Change the way you think about effort | A trail running interview

[@03bruisercat]

As a runner for nearly 45 years, I love the mental side of performance. We all know when motivation can be overcome by fatigue/pain and we we decide to slow down. I have found that part of the motivation/effort balance in the brain deals with what I call projection. If you allow your mind to project into the future very far, it becomes more difficult to think you can sustain a current high effort. That is why we all taught to break a long event into smaller parts. If you take this idea further, and stop projecting at all, and stay in the moment, it is easier to maintain an effort that would seem unsustainable long term. This is not easy to pull off all the time, but it is a skill that can be trained. Great video and info on self talk!!

[@FreeLancerLondon]

Just ran a grueling trail half marathon in my mid sixties. Found this video very encouraging and useful. I am working hard, but need to increase my effort even more. Brilliant 👍 Cheers

[@DP-sh3nk]

So that was fantastic! I found endurance sports in my light 40s and now do triathlons. My 12-year-old is now into triathlons to. So many great lessons in pushing through, grit positive self talk throughout all aspects of life, proper fueling and recovery that I hope will serve him well for his life

[@BackyardWesternStates]

Nice, digestible. Thanks for making the effort and for sharing.

[@et2media]

Thank you for watching.

[@UnleashedTraining101]

I was a sprinter and martial artist for many years. Still a martial artist, as it's something that never leaves you. But I'm also gaining more interest into trail running, including ultras, as well as climbing.

[@davidr5685]

I use to be a sprinter and national powerlifting champ. Was told you "can't" maintain muscle and run ultras... until I did. In fact it's great to have multiple interests bc they can help each other. It's just a question of time and discipline, which you clearly have both! Keep getting after it!

[@mustaphab.1190]

Sooo precious, thanks guys appreciated 🙏

[@miguelvaldelvira8600]

This is so, so good. Huge congratulations!

[@et2media]

Thank you for watching.

[@clivedale9432]

New insight for me - "You can do this" is more powerful self talk motivation that "I can do this". Thank you Louise and @ET2media

[@et2media]

Thank you for watching Clive.

[@albertofarber]

Great!!!!

[@implodingslowly]

Lots of food for thought here! I also find that my mindset in a race affects how I feel afterwards too (regardless of my time).

[@dinniestones3058]

I got a lot out of this short video. Thank you.

[@et2media]

That's great to hear. Thank you for watching.

[@mikeallen4556]

Definitely enjoyed the presentation.

[@runpacer]

This was the first video of yours that I watched. Great. I've been running distance for 49 years. I learned something new today. Thank you.

[@et2media]

Great to hear. Thank you for watching.

[@FreeLancerLondon]

Ran ParkRun in the UK this morning using your positive affirmations ' you got this' and 'you can do it' and achieved a PB. That's a PR in American English. Your techniques work! Cheers 👍😇

[@Leeflow88]

Wow ! 👌 That was beautiful talk 🙌💯

[@davidr5685]

I'm watching this as I stretch to do a 10 mile recovery run for the end of my training week. 2nd wk of a 3wk healing a quad strain. No time to waste with the Southwest 100 in 3 wk. Great video and just in time for that extra motivation! Thank you!

[@et2media]

Thank you for watching. I hope all goes well in Texas later this month.

[@Kelly_Ben]

Was your race this past weekend? How'd it go?

[@Highnoonshred]

Brilliant talk!! Works for a lot of life!! As an educator / coach / athlete this is soo important!

[@redcloudmc]

Excellent video. Subscribed!

[@et2media]

Thank you. More trail running content coming soon.

[@chrisdecu6422]

Wow, good thing this video was recommended to me. Amazing video.🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@et2media]

Thank you for watching.

[@heatherh3330]

I love this. I am nearly 50 and have been running distance and racing my whole life. I've always believed endurance is a choice. I apply it to my life and after losing my husband I'm sure it's what got me through. I have always wanted to do a 50.

[@et2media]

Great to hear from you Heather. Thank you for watching.

[@SeeChadRun]

This is all very interesting! So cool!!!

[@justintylus4205]

Wow, what an insightful interview! Awesome perspective I’m taking into my upcoming 50 miler!

