The Pyllon Ultra Pod

Threats to Confidence You Need to be Aware of - Sprint Pod S6 Ep5

Welcome back to the Pyllon ultra Pod. 

If you've listened to the last few episodes you will already be aware that we are focusing on confidence and self belief in this series of short podcasts. 

This is the last of the short episodes in this series. Paul takes back the mic to talk about the threats to our self-belief and why it's important to improve your own awareness so that you can better handle these threats when they come knocking.

In the series finale - James and Paul will get together to spend a bit more time reviewing the series and asking some of the questions we know you have. Please feel free to get involved and send us any of your questions or observations and we'll try and cover them off in the next week. 

If you liked the pod give us a 5* review below and drop us a line. The best feedback is hearing from you. We love to get your insight as to what the episodes and sprints spark in you.

Join us on instagram: @pyllonultra

Join our Team Pyllon Facebook group

You can get Paul on @pyllon on all social media platforms and James is on Twitter @james_stewart13

If you listened to Episode 3, there's some further reading on the Pyllon Ultra website.

To find out more about the support and coaching Pyllon offers go to www.pyllonultra.com

Thanks for listening.

Embracing Discomfort - Sprint Pod S6 Ep4

Welcome back to the Pyllon ultra Pod. 

If you've listened to the last few episodes you will already be aware that we are focusing on confidence and self belief in this series of short podcasts. 

In the last episode Paul cut straight to the point on positive self-talk. It's pretty easy to say to yourself you are doing great or you can run better than anyone in the race - but it's much more difficult to start to believe it!

In this episode James talks less about confidence and much more about how you can get better at embracing discomfort.

Q. How does the thought of discomfort feel to you?

• Negative
• Postive
• Neutral

Your own comfort-zone isn't static. How you feel today isn't necessarily how you will feel in week's time and James compares it to an elastic. It needs to be stretched in order for it to handle a greater load. But you also can't push it too far, too quickly.

Finally, James challenges you to identify where your ambitions lie and what discomfort you will have to accept and embrace. It's s super-helpful podcast workshop!! :)

If you liked the pod give us a 5* review below and drop us a line. The best feedback is hearing from you. We love to get your insight as to what the episodes and sprints spark in you.

Join us on instagram: @pyllonultra

Join our Team Pyllon Facebook group

You can get Paul on @pyllon on all social media platforms and James is on Twitter @james_stewart13

If you listened to Episode 2, there's some further reading on the Pyllon Ultra website.

To find out more about the support and coaching Pyllon offers go to www.pyllonultra.com

Thanks for listening.

How to Start Believing the Positive Self-Talk - Sprint Pod S6 Ep3

Welcome back to the Pyllon ultra Pod. 

If you've listened to the last few episodes you will already be aware that we are focusing on confidence and self belief in this series of short podcasts. 

In the last episode James talked about how our own self-talk can hold us back before we’ve even started in training, racing and our wider work and family lives. He also urged us to have some realism when setting goals if we want our self-belief to grow with our confidence. 

This week Paul talks about how we might start buying in to that positive self talk:

• How do we identify, and strengthen the right words, thoughts and feelings?
• Can you really choose which voices you’re going to believe in?
• How can past experiences help you to be more confident in the future?

If you liked the pod give us a 5* review below and drop us a line. The best feedback is hearing from you. We love to get your insight as to what the episodes and sprints spark in you.

Join us on instagram: @pyllonultra

Join our Team Pyllon Facebook group

You can get Paul on @pyllon on all social media platforms and James is on Twitter @james_stewart13

If you listened to Episode 1, there's some further reading on the Pyllon Ultra website.

To find out more about the support and coaching Pyllon offers go to www.pyllonultra.com

In the next episode James will talk about the threats to our confidence.

Thanks for listening.

Self Talk: awareness and the 3 C’s! - Sprint Pod S6 Ep2

Episodes are coming weekly now for the next 4-5 weeks.

In Episode 2 James moves things on by talking about the importance of 'conscious' self-talk. It's another 10 minutes to get you thinking.

James gives us some really great practical examples of how self-talk can make a difference in your life - whether you're a runner or not. There's a fine line between delusion, realism and negativity when it comes to how we speak to ourselves. 

James touches on the power of the mind and gives some really interesting examples - including the recent research into the placebo effect. 

How can you flip your mindset from "How can I achieve this" to "How I can achieve this is....." a subtle but important move from being defensive to actively engaging solution mode.

Lots of great nuggets in this short episode. James motivates as an athlete, coach and business learning specialist - and it's clear in how he talks that he always aims high. He encourages us to do the same - be aware, be realistic, be prepared to change, commit to it, and be consistent!

