“It’s not just like you can have a bad race because you get too nervous. No. The very essence of, in the middle of a race, you’re asking yourself, ‘Can I maintain this pace? Can I speed up? Can I slow down?’ And that decision, which you’re asking yourself with every stride essentially, is not answered by, ‘I can’t speed up because some physical parameter is maxed out,’ because it’s not—it’s clearly not, you can keep going. Instead, it’s maxed out by your brain’s assessment of how hard you’re going and whether that is something that is sustainable and will get you to the finish line. And so fundamentally, you make that switch that, ‘Oh no, at every point, unless I collapse on the ground, at every point through a race, it’s been my mind that’s deciding whether I can keep going or whether I can speed up or not.’” - Alex Hutchinson recently wrote about four highlights from a presentation by Jennifer Sygo, a dietitian for the Canadian track and field and gymnastics teams, as well as the Toronto Raptors basketball team, at a recent conference in Toronto. The insights that he highlights are all pretty common sense tactics, but ones most of us can stand to remind ourselves and reinforce in the appropriate instances. Give it a read and while you’re at revisit Episode 140 with Hutchinson (@sweat_science) on @applepodcasts, @spotify, @stitcherpodcasts, or wherever you get your audio content. #run #running #runningpodcast #podcast #mariofraioli #themorningshakeout #theamshakeout #trailrunning #trackrunning #trackandfield #ultramarathon #marathon #halfmarathon #10k #5k #AlexHutchinson #ThrowbackThursday