[@karlsimms7243]

Fantastic effort and great informative video. I’m due to run my first ultra in May and hope it will be the first of many!! 👍👍👍👍👌

[@et2media]

Thank you for watching and good luck.

[@ebenvanwyk154]

Awesome video dude!! Thank you for the reminder on self believe and motivation.

[@repete763]

The Obstacle is the Way ! Awesome book

[@sasanach8]

helpful information im just started training for my first 100miler have done a fifty miler ;i want to go into this with confidence and wish do do my absolute best run rather than just finish im 63 i each year set myself a challenge and work towards it ; found what you said in this video helpful but also a little inspirational

[@et2media]

Good luck on your run. Thanks for watching.

[@drybrain9179]

Thank you for this

[@TrailSage]

Fantastic video Eric. It's amazing what you can tell your body you can do... mind over matter right?! The interview with Louise was awesome. Keep up the great work.

[@et2media]

Thank you for watching.

[@movemorenowjames]

Totally agree Sage. Just came across the channel .. great stuff!

[@_thejamescurtis]

What a fantastic video - haven't watched such an information packed video before! Thankyou!

[@et2media]

Thank you for watching.

[@UnleashedTraining101]

Great content. I covered this side of sport psychology at length when I studied sport science at uni. Very interesting topic.

[@Lucky-jt5bx]

Just found your channel awesome 👏🏻 really enjoyed witching 👍🏻😎

[@Kelly_Ben]

This was incredibly informative and helpful. Headed out on a long trail run on a very windy, very cold day, so I'll be practicing most of these points!

[@ScottMoyse]

I vs You... mind blown... thanks! I'm definitely going to be paying more attention to when I use I vs You.

[@imperfected6513]

That was such an information packed video! I found it really helpful and it is inspiring to hear someone talk so passionately about something.

[@et2media]

Thank you for watching. I'm finding Louise's advice really helpful during my training.

[@wisenber]

I killed my carbohydrate reward system when I went keto. On the plus side, I don't bonk from a depleted glycogen store. The anaerobic bursts are about the same. Moderate bursts are less than with carbohydrates. Sustained moderate pace will just keep going as long as water and electrolytes are added.

[@cpruns4501]

This is a great video as it has some real world things you can do (self talk etc.) which is great. What most videos like this don't tell you however is that the body does have a breaking point. There is a point where all the "will" and self talk in the world isn't going to help. If it did no one would ever lose a race, or DNF in a long run. I agree the average person has no idea where that point is but it's there and when you find it....that's pretty magical:)

[@et2media]

Thank you for watching.

[@louiseblais5252]

You are correct. The body does have a breaking point physiologically. But to get there you need to pass through the brain first. Our assessment of effort, countered against our motivation, will determine how hard (and for how long) we will persevere. To assume that all people who DNF or lose though, have hit their physiological breaking point, would be to greatly undervalue the effect of mental training, hydration and proper fuelling. All three of those impact our perception of effort. And when things feel hard, and we don't want it enough, we will stop. Only the truly motivated and mentally strong will hit that breaking point...and I imagine it really would feel magical...to know you have truly gone as hard (or as far) as you could. :)

[@camiaubin8224]

Really interesting! Thanks?

[@et2media]

Thank you for watching.

[@ernestocorona5802]

Hi, Erick my name is Ernesto and love your videos. I am in the believe that God puts people in our path to help us reach our goals. This is where you come in.I have a project that i cant get out of my head, it is all i think about, Like I said watching your videos may be Gods way of getting me on the path to getting my project on its way. Hope you reach out and i can go into more details. Thanks and God bless. Ernesto Corona.

[@ChristianCabahug]

Wow! Super informative video. Looking forward to more content from you, just subbed 👍🏻

[@et2media]

Louise is awesome. Thank you for watching.