If you liked the pod give us a 5* review below and drop us a line. The best feedback is hearing from you. We love to get your insight as to what the episodes and sprints spark in you. You can get Paul on @pyllon on all social media platforms and James is on Twitter @james_stewart13

To find out more about the support and coaching Pyllon offers go to www.pyllonultra.com

Next week Paul will talk about believing and buying into the Self-Talk. 

Thanks for listening.

Confidence: Beyond your own potential - Sprint Pod S6 Ep1

We are back! With belief and confidence. No, not us. The pod. Wait. We are the pod.

Paul and James are masters of their own pace. It’s been a busy few months with world splitting travel but they are here with the second series of sprints. In 2022 they talked about Thought Biases across 6 episodes. This is not long form podcasting. It is 10 minutes to get you thinking.

In the first episode in this series Paul gives you some things to chew on when it comes to confidence over belief. He asks you not to shy away from negative thoughts but also to recognise the differences between confidence and belief. He tells you how your anxieties and nerves are just the same as the best in the business, be it life, work or running. There’s also some chat on sources of confidence to help you build that critical mind muscle and an action for you to ponder on in this first episode.

It’s short but impactful. Like 800 metre repeats on a cold, dreary morning.

If you liked the pod give us a 5* review below and drop us a line. The best feedback is hearing from you. We love to get your insight as to what the episodes and sprints spark in you. You can get Paul on @pyllon on all social media platforms and James is on Twitter @james_stewart13

To find out more about the support and coaching Pyllon offers go to www.pyllonultra.com

 

Next week James will move the subject onto Self-Talk and explore how to make use of this tool in your armoury.  

Our Winter ENDEAVOUR project - The West Highland Way awaits

Pyllon Ultra Podcast. An Endeavour 192 Special

 

BONUS EPISODE.

 

PYLLON ENDEAVOUR 192 - THE WHY

Ultra running has enriched our lives in so many ways and we hoped that more people might get involved in the sport or at least better understand our purpose.

In the following years, Endeavour continued, with our boldest event being our Scottish National Trail FKT - with the team running continuously across the country for 5 days, in winter. We tackled some of Scotland’s toughest terrain, and even now, still feel the fear of running in some of those areas! The hardship was worthwhile. We connected with the whole ultra community in Scotland and beyond, and had many conversations about mental health - conversations that would never have happened. Since our first Endeavour we also raised over £35,000 for SAMH.

This November, Pyllon Endeavour will return! And we are going back to where it all started. The West Highland Way. We’ll run from Milngavie, to Fort William and back home again - some 192 miles.

This is your chance to hear about the project and why we're so passionate about it.

If you want to support us, please:

FOLLOW: We will have live GPS trackers when we start and it will be with us throughout the challenge. You will also be able to follow our live updates on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook on the @PyllonUltra and @Pyllon accounts. Please follow for updates.

SUPPORT: It’s a challenging event to organise and support - so we’d really welcome any support out on the course during the event. Please get in touch if there’s any way you can help! Contact us

SHARE: We are trying to reach as many people as possible, and we’d love to get #PyllonEndeavour trending, so please help us out by sharing, retweeting, following and commenting!

DONATE: We are raising funds for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) for the vital research they do into heart and circulatory diseases. The BHF are working towards preventing these conditions from developing and helping those with existing conditions to have better, longer lives. We all know someone who’s life has been cut short - and the important role exercise plays in health and longevity. If you can spare any money please show your support by making a donation.

MOVE: Exercise has so many positive effects and if more of us had the time, support and encouragement to make it an essential part of everyday life, we’d live happier and healthier lives. We hope that our own endurance efforts will encourage other people to get outside and walk / run more.

 

You can connect with the Pyllon Ultra team on twitter and instagram @pyllonultra or check out the website at www.pyllonultra.com 

Paul is on Twitter and instagram @Pyllon

BONUS: Badwater 2022 - How to run the toughest races on the planet (Debbie Consani)

Pyllon Ultra Podcast. A Badwater Special with Pyllon Coach - Debbie Consani.

 

BONUS EPISODE.

 

This isn’t as you likely expected the start of the next series of our shorter sprint pods. We just couldn’t miss the opportunity to talk about another one of the iconic American ultra races - (Badwater) and to one of the most accomplished, consistent and 'hard as nails' long distance ultra runners in the UK - Pyllon Coach: Debbie Consani.

Badwater’s claim is that it’s the “World’s Toughest Foot Race”. That’s obviously up for debate so we take the chance to ask Debbie just how challenging she found it, having already raced some of the other toughest races in the world.

Badwater covers 135 miles (217km) non-stop from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney, California. The race starts in Badwater Basin, Death Valley, which also marks the lowest elevation in North America at over 85m below sea level. The race runs through Death Valley and some of the most extreme temperatures and it then finishes at the trailhead of Whitney Portal which sits at 2500m. So, from the lowest point in the US to the foot of the highest point - Mt. Whitney.

