There are two big questions underpinning this episode...

• Is mental strength innate or do you build it?
• What's the distance between your true limits and the perceived limits posed by your mind?

We discuss these questions to open the episode. We truly do believe that mental fortitude is built. AND, there is plenty of room to better match your perceived limits with your actual limits.

To do that, you have to work at it, and we break down how to do so. Know your plan. Bring your mental tools to race day. Build the mentality needed to give your all. Execute, apply, learn. And finally, do it with a team to best hone your mental skills.

We are turning the page (pun intended) to a new section of the book where we discuss the mental side of training and racing. And, as cheesy as it might sound, it all starts with knowing your purpose for the run.

Why do you run, and specifically why do run for performance?

For you, running might be about stress relief, health or longevity, but we would submit that there are likely deeper reasons as well, especially if you are listening to us talk.

In this episode, we encourage you to dig into your purpose by creating a statement of purpose for your running. We give you 6 tips and several thought starters for doing so. This might be a scary exercise for you, but we promise it will pay off when the going gets tough in training or racing!

If the long run "puts the tiger in the cat," then the long run workout puts the saber tooth in the tiger!

Yes, we need all of those easy long runs to build the aerobic foundation. Then, as you gain experience and appropriately timed in the cycle, it is important to add quality into your long runs to give you that extra edge for race day. We call these workouts race simulations or race preps because they give you the opportunity to practice that race-day feeling while still saving something for race day.

In this episode, we break down how to do that in an optimal way with all of the do's and don'ts, including example workouts. Are you ready to upgrade some of your long runs with speed? Then, this episode is for you!