Suunto Blog

In the fifth episode of #SuuntoAdventure Video Series four time XTERRA world champion Conrad Stoltz talks about going fast, suffering and over 25 years of competing in triathlon. Face to Face with Conrad Stoltz, #SuuntoAdventure Video Series Episode 5 Watch also the other episodes in the series: Face to Face with Emelie Forsberg – #SuuntoAdventure Video Series, Episode 1 Face to Face with Greg Hill – #SuuntoAdventure Video Series, Episode 2 Face to Face with Kilian Jornet – #SuuntoAdventure Video Series, Episode 3 Face to Face with William Trubridge – #SuuntoAdventure Video Series, Episode 4

In part two of this three part series, Suunto ambassador Ryan Sandes offers more tips to help you become an ultra runner. 1. Focus on your goals It's important you have a schedule and that you know where your peak weeks are and when you need to back off and at the same time that schedule needs to be really flexible. Some weeks you just might not feel up to it, whereas others weeks you feel on top of the world and can maybe even do a bit more. The training schedule allows you to know where you're going and enables you to focus on your goals. South African ultra runner Ryan Sandes. ©Kolesky/Nikon/Red Bull Content Pool 3. Mix it up by cross training Strength work, a little mountain biking. cross country skiing, ski mountaineering are really great to help become a stronger runner. Doing strength work is a completely different stimulus and good balance to long distance running as it helps to prevent injury. For guys who are really heavy a long run can really take it out of you. Doing it on a bike might be better. Swimming can also help. Aqua jogging is also quite good as it stimulates your cardiovascular system and also aids recovery. 4. Go hot and cold Doing regular sessions in a sauna also helps. It increases your production of testosterone and stimulates recovery. Cold showers, cold tubs... they reset your neuromuscular system. Try different things and see what works for you. A lot of people break themselves by doing the same type of training so it's important to mix it up.Ryan checks his Suunto Ambit once every 30 minutes. ©Kelvin Trautman / Red Bull Content Pool 5. Warm up properly Often before I run I do ten to fifteen minutes of basic mobility work to make sure everything is moving. People working a full time job might say they don't have the time, but I think you can do two or three minutes to warm up before you start running. Doing side bridge, push top leg back, basic mountain climbers bear crawls, basic lunges etc. 6. Quality over quantity Running a high mileage works for some people, but it’s important you don’t follow others blindly and instead find out what works best for you. Doing more quality training and dropping the quantity is definitely a good idea. For beginners, it’s better to do less and to focus more on recovery. Click here to read the first installment in this three part series from ultra running champion Ryan Sandes 7. Find your breath It’s important to train your diaphragm as well as your legs. One of the first things that will slow you down and make you fatigued is poor breathing. Your diaphragm is almost like a muscle so you need to train it as well. Practice deep belly breathing and you will improve your oxygen intake. 8. Break it down With ultra distance running you’ll constantly go through highs and lows and how you manage those will decide how your race will end up. It’s so important to stay positive. To help with this, try to break a long run or race down into lots of mini goals. Focusing on getting to the next aid station, for example, or getting up the next climb or to the next tree can trick your mind and make it all more achievable. 9. Get absorbed When you’re doing your long trail runs it’s important to have fun and to get absorbed in your surroundings. I know a lot of guys who come from a marathon or 10 km background and they constantly look at their watches and worry about how many minutes each kilometer is taking. This makes it difficult for them to enjoy themselves. I look at my watch once only every half an hour because it boosts my motivation to know how long I’ve been out, how far I’ve gone or how much I’ve climbed. Setting mini goals throughout the race helps to stay positive. ©Kelvin Trautman / Red Bull Content Pool 10. Go social A lot of people like running on their own, and that’s cool, I enjoy it too, but it’s also nice to mix it up and run with other people. It makes it more fun. You’ve got to be careful if your trail buddies are a lot faster than you. It can be good for them to push you a little bit, but don’t do all your runs with them if you’re a lot slower. Do half your long runs with them and then go off on your own. Regular strength training helps to prevent injury, Ryan says. ©Kolesky/Nikon/Red Bull Content Pool

