performance psychology

My Favorite Podcasts

- Mel

I’m looking for a few new additions to my podcast list. What are you listening to and enjoy and would recommend? I know that is a very loaded question, as podcast requests are as individualized as the genres of books we read. I already listen to way too many long-form shows – so, looking for episodes that are regularly less than an hour long (but even better if the show trends closer to half of that run time). I have 169 Unplayed episodes queued up right now, and regularly delete those that are three months out-of-date (unless there’s a guest that I really, REALLY want to (eventually) listen to)… sooo, maybe I shouldn’t download anything new? In any event, maybe you’ll find something new to listen to here!

podcast header blog reviews

Here’s what is on my regular rotation (as you will read, I have various moods and interests):
Real Talk Radio with Nicole Antoinette*
99% Invisible (I mean, who DOESN’T love Roman Mars’ voice?)
The Psychology Podcast*
Sooo Many White Guys (which I think might be on extended hiatus?)
How I Built This
You Are Not So Smart
Sincerely, Hueman (uplifting stories, and easy-to-digest length)
Stuff You Should Know (sooooo many episodes; I’m totally backlogged!)
Hidden Brain
Finding Mastery with Michael Gervais
Freakanomics Radio

What I listen to more infrequently:
You Almost Had It!
Everything is Alive
The BibRave Podcast
You Made it Weird (this is actually one of my FAVORITE podcasts because I am regularly LOL’ing but the episodes are kinda long at 2+ hours, and I have been procrastinating on their priority)
Recode Decode
Armchair Expert (I like this show a lot and mostly save the episodes for long road trips because they are really fun interviews)

Series that I am currently enjoying:
The Dream (about MLM – it’s SO GOOD)
Happy Face (if you’re into murder-type series; this one is interesting, coming from the daughter’s perspective of her father being the Happy Face Killer)

Series that I finished in whole and would wholly recommend:
Atlanta Monster
Heaven’s Gate

What is currently on my list and I’ve yet to get into:
Slow Burn (Season 2)
Longform Podcast
Yo, Is This Racist?
Hell and Gone

I wish Apple Podcasts kept a record of the shows I’ve deleted out of boredom, disinterest in the hosts, or irritation at unbalanced sound levels because OMG there are so many terrible ones out there.

*I financially support these podcasts via Patreon because I positively believe in doing so. And if more podcasts went this patron-backer route, I totally would give up more of my money!

Weekly Therapy: 8.18.17

- Mel

the week:
Some kind of summer cold or upper respiratory infection has been trying to kick my ass this week. It seems to be pushing all out of my lungs now, which has made running… interesting.

weekend:
I am SO EXCITED for Solheim Cup this weekend in Des Moines. It is hosted by our club, Des Moines Golf and Country, and is just such an awesome event to have here in Iowa. I took PTO Friday to volunteer a morning shift and not miss the first set of matches (what a long day!). But we’ll be hanging out and cheering our USA lady athletes all weekend. Gotta peep those Michelle Wie sparkly Nike golf shoes.

seven things, seven days:
1. I’ve decided that I want to go to grad school, so I’m getting things in order to meet my admission requirements.
2. Oh, the eclipse is coming! I’ll be watching it here.
3. I really, really love that my eye doctor’s office sent out a detailed email about viewing the eclipse safely and the dangers of staring directly at the event. Well done and timely marketing — Bravo!
4. Check this out: Katherine Beattie is a badass extreme wheelchair motocross athlete.
5. I had this thought this weekend (I mean, I’m definitely not stopping for 7 minutes, but still): Are my long run water breaks too long? {via Runners World}
6. Have you had a long-term (6+ weeks) injury that has inhibited you from playing your sport? Participants are needed in this survey.
7. Proven performance practices from billionaires and elite athletes. {via Thrive Global}

Weekly Therapy: Loyalty and road trips and early morning alarms

- Mel

the week:
I purchased a lunch bag from eBags a few years ago and was sad when the interior lining started ripping away from the zipper. I finally replaced it a few weeks ago with something new, but strongly disliked its smaller interior capacity (less room for snacks!) and handles that don’t keep the back straight — and no short carry handle on the top of the bag (so high maintenance!). When looking around their site to find my original, I discovered that eBags-branded products have a LIFETIME WARRANTY against defects — and they replaced my well-loved lunch bag with a brand new one!

