018: How our thoughts can help us or harm us

 The mental aspect of competition often takes a backseat to making sure that you have racked up the miles of preparation.  In this episode, we cover one of the worst outcomes of any race...choking.  We spend some time going into the nuances of another chapter out of Matt Fitzgerald's book How Bad Do You Want It? to dive into the details of what choking is and how to avoid this terrible race result. 

This episode includes:

• Choking defined as a poor performance in response to the perceived stress of a situation
• The negative result comes from excessive internal focus which, in turn, reduces running efficiency
• When we aim for a goal, we often put a number out there as if that is the ultimate prize
• Learn what to focus on in order to reduce the stress of the goal
• The opposite of choking is known as flow - a state in which self-consciousness is reduced and performance is increased
• The term flow was originally coined by Mihaly Csikszentmihali as a state of complete immersion in a purposeful activity
• Three methods to try to move into a flow state - its not a matter of following steps, but self-talk can make flow more likely
• Several ways to change your thinking to improve your outlook on running and life itself
  • Be grateful for the ability to work toward your goals and you have a better chance of reaching them!

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