien Rosso / DROZ Photo Want to get a little better insight into Francois’s life of running, making wine, and more running? Follow him on Instagram.

Thanks to your Suunto 3 you can see when things are heading in the right direction, know when it is time to stay the course, and when it’s time to make some changes. You can also follow along to learn which strategies and solutions are the most effective for you.     Here are 5 tips to improve your sleep quality   Avoid strenuous physical activity late in the evening. Regular physical activity is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, but your body doesn’t stop working when you do. Your body can remain in an elevated state long after you finish a workout. As a result, your night time recovery levels may be delayed and diminished.   Establish a regular routine before bed. We are all creatures of habit, and for the most part we have good instincts for what constitutes a good evening routine. A good stable routine signals your body that it’s time to start winding things down and allows your body to get head start on the work of recovery.   Regulate alcohol consumption. A glass of wine in the evening is a popular way to relax in the evening, or a few drinks may help unwind after a stressful day. More than a few drinks, however, will almost certainly delay the onset of recovery at night and will result in poor recovery.   Improve your cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max) with regular physical activity. As if there weren’t enough reasons to improve your fitness level, here’s one more. The fitter you are the less your body is impacted by stress. You also become more resilient, so that when you do experience stress your body recovers more efficiently. This is true both day and night.   Sleep more. It’s almost cruel, but sometimes the cause of bad sleep is… wait for it… bad sleep. Chronically poor sleep diminishes your body’s ability to repair itself. It also impairs your ability to interpret situations. This includes the ability to assess your own performance levels, losing touch with yourself and the impact of bad sleep on your effectiveness. As you think about stress, recovery, and sleep in relation to your own daily routines and lifestyle decisions, it’s worth keeping in mind that stress increases your body’s need for good quality sleep. This is important because busy, hectic schedules that often produce a lot of stress also tend to result in the devaluation of sleep and recovery in favor of doing something more. In the long run, however, the health and productivity benefits of a balanced approach to stress and recovery are well worth it.     Blog post by Herman Bonner / Firstbeat     LEARN HOW TO USE SLEEP TRACKING ON SUUNTO 3 FITNESS

What's been happening? I have been in Auburn, California the last four weeks preparing for the 100-mile Western States Endurance Run (WS). I came early to see what the trail holds, and to get used to temperature and altitude. I’ve adjusted well. I really eased into, and then moved to run in the hottest part of the day. It’s about 35 degrees celcius, and hotter still in the canyons. I’ve been lucky that over the last few years I’ve chased the sun, and haven’t had a winter. I’m feeling good! What’s been new for you there? The WS trail is super unique because of its downhill nature. I’ve never run a trail with so much grinding downhill. It sounds good, but after a while you’re searching for a hill. The quads feel it! Western States is quite special for you, right? Absolutely, because I’ve wanted to run it forever since I was 15. It was the first race I ever heard of, and I’ve been trying to get to the start line for three years. My aim for the race is to give my best; it’s an honor just having a bib. To complete my first 100 miles is a big thing – it’s a really long way. The people I get to stand on a start line with are amazing. I was their fangirl when I was a teenager. Now they are giving me advice, which says a lot about the camaraderie in our sport. What's in your diary this summer and what's the main focus? WS is the main focus. I’ve left the back half of the year open. WS is my first 100-mile event, and I’m not sure how I will feel physically, mentally, emotionally after it. I’ll play it by ear. I have respect for what WS will take from me. I’m heading to the Ultra Trail Mont Blanc in France, just to be there. I’ll spend some time traveling in Europe. What are you most excited about? I’m excited to head to the Sky Running World Championships in Scotland at the start of September. I’ll be there as a supporter or a competitor – we’ll see. It’s my first time visiting Scotland. It would be nice if there was sunshine on race day! But I think I’m dreaming. Favorite post-training meal at the moment? I am plant-based, vegan. I use that to my advantage – I get to eat a lot! The foods I choose are plants and fruits so the quantity I have to eat is quite big and that pleases me. I love making green smoothies, or commonly known as “Shrek Poo” – lots of green vegetables blended with frozen bananas, and Amazonia vegan protein powder. It has a thick consistency. I top it with nuts and fruit. Delicious! Anything else inspiring you at the moment? I practice yoga, more for the mental benefits than the physical. When I run, because I’m so efficient, I drift off and think about other things. With yoga, I fully concentrate and listen to my body. It’s really intuitive. I’m living a simple life: run, eat, sleep, yoga, repeat. To be honest, I’m pretty happy with it. VIDEO: Follow along Lucy for a day as she prepares for the Western States Endurance Run!

