The Pyllon Ultra Pod

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

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.  

BONUS EPISODE.

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 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.

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 EPISODE.

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)****

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

Huge thanks to everyone who contributed to this episode.

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.

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

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.

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.

Well, hello! It is episode 4 of our 5 sprints. The overarching topic is thought biases and we explore MUSTS AND SHOULDS in this one. 

We are back to James chatting this one through. So, buckle up and listen to under 10 mins of thoughts on the subject.

In this sprint episode James will talk about:

1. The binary nature of the thinking

This is a gnarly topic at times. We are all prone to this kind of thinking. It is human nature amplified by societal pressure. Have a listen and take time to think about it in your context. 

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

You can connect with Paul on Twitter and Instagram @pyllon 

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

And the Pyllon Ultra is about on them platforms as @pyllonultra and you can find out more about our mission to create more athletes on the website at www.pyllonultra.com 

Peace and Love.