As part of our How Do I Run? contest, you can have your running form analyzed by professional coaches from Carmichael Training Systems. Head over to our contest page to find out how to get involved! Carmichael Training Systems coaches Jason Koop and Nick White know a thing or two about how runners can improve their performance. They’ve been coaching since high school and work with elite level runners and triathletes. Here they share eight running tips every runner should keep in mind. 1. Have a goal If you’re going to start a running program, you need a goal, no matter what it is. The goal will dictate what your training looks like. It’s better to have a concrete goal as opposed to something vague, such as getting in shape or losing weight. 2. Tailored training Think about the demands of your event or goal when planning your training. If you’re training for a 100 km ultra marathon, more volume will be required. If you're doing a 5 km race, running a 100 km a week isn't necessary. In that case, your training should be about becoming quicker. Everything should match the event or goal you're aiming for. Visit the How Do I Run? contest page to find out how to have your running style analyzed3. Mid foot is best Mid foot strike is better than running on your toes or heels. You also want your feet to land under the center of your mass, not out in front of your body. This is a common problem for many runners. 4. Getting faster Runners often think they have to increase the length of their stride to become faster. This causes them to heel strike, putting the breaks on their forward momentum. Increasing your stride length or increasing your leg turnover rate are the two ways to increase speed. You need to determine what you need to work on to improve one or both of these – leg strength, technique or aerobic capacity? 5. Get a lean on It's good to have a slight forward lean when you run. People often think that means keeping the pelvis and legs in the same position, and just bending forward at the waist. It’s doesn’t. In fact, your shoulders, hips and ankles need to be aligned, but leaning forward – no more than five degrees. This helps gravity give you forward momentum. Click here to see five running clips analyzed by Jason and Nick 6. Swing those arms How you swing your arms is very important. Your arms and legs are always connected; if you're pumping your arms, you're going to get more leg speed. Your arms should stay at the sides of the body and the movement should be forward and backwards only. Any side-to-side movement is not contributing to forward progress. A lot of runners have too much torso rotation and that means their arms swing across their bodies, slowing them down. 7. Work that core Strength work is good and if you're going to do any strength work, core work is definitely the thing to focus on. It’s not just about doing sit-ups, planks or crunches, either. Core work means training everything between your chest and your knees, whether the front, sides or back of your body. Core work will directly help with all the above points. © Droz Photo/Rosso Damien 8. Eyes on the prize If you're running on a technical trail, watch where your feet are landing. If you're out on a road or a bike path, then look between 10 to 20 m ahead. You should look down occasionally to monitor your foot strike. For people racing, keep your eyes on the person in front of you. If you're looking at the ground it's really easy for that person to gain ground on you. MEET THE COACHES FROM CARMICHAEL TRAINING SYSTEMS Jason Koop is Director of Coaching for Carmichael Training Systems. He began coaching youth track and field as a summer job when he was 16 and continued coaching his own running team into his early 20s. He's hooked on the buzz of helping athletes reach their potential. Nick White did his first 5 km race when he was five years old. His parents were marathoners, his dad the high school running coach. Needless to say running and coaching has been a major part of his life ever since. He has a Masters in Exercise Science and has been working for Carmichael Training Systems for 12 years.

Want to become a stronger runner? Post a video of yourself running on Instagram to get some feedback from a professional running coach. Also read XTERRA world champion Josiah Middaugh’s running technique tips and drills. Read on to learn more!   We are happy to launch How do I run, a three-week campaign designated to make you a stronger runner! We have partnered with XTERRA World Champion and professional coach Josiah Middaugh to get you the best tips and tricks and with CTS to offer you a chance to get personal feedback on your running technique.     Learn more about running technique Josiah Middaugh is the right man to talk to about becoming a stronger runner. Josiah is the 2015 XTERRA World Champion and also a professional coach. He certainly knows what it takes to make you run faster – or more efficient. “Running economy is the holy grail for distance runners, not a high VO2 max,” Josiah says. Josiah Middaugh is your running expert during the campaign.  In the first of his three articles on running technique Josiah introduces five proven ways to improve running economy. Read the article here and stay tuned for more tips and tricks in the following weeks!        Update on May 31: The second #howdoirun article is out! Read also Josiah's Intro to distance running technique  Update on June 8: Time to practice! Try Josiah's 8 Essential running form drills   Get feedback on your running To put Josiah’s advice in action we are offering you a unique opportunity to get personal feedback from a professional running coach. To participate get your friend to film a video clip of you running. For best results – and footage that can be analyzed – a side view is preferable. Choose a flat, straight stretch of trail or road and run at a relaxed pace. Upload the video on Instagram and tag it with #howdoirun between May 24 and June 11. Professional running coaches Jason Koop and Adam St. Pierre from CTS will analyze the most interesting videos daily. Three of the most inspiring videos will win Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR watches. You can find the detailed contest terms and conditions here.  