The 70th edition of Jukola Relay and the 41st Venla Relay will take the orienteers to Lahti and Hollola in Päijät-Häme Region about an hour north of Helsinki, Finland. The competition area is quite peculiar, as it is dominated by depression terrain formed by the Ice-Age. These depressions make navigating hard; the hollows are not as easy to see in the terrain as hills and rises would be. One also has to read the map carefully; are the contour lines up or down?   “Most of the features we use for navigation are below the main running level, not above as we're used to,” says Mårten Boström.     The depressions vary in size, some are small, some go down as much as 40 meters. Most of the terrain is pine forest with good runnability. There are also a lot of existing trails.   To get an idea of how the maps will look, check this out   “You should not plan on running through all depressions. If there's yellow on the bottom it might be a good idea to run along a depression's bottom, but otherwise, I'd suggest using the ridges between the depressions. Most animal trails and runner's tracks will also be going along the ridges, where you'll be avoiding the excess climb.”     Smart use of compass use is crucial in this year's Jukola.   “Most features you'll use for navigation are contours with soft edges, so it's hard to get your 100% specified location. When going through depressions (be sure you will no matter how well route choices you make) you need to be careful to exit in the correct angle,” says Mårten.   Main image by Kimmo Hirvonen / Lahti-Hollola Jukola, other images by Petri Kovalainen / Suunto   READ MORE THREE REASONS TO USE A THUMB COMPASS HOW TO USE SUUNTO AIM-6 THUMB COMPASS LEARN MORE ABOUT SUUNTO AIM-6 

The key benefit of a thumb compass over a traditional baseplate compass can be summed to one sentence: It is faster. But what exactly makes an orienteer with a thumb compass go faster?     You can run faster When using a thumb compass you hold the map and the compass in the same hand. This enables you to keep running while reading the map. “Using both hands for map work turns your running into penguin walk,” says Mårten.   You don't need to place the compass on the map again and again No more holding your finger on the map to mark your current location and no more need to place the compass back on the map. The compass is already there and pointing to where you want to go.   “A lot of times people are taught to place their thumb on the map where they are. However, I find it more useful to know where I am going and thus want to know what is the next spot where I can get solid confirmation on my location.”   You can take a new direction quicker There is no need to turn the compass capsule on the AIM-6 thumb compass. Simply see which sector on the compass capsule corresponds with your new direction and go. “I usually memorize the color first and then the shape. But you can create your own system for remembering the correct sector.”   All images: Petri Kovalainen / Suunto   READ MORE LEARN MORE ABOUT SUUNTO AIM-6 THUMB COMPASS HOW TO USE SUUNTO AIM-6 THUMB COMPASS DEVELOPING A NEW ORIENTEERING COMPASS IS A TEAM EFFORT

There is no better way to start the day than by doing yoga. For champion mountain runner Emelie Forsberg, a regular morning yoga practice keeps her life in a balance. A lot of people have the impression yoga takes an hour or 90 minutes. Not so – Emelie says a regular yoga practice can be short and sweet. A daily practice of 10 to 15 minutes is better than a once-in-a-while 90-minute class. Regular practice brings the results, she says. Here are her 7 favorite poses. These can be done in a sequence in less than 20 minutes. Easy seated: One to three minutes "It’s nice to sit for a few moments before beginning moving just to feel the breath and the body. Simply cross your legs in front of you, and tune into your belly moving in and out with the breath." Downward Dog: Five to 20 breaths "I often come into this position even if I don´t do the sun salutations because it’s great for the hamstrings, calf muscles, and the upper back. It also works as a stretch for tight underarms." "It’s like creating the shape of the letter “A” with the body. Spread the fingers wide, actively push into the hands, breath in and lift your butt up high. Try to distribute weight down evenly through the arms and legs." Warrior 2: Five to 10 breaths each side "This pose is great for developing strength in the legs and finding stability by keeping the hips in a balanced position. Align your feet so the front foot’s heel is in line with the arch of the back foot. Keeps the arms out at shoulder height and gaze out over the front fingers. For a more demanding session I hold it for 10 breaths on each side. Keep the front knee above the ankle, the back leg straight and the torso upright." Click here to read how yoga helps Emily’s life stay in balance Triangle pose: Five to 10 breaths each side "Nice stretch for the hamstrings and side body, and also works on balance." Tree pose: Five breaths each side "Here we test our balance, using the small muscles in the ankle and foot. Try also to keep a stable and long upper body, as well as ensuring relaxed shoulder blades while holding your arms above your head." Boat pose: Five to 10 breaths "Great for working on core strength. Sit on your butt, with the soles of your feet on the mat and your knees up. Sit upright, keeping your spine long. Then lift your feet off the mat, bringing them to knee height, while pointing the toes. Now, lean back carefully, keeping the spine long, and bring your arms forward so the hands are by the knees." Pigeon pose: Three to 10 breaths "Great for the glutes! If you’re feeling tired in the IT band, then this pose can really help. Stay here as long as comfortable and work with the breath to slowly (and carefully!) come lower down for deeper work. Be aware of any uncomfortable or painful compression sensations. It’s better to back off and approach this posture gradually over time." All images by Matti Bernitz / Suunto More related stories: How yoga can make you a better mountain runner How to bring mindfulness to the trail Five yoga moves for runners