We received Abel 4 months ago at Nutri&Co, he told us about a crazy project, a 350km trail race: the Tor of the Giants. One month before the start, we are giving you this relaxed interview. Physical preparation, nutrition and motivation, Abel offers us his few secrets of ultra traileur.
Presentation
Can you introduce yourself, races done, projects to come ?
My trail route started in 2012 with short distance races at the beginning, so less than 30 km. Then I turned to the Ultra trail* gradually: in particular the UTMB (170 km race), last year a team race, and this year by chance I registered for the Tor des Géants. *hiking race of more than 100 km in self-sufficiency in nature.
How and why did you get into the crazy adventure of the trail ?
I was doing a lot of sports as a young person until I was 20, including running and cycling and then I stopped. I started a little by chance by resuming the race around Aix. Then the trail came naturally to me in 2012. I would say that I chose this first of all out of a desire to be in the wild, but also out of a personal challenge.
What would you recommend to people like you who would like to embark on the trail adventure ?
The important thing is already to do it for yourself, out of passion, to discover yourself and change your daily life. Above all, you have to go gradually, it's a sport of patience. The feat is personal, it doesn't necessarily mean travelling long distances, it depends on everyone. You must find your happiness and balance even if your objective is only 5-10 km. It's even better to share it with friends I find and to be able to share all this together !
Sports preparation
What does a typical day/week look like in preparation for a race ?
The preparation takes place years in advance through experience, habit, self-knowledge... You really have to know yourself ! The heart of a strong preparation is done 5-8 weeks before with weeks of 100-120 km max running with vertical drop. The important thing is to go to the mountains, you have to take the time to organize outings from 4 to 8 hours at race speed to get used to the difference in altitude. In short, these are training phases : I gradually increase the volume from July 1 to September 15 in the mountains.
What place does physical recovery have for you? And what are you doing to recover after an effort ?
For me, 3 weeks before the D-day, it's rest (or just a few maintenance runs)! You have to arrive fresh for the race, both mentally and physically. Post-race sleep is very important, it is for me the number one factor before diet. During the race you push your body not to sleep and take micro naps of 5-10 minutes so you need to have a well rested body to hold on !
Sports preparation
Abel refers directly to it when he talks about the importance of sleep. The body records everything we do. While he is resting, he takes the opportunity to store energy in anticipation of a new charging period (the race).
What do you do to prevent aches and pains and injuries ? Have you ever had any ?
I would especially say to drink plenty of water and massage yourself with essential oils. I'm pretty intuitive, I don't really have a secret boot !
Nutrition
What diet do you follow and advise ?
I avoid fast sugars, alcohol, and all overprocessed industrial products. It is easier in summer to eat a healthy diet with salads, fruits, rice, chicken... I don't have a miracle recipe but I am especially careful from August 15th. Two things I reduce considerably so are alcohol and fast sugar so as not to cause unnecessary peak blood sugar levels. For the rest, I keep my usual diet by being a little more careful.
What is your opinion on carbohydrate recharging the day before a race (excess pasta dish) ?
So for me it's not the day before but rather the day before that I do this. The day before I find this risky because I put my body to rest, the digestive system pumps a lot of energy. The day before I eat normally, not necessarily a plate of pasta as some people tend to do.
What do you eat during the race to avoid stomach problems ?
These are races where the speed is constant so the digestive system is a little less affected. I don't have a miracle product for gastric problems. I find that gastric problems happen mostly in the first 24 hours of racing. After this past course, I like to indulge myself and eat what I want: chips, quiches... After a while we consume so much energy in total that we can allow ourselves to eat less healthy foods. I don't think there is a huge impact on the body when you allow yourself this kind of food during exercise.
The caloric balance
If on the one hand we spend a lot of energy, then we can afford to eat a lot. The important thing is the difference between calories ingested and calories expended !
Once the trail is finished, do you change your diet ?
After the race we have big periods of hunger. Personally, it lasts about 10 days during which my body asks for fat, sugar... I then allow myself everything I want !
Nutraceutics
We know you consume our products, can you tell us which ones and why? What differences did you notice ?
I chose magnesium to fight stress and improve my sleep. It's true that I sleep very well and have been sleeping through the night since I used it! For turmeric, I no longer chose it out of curiosity. I note that at the joint level I did not have any pain while I trained a lot. It's mostly preventive, I think, turmeric. I also took Multi to boost my body in general with a mix of vitamins. I would say that I really felt a big difference with magnesium because I feel more relaxed and less stressed! So I do cures 2-3 times a year, especially for magnesium. Then I also like to take some iron because when you run you lose a lot of iron due to the muscles that get injured.
