Melissa was first on the Tough Girl Podcast back in 2017 where she shares more about her life, how she got into fitness and doing ultra challenges, such as EPIC 5 (the what, the how, the learnings & the challenges faced and overcome).
This audio was taken from a Facebook Live I did with Mel in Melbourne from February 2019.
This episode is broken down into 2 parts, with the first part focusing on ultra man and the second half focusing on her training for UberMan, we talk a lot about food, nutrition, and the mental and physical aspects of training.
Melissa also provided lots of top tips and advice for you to help you train for your next challenge.
Listen Now!!
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2017 episode with Melissa - focused on EPIC 5!
Click here if you can't see the link below.
Show notes
PART 1 - ULTRA-MAN - Hawaii
Melissa living in Melbourne, working as a mental health nurse, 34 years old
How she started doing endurance racing
Deciding to focus more on herself and making sure she was looking after herself
Being inspired by her friend who did a triathlon
How she fell in love with the sport
How she progressed in her running and cycling
Dealing with stress
Finding the right distance for you and why it matters
EPIC 5 - 5 Ironman in 5 days on 5 different islands (This was covered in the first Podcast episode)
Ultra-man Hawaii (Nov 2018)- what’s involved
No comparison allowed!!!!
The challenges on Day 1
Dealing with changes which happen on race day
Not worrying about things which are outside of her control
Working with a coach and having complete faith in them
Working on her running strength and getting back into the gym
Pace and feel training while running
Keeping going when she’s not in the mood
Keeping moving no matter what!
Not making day 2 bike cut-off
Nutrition and still trying to figure it out
Cycling and vomiting for 4 hours….
Part of the fun is figuring out your body and what works for you
Dealing with not achieving the goal and how she deals with it personally (and why she doesn’t care about what other people think)
PART 2 - UBERMAN
What is Uberman (33km swim - 633km bike - 240km run)
Where do you start with a challenge like this
Why it is not ridiculous in her mind
Reframing the challenge
Training for a challenge like this….
Having 8 months to train
Dealing with a week’s training at a time
Focusing on what you need to do now
Working full time and fitting in training
Waking up at 4.35am….
Going at bed at 8.30pm
Trying to spend time with her husband
Having company while training
Night time routine and being a good napper
Being a vegan - How do you get your protein?
Chocolate and ice-cream…..
What she eats during the day and why
Go to naught snack (but no food is naught FYI!)
Vegan gels….
Do you like vegemite???!!
Focusing on real food while riding on the bike
Refuelling while swimming - what she has and how feet zones work
Mental Preparation - how to get your head in the hame and why reflection is very important
Never taking her mental strength for granted
Visualisation…. and picturing the finish line
Vision boards….
Biggest challenge/what she’s most concerned about
Managing sleep during Uberman and why she won’t know how it’s going to be until she’s in it
Why it’s ok not to know
3 guys have done it in 6/7 days
No other women have completed it
10th October start date
Can we track her during the race?
Follow along with Melissa - she has a blog and does regular race reports.
Mel’s top tips and advice for you!!!
Learn more about Melissa
Follow her blog - https://rangamel.wordpress.com
"Slightly mental triathlete who is allergic to the sun"
Follow on Twitter @rangamel
You can also listen to Melissa on Sparta Chicks Radio - which goes into more detail about the EPIC 5 Race in Hawaii
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