028 Claire Bartholic - Mental Strength Training & Transforming Lives Through Running

Episode Summary

Claire Bartholic is an ASAF Certified Running Coach and a NESTA Certified Sports Nutrition Specialist. Claire is also the host of one of the most popular running podcasts in the world, The Planted Runner Podcast. Today, Whitney and Claire discuss tips and mental tricks that can help you run your best, how to flip the ‘comparison trap’ on its head, and the importance of positive self-talk. Claire shares some mental training exercises that she does with her athletes and provides advice for overcoming self-doubt and other mental obstacles.

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Key Takeaways

01:06 – Whitney Heins welcomes Claire Bartholic to the show who shares how she went from running to get in shape for her high school reunion to becoming a full-fledged Marathoner

12:56 – Solving the puzzle of running

16:29 – Self-awareness and knowing when to listen to your body

18:45 – Mental training strategies

23:49 – The impact of positive self-talk outside of running

24:43 – Common scenarios that all runners should plan and prepare for mentally

33:00 – Distanced self-talk, alter ego and other mental strength exercises

41:06 – Overcoming self-doubt

45:33 – Flipping ‘comparison’ on its head

48:34 – Common mental training pitfalls that Claire sees with her athletes

52:34 – Advice for Mother Runners everywhere

55:46 – Whitney thanks Claire for joining the show and lets listeners know where they can connect with her

Tweetable Quotes

“It came to be less about the marathon itself and more about the puzzle of it - figuring out what I needed to do to do this super amazing thing, learning as much as possible. I was absolutely obsessed with the science of it and how you do it. And then figuring out how to implement it for myself. It was quite the journey.” (09:31) (Claire)

“Through that journey I have found my life’s work, my life’s passion. It is absolutely what I was put on Earth to do, is to help people transform their lives through running. And I am just so excited to honestly wake up every day and do stuff like this.” (11:03) (Claire)

“I say, ‘Goals are like a bar of soap. The tighter you hold onto them, the easier they slip away.’” (19:48) (Claire)

“While you’re running a race, if you’re forcing something to happen, how much mental energy does that cost you? If you’re so focused on ‘I gotta hit this. I gotta hit that,’ that’s going to take away from your race. And, if you have a more chill attitude - still competitive - and if you have a much more neutral voice in your head, you’re a lot more likely to actually do the thing.” (20:06) (Claire)

“If you have a terrible race, but you can still execute your strategy, that’s amazing. Even if you’re off your time, if you can still get the spirit of what you are trying to do, you will be a better Marathoner.” (27:02) (Claire)

“Counting is something that you learned as a really small child. It is something that is really, really deep inside your head. And so, you can do that and focus on that without any thought at all. And what it does is it shuts out the other voices that are saying, ‘This is hard. I’m slowing down.’ You just have something to focus on.” (39:02) (Claire)

“So, before we try to demonize ‘comparison,’ understand that is absolutely part of being human. It’s a fundamental part of being human, and it’s not something that we should actually change.” (46:14) (Claire)