[@alexold8183]

Good video 👍

[@michaelgrimes5588]

This is basically a really nice David Goggins

[@csn583]

I've always thought it was weird people had negative self talk... but I've come to realize I just don't have self-talk at all! Obviously I have an internal monologue, I just don't address judgements toward myself, good or bad. No "I suck!" (that seems terribly sad), but no "Yes, I'm awesome!" either. My internal monologue usually addresses the situation, or, often, I just FEEL good or bad about how something is going without putting words to it. So my question is, would I gain something from introducing this self-referential judgey talk? Or is it actually a good thing that I don't get sucked down this spiral which I imagine could easily tip from good to bad circumstantially. I am pretty good at pushing through suffering, but I can be slow to recognize when I'm subconsciously dragging because I'm feeling rough, or down. Maybe regular check-ins aren't a terrible idea?

[@louiseblais5252]

Thanks for watching and great question! It is definitely good that you do not internalize (or personalize) the sensations you are aware of while working hard. That personalization can be quite self-defeating and often feeds into the narrative many people have about themselves. Regular check-ins are always a great idea. Asking yourself "can I push harder?" or "is this starting to feel too hard" can help you identify when you need something (to either fuel, hydrate, or slow down) before things start to break down. An added bonus may be to include a positive response to yourself afterwards like "You are doing great" or "You are managing your speed/fuel intake very well". Being able to trust your ability to take care of yourself under challenging conditions can provide you with a very strong mental edge. I hope that helps.

[@siddharthnibjiya]

feedback: the parts where the video goes into slow motion, it's really hard on the eyes. (not the one when it's at further distance but when it was focused on the legs)

[@taubse]

i always tell my friends when i enter an ultra ... there are only two possible outcomes. I will finish, or i die trying. There is no choice, there is only victory for me and this mindset might be dangoures but ... i never had a DNF. I had a lot of "bad ultras" finish after more then 24 hours and more but ... not a single DNF.

[@samwingender]

The best thing I did was go plant-based.

[@brandonrager8919]

Disagree with her comment that the body chooses when to stop. I believe it’s the thought process of the mind that decides that. If we are to say that the body is the mind, then ok I agree. I’m currently training and running 100mi/week and it’s soooo hard, I feel I would never make it if the body had the choice.

[@et2media]

I believe "you choose to stop...it is a decision" implies your mind made the choice. Not sure there is anything to disagree with but thanks for weighing in. Good luck with your training.

[@louiseblais5252]

Hi Brandon. You are correct. The mind decides based on its assessment of effort weighed against motivation. Perhaps that wasn't clear but that is why "changing the way you think about effort" is so essential.

[@brandonrager8919]

No I’m sorry if I misunderstood. Thank you very much for the responses. I greatly appreciate the feedback.

[@user-zr7rc8xg9k]

Mind over matter.. literally 😁🤯😂

[@progbass56]

Wait, What? Why do we Low Carb Kero/Carnivore need Carbs?! Ever? Please explaine that. How many Low Carb athletes won the Western States 100 Miler? Check it out. There Tim Tollefson, my coach Zach Bitter and others that I have currently forgotten. Ask Louise Blais, Please.

[@progbass56]

Check the Research of Jeff Voleck at the Ohio St. Human Performance Dept and Dr. Steven Phinney. Both founders of Virta Health.

[@louiseblais5252]

@@progbass56 Indeed, it is possible to keto-adapt and perform well in low to moderate intensity aerobic events for some athletes, and of course there is an advantage of not running out of your energy substrate (fat vs glycogen) but the topic of this video was reducing the sensation of perceived effort. The brain preferentially prefers carbohydrates. During exercise, the ingestion of carbohydrate does immediately reduce the sensation of perceived effort which can be a mental advantage when an athlete is trying to finish a long endurance event. The process of keto-adaptation is difficult from a perceived effort standpoint and athletes must be mentally strong to endure the transition. I imagine many of those athletes would not need a video like this :) I am happy to hear that you have had success with your lower carb diet, only a small percentage of athletes have been able to.

[@progbass56]

@@louiseblais5252 Thanks for the reply. I know Zach Bitter does "Carb Cycling" so he is never quite depleted when he needs to make move. Seems a bit complicated. 🤔 I hope to never have another Bonk. Hope at least. Time will tell. Last 10 Miler, I did take a couple ozs of Gatorade a couple times. Thanks again for your reply. I'm just astonished more athletes have not Fat Adapted for both their performance and their long term health as in Halting Metabolic Disease. PS: Zach Bitter set a 100 Mike American Record as a low Carb athlete!