Cooperation with Firstbeat Technologies brings new features to the Suunto Ambit3 Suunto introduces today new performance features for Suunto Ambit3 watches. Developed in cooperation with Firstbeat Technologies, Suunto’s long term partner in sports sciences, running performance level, sleep recovery test and quick recovery test provide athletes detailed and reliable information about running and recovery. The new features are available for Suunto Ambit3 Run, Ambit3 Sport and Ambit3 Peak through a software update 2.0.   Follow your running performance Running performance level analyzes your heart rate and speed while you run, giving you real-time feedback about your current performance compared to your average running performance. Additionally, you can evaluate your performance development with a 30-day trend graph of your running results. Running performance level requires a Bluetooth Smart compatible heart rate sensor that measures heart rate variability (R-R interval), such as Suunto Smart Sensor.   Know your recovery status Recovery status indicates the amount of stress on your autonomic nervous system. The less stress you have, the more recovered you are. Knowing your state of recovery helps you optimize your training and avoid overtraining or injury. Suunto Ambit3 watch offers two ways to follow your recovery. The quick recovery test and the sleep recovery test both measure your heart rate variability to give you an indication of your recovery status in percent. The higher the percentage, the more recovered you are. The tests require a Bluetooth Smart compatible heart rate sensor that measures heart rate variability (R-R interval), such as Suunto Smart Sensor. The quick recovery test is performed by wearing the Smart Sensor belt for three minutes and then checking the recovery percentage from the Suunto Ambit3 watch. Alternatively, you can run the sleep recovery test which measures your heart rate variability through the night to give you an accurate indication of your recovery status in the morning when you wake up.      For more information about running performance and recovery tests, please go to Tutorial Tuesday. About FirstbeatFirstbeat digitizes your physiology, turning complex heart rate signals into personalized and actionable insight on exercise, stress and recovery. With strong scientific background and over 15 years of experience in heart rate variability (HRV) based methods, Firstbeat analytics is used today by hundreds of elite sports teams, thousands of corporations, and millions of consumers worldwide to improve their performance and well-being. Employing over 40 specialists in physiology, analytics, sports technologies and well-being, Firstbeat solutions are based on a unique combination of physiology, mathematical modeling and product designs. And a lots of physiological data from laboratory and field: Firstbeat has analyzed several trillions of heart beats.

During a single run the running performance level has two benefits: Following the real-time difference indicator provides detailed, granular information on your daily performance and fatigue during the run. Endurance runners can use this information to learn how much fatigue seems manageable during long intensive runs. During races, this information helps you pace yourself properly. After each run your Running performance level will be updated and you can track progress. If you are new to running or just haven't been out for a while, your running performance may be quite low at first. But as your physical fitness and running technique improve, you should see a corresponding increase in running performance. DURING A RUN Your Suunto Ambit3 compares your run with your current running performance level and provides real-time running performance feedback during your run. The real-time feedback is available as a graph display in Ambit3’s default Running sport mode. You can add this graph to any sport mode that uses the running activity type. The real-time difference (see below) can also be used as a data field in your custom running sport modes. During your run, the graph display shows your four data points, as illustrated below. 1. Baseline: This is your current performance level that is calibrated to compensate for external variables such as terrain and to wait for your heart rate to stabilize. This calibration is done during the first minutes of your run.2. Real-time level: this is your real-time running performance level for the current run displayed per kilometer/mile. 3. Real-time difference: this shows you the real-time difference between the calibrated running performance baseline and your real-time running performance level for the current run. 4. Distance: total distance for the current recording. The graph shows the last six kilometers (~4 miles). Illustrated below are three samples of Running performance levels during runs. In the first graph (1), performance is good. In the second (2), performance is bad and may indicate over training, illness, or just generally bad conditions. In the third graph (3), you see a typical long distance run where performance level drops steadily later in the run, indicate onset of fatigue. AFTER A RUN In the log summary at the end of your run, you get a new running performance level that is based on your last four to eight runs. In addition, you can see your 30-day trend by pushing [Next]. The trend graph can also be viewed in Ambit3’s activity monitoring display after the first run is recorded. Running performance around 20 is considered very low and above 60 to 70 very high. Average Running performance level for 40 to 50 year old males is around 35–40 and for females 30–35. Over a 4–20 week period, you may see an increase in running performance level up to 20%. If your Running performance level is already good, it is difficult to improve further. In this situation, running performance level is better used as an endurance indicator. RUNNING PERFORMANCE AND VO2MAX Running performance level uses an estimation of your VO2max, a global standard for aerobic fitness and endurance performance. V02max indicates your body’s maximal capability to transport and utilize oxygen (ml/kg/min). V02max is affected by the condition of your heart, lungs, circulatory system, and the ability of your muscles to utilize oxygen in energy production. VO2max is the most important single denominator of endurance performance of an athlete. At optimum running efficiency, your Running performance level corresponds to your real VO2max (ml/kg/min).   Read more about the feature in Firstbeat’s scientific white paper: Automated Fitness Level (VO2max) Estimation with Heart Rate and Speed Data Read more Tutorial Tuesday articles at tutorialtuesday Get support for your Suunto product and find user manuals at support