164 – Strengthening Mental Skills with Pat Spencer
In episode 164, Jill and Chris talk with Pat Spencer, owner of Getting Your Mind in Gear, who helps endurance athletes hone the mental skills needed to achieve their endurance sports goals.
Pat is an avid gravel cyclist, former long course triathlete, marathoner, and open water swimmer. A licensed clinical social worker and a therapist with a private practice in central New Jersey, she has worked in mental health for 25+ years in a variety of settings, including directly with clients, as a supervisor, as a adjunct professor and providing a number of professional trainings.
In 2022, she decided to combine her understanding of mental health with her love of endurance sports. She knew she was not the only athlete out there dealing with all of the mental challenges that come with endurance sports.
“As an athlete I have experienced the pre-race jitters, the nagging self doubt and the lulls and low motivation that occurs in training. Using a mix of tools and skills I get through these challenges to help you crush your goals.”
When not working you can find her lifting heavy stuff at the gym, exploring the roads in the northeast USA or scuba diving somewhere in the world. She also enjoys watching college football or Jeopardy with her wife and their cats.
We discuss:
- What makes a good goal? How does she help people define their goals?
- How to best commit to a goal and why is that so important?
- How to deal with that internal voice “inner critic” that so many women seem to have
- Harnessing motivation, habits, discipline and ways she helps others stay focused
- Her workshop “Menopause, Mindset and Mental Health”
- Self talk, visualization and her RUNER technique of getting thru a tough mental roadblock
- R=recognize, U=understand, N=name the emotion, E=explore options, R=respond
- Hydration and the importance to maintain a strong mental attitude during endurance challenges
- Finding your WHY to learn where your motivation comes from.
- Identifying yourself as a runner or a biker and then asking “what do runners do? swimmers do?”
- Reframing from “I have to” so that you feel like “I get to”
- Tools like Mindset Monday on her Instagram account
- Finding ways to celebrate what we can do and what we do have
- Dealing with a DNF (Did Not Finish)
- Overcoming Fear
Links:
Website – Getting Your Mind in Gear
Resources – Forms and Worksheets
Facebook – Getting Your Mind in Gear
Instagram – Getting Your Mind in Gear
YouTube channel – Getting Your Mind in Gear