Debbie didn't have the easiest peak training cycle due to a shocking family accident and she opened up about it all - really putting everything in context. The whole Consani family had to pull together and make some difficult decisions. Debbie kindly shared how they dealt with the blow and took the right steps to ensure the family unit remained the priority.

 

Debbie and James will be leading the  1-day Run with Pyllon training event, where athletes will learn how to race better and run longer from some of the best in the business. Check out http://www.pyllonultra.com/run-with-pyllon for more details or contact us at the socials below. 

 

You can connect with the Pyllon Ultra team on twitter and instagram @pyllonultra or check out the website at www.pyllonultra.com 

Paul is on Twitter and instagram @Pyllon

James is on Twitter too, @james_stewart13 and on instagram as plain old @jamesstewart13

BONUS: Western States 100 (WSER) 2022 - The Up’s and Down’s of 100 mile racing (John Connolly)

Pyllon Ultra Podcast. A WS100 Special with Pyllon Coach - John Connolly.

 

BONUS EPISODE.

 

Before we launch into a new Sprint Pod series we took the chance to hear more about this year's Western States 100 race, as Pyllon Coach John Connolly found himself on a mission to reach Auburn, California. 

 

John has crewed for Pyllon's very own Paul Giblin 3 x times at Western States and it was a dream come true for John to secure a spot on the most coveted start-line in ultra running. 

 

In this episode James asks all the questions you've dying to ask (and others you hadn't even thought of), as the roles were reversed with John racing and Paul crewing. John gave a really open and honest account of his difficult 100-mile history and then how he tackled the oldest and most prestigious 100-miler in the world.

 

And, at the end you get to hear about the 1-day Run with Pyllon training event, where athletes will learn how to race better and run longer from some of the best in the business - Debbie Consani and James Stewart. Check out http://www.pyllonultra.com/run-with-pyllon for more details or contact us at the socials below. 

 

You can connect with the Pyllon Ultra team on twitter and instagram @pyllonultra or check out the website at www.pyllonultra.com 

Paul is on Twitter and instagram @Pyllon

James is on Twitter too, @james_stewart13 and on instagram as plain old @jamesstewart13

****There is some swearing in this episode (it is John Connolly after all)****

The Thought-Bias Discussion with James & Paul - S5 Ep6 - Series Finale

Series finale already. They've been Sprints up until this point and in this episode Paul and James get together to talk in-depth about 'thought biases'. We have covered a lot already in a short space of time, and you can catch up now on all episodes.

After the 5 thoughts biases we covered across the Sprints series we promised to do a longer episode where we would chat through in more detail how these distortions affect us, and using some of your feedback - how they affect you too. So learning from each other and hopefully germinating some new ways to tackle the daily challenges that we all face.

 

In this episode Paul and James talk about:

1. Self-awareness - how it's the backbone of understanding
2. Mind-reading and egotism
3. generalisation
4. How to use a new understanding to improve relationships and help other people

Huge thanks to everyone who contributed to this episode.

If you like what you hear rate it, share it and use it. We’d be blessed to hear from you too and especially in how these pods are useful to you. You can get us in many a place and your feedback will influence our future direction. So please reach out on social media @pyllonultra

You can connect with Paul on Twitter and Instagram @pyllon

James is on Insta as @jamesstewart13 or Twitter as @james_Stewart13

You can find out more about our mission to create more athletes on the website: at www.pyllonultra.com

We have also created a new #TeamPyllon Facebook Group. See you there!

Peace.

All-or-Nothing Thinking: Black & White, or Shades of Grey? - Sprint Pod S5 Ep5

Hey hey! It is Sprint 5 of our latest series. The overarching topic is 'thought biases' and we finish this off with "All-or-Nothing" thinking. We have covered a lot already in a short space of time, so you can catch up now on all episodes in under 50 mins!

In this sprint episode Paul will talk about:

1. What all-or-nothing thinking is
2. Where you'll spot it
3. Why it is harmful
4. How to make positive changes
5. Get involved and be part of the next episode

In simple terms all or nothing thinking refers to thinking in extremes. What you do is either a success or a failure. If you don't hit perfection then it's a complete disaster.  You missed a run, or didn't stick to your diet over the weekend and it's like the end of the world - any good work before that is entirely un-done. Do you recognise any of those feelings? Well, listen up!

These podcasts are intended to be resources you can go back to over and over again. We are keeping them short with the aim of sparking thoughts and actions that you can immediately put in place.

If you like what you hear rate it, share it and use it. We’d be blessed to hear from you too and especially in how these pods are useful to you. You can get us in many a place and your feedback will influence our future direction. So please reach out on social media @pyllonultra

You can connect with Paul on Twitter and Instagram @pyllon

James is on Insta as @jamesstewart13 or Twitter as @james_Stewart13

You can find out more about our mission to create more athletes on the website: at www.pyllonultra.com

Peace.