To help us think more clearly about our mental skillset, I'd like to introduce you to Matt Pendola.

Matt Pendola is a polymath and exactly the type of person I love bringing on the podcast. His diverse background includes success in not just coaching, but his education and his athletic career.

Athletically, he's posted quite a few major accomplishments:

He Won the Elite Spartan World Championships Masters Division (2015)
Age group runner up Duathlon Nationals (2015)
Qualified for Duathlon World Championships 3x
4th Overall at the Northface Trail Championships and 3rd in his division (2014)

He’s also a Road Runner Club of America certified running coach, massage therapist, creator of Pendola Training, and has a host of continuing education certifications in strength training, performance, and even Jack Daniels' coaching program.

In this interview, Matt and I are discussing the mental factors that contribute to our success in running. Because after you get your training right, the next big avenue for improvement is mastering your mindset and improving your confidence, drive to train, willingness to suffer, and finding the intrinsic motivation to always run consistently.

BTW, I haven't explored this topic on Strength Running at length. We have programs for injury prevention, strength training, dialing in your nutrition and fueling, coaching, and for beginner runners. But not for fine-tuning our mental fitness.

So if you have any questions, or suggestions, or ideas that you’d love for me to cover, find me on Instagram and send me a message (my direct messages are always open and I want to hear from you).

Episode 108: Build Confidence, Intrinsic Motivation, and Drive with Matt Pendola

The Strength Running Podcast