123. How to Build Mental Toughness & Mindset Mastery

The Strength Running Podcast

Jason Fitzgerald

Health & Fitness, 10k, Beginnerrunning, Marathontraining, Fitness, Injuryprevention, Marathon, Halfmarathon, Running, Sports

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 30 January 2020

⏱️ 11 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In high school, my indoor track coach always told our team to “get out of your comfort zones!” This valuable mental toughness training always reminded us that racing is certainly not comfortable…

And over the years, my ability to hone mental toughness into a skill to be used at will became easier and easier.

In the beginning, it wasn’t that way:

I sandbagged workouts just because I didn’t feel good
I “settled” on placing 2nd or 3rd in races because I was afraid to believe in myself
I’ve even dropped out of races for no good reason other than my head wasn’t in the right place

Even now, I have experiences that shake my sense of self-belief.

In 2015, I DNF’d an ultramarathon (my first and only attempt).

In 2019, I was disqualified for cutting the course (by accident) of a trail race.

These experiences shook my self-confidence and made me question whether or not I even possessed any mental toughness.

But I soon realized that I wasn’t approaching mental toughness in the right way. It’s not an issue of whether you “have it” or “don’t have it” – it’s an issue of, “are you working on it?”

That’s because mental toughness training is an ongoing practice that must be cultivated over time.

You’re never “done” with developing this valuable mental skill – just like you’re never “done” with workouts, long runs, or recovery runs as a runner.

This episode also includes an announcement about Mindset Mastery, our new coaching program. It's now open for up to 20 runners but registration closes on Monday, February 3rd!

Transcript

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0:00.0	Ready, set, go.
0:04.8	This is episode one hundred and 23, all about building mental toughness,
0:08.8	plus a new announcement about mindset mastery. about Mindset Mastery. Hello and I'm
0:25.0	I'm your host Jason Fitzgerald and I'm excited to be continuing our theme for 2020
0:30.0	mastering your mindset. I have a big announcement at the end of this episode so
0:35.9	make sure you don't miss that but until then I want to talk more about mental
0:40.3	toughness because not only is this one of the more important mental skills a
0:45.6	runner can have it's also one of the most misunderstood let's first recognize that
0:51.6	mental toughness is not an issue of whether you have it or don't have it.
0:55.8	It's an issue of are you working on it? That's because mental toughness training is an ongoing
1:01.5	practice that must be cultivated over time.
1:05.0	You're never done with developing this valuable mental skill,
1:08.0	just like you're never done with workouts or long runs or recovery runs if you want to continue being a runner.
1:15.0	And we define mental toughness as a skill because it is something that you can improve.
1:21.0	It's learnable. It's not a static thing like your height or your eye color. It can grow or
1:26.2	wither depending upon your training. Second, mental toughness is not really toughness at all. The toughness part of mental toughness is
1:35.6	really positivity. It's an undying belief in your ability, a positive voice that
1:41.5	encourages you to give your best effort despite any setbacks in your way.
1:47.0	Staying positive is a central element of mental toughness and it means that the little voice in your head is your cheerleader, not your critic.
1:55.6	Mental toughness is not grimacing, clenching your teeth or beating your chest before or during a race.
2:05.0	That's not real toughness. That's putting on a mask of toughness to conceal insecurity. Real toughness is the ability to stay mentally
2:11.6	engaged with a race
	...

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