I’m in no way sponsored or compensated by the company, but I absolutely love when brands do right by their products and will shout my loyalty from the rooftops. I’ll love this lunch bag for another few years and all is right with my world and my many (many) meals and snacks that I need to bring with me to work.

race day 5am meme
WORD.

weekend:
I’m off to Illinois to take on the I-Half Challenge (a 5K tonight and a half marathon on Saturday morning) and my first race as a BibRave Pro ambassador! This will be my 10th half marathon. CRAZY.

A friend is also driving up to Champaign to spend the remainder of the weekend with me, and I’m so happy to get to see her and drink wine, since it’s been YEARS. If the weather stays nice, we are planning on trail skating, too. #shutuplegs

seven things, seven days:
1. Remember my office fire from two months ago? Well I finally got a box of my personal belongings from my desk. Which included close to none of my belongings.
2. I had a dream this week where a parade of kids were wearing items from my closet that I haven’t worn in forever. What a message, eh? Must be time for another round of Cleaning of the Closets.
3. For my wedding celebration this summer, I requested a box of party dresses from my Trunk Club [referral link] — and she sent the PERFECT dress.
4. Collaboration creates mediocrity. According to Science. And me, a high performer.
5. Well, this is interesting: The new rules of hydration {via Outside}
6. That voice inside your head will make you a better runner — another great article from Outside.
7. Weirdly, success is about thinking you’re not too successful {via Science of Us}

Weekly Therapy: Hitting the Trails

- Mel

the week:
It felt nice to take a week off from, like, everything. But I got myself some new trail shoes and ready to take on some new adventures this Fall in Iowa.

weekend:
It’s TRAIL RUNNING SEASON!!! And Saturday is To Grandmother’s House We Go (I’m doing 10k distance).

Sunday, our community celebrates Beggar’s Night (or, Trick-or-Treating) and we’re participating in a friendly neighborhood Boos & Booze for the adults traveling around with their kiddos. We seriously picked the perfect neighborhood.

I pre-purchased tickets for Diplo, who is here in Des Moines on Sunday night, but my attendance there depends on how well I can hang this Halloween.

seven things, seven days:
1. THE INDIANS ARE IN THE WORLD SERIES!!!
2. …so are the Cubs, which I am also SUPER excited about! (But… Go Tribe!)
3. Really sad to read about my former derby league’s practice and game space closing. And always a bummer to lose another skating rink. 🙁
4. I signed up for a 100-mile Challenge in November with the Capital Striders. It’s a great idea to get people post-marathon to keep running, especially at this time of year when we all want to hibernate. 😉
5. Being yourself works {via HBR}
6. Not everyone is trying to lose weight – YES! This is one of the most irritating elements of having a gym membership, all the marketing received for weight-loss challenges. DO BETTER. Though this article focuses on the nutrition element, my feeling on this is the same.
7. Great performers make their personal lives a priority {via HBR}

Weekly Therapy: 9-02 Oh, hey. It’s September!

- Mel

the week:
LADIES. I went shopping at Target for new underwear because it was time, and I bought 9 pairs — various prints, but staying with the briefs and boy-leg cuts; Target has a new women’s underwear brand (since I shopped last) and bonus: 5 pairs for $20 (don’t remind me that I bought 9 pairs and not 10). NOT ONE SINGLE PAIR fits around my butt cheeks. I spent most of my week picking underwear fabric out of my ass. How is this even my real life right now. NOT ALL SIZE 2s HAVE FLAT BUTTS. #30somethingproblems

But seriously serious: did my butt grow so much after only 6 weeks of half marathon training?

weekend:
THREE DAY WEEKEND — WOOOOOO! Saturday is the Madrid Miler Race (I’m doing the 5-mile distance), Sunday is a recovery day (brunch, probably), and Monday I’m going trail skating with some derby peeps. Super pumped about this weekend!

seven things, seven days:
1. I won a book giveaway on Goodreads! I get so many giveaway notifications from their site that I thought that didn’t happen to real people. FUN!
2. I stayed up until after midnight last night to register for a race. Hashtag, runner problems? But I’m in for the Hitchcock Half in December!
3. We’re booked for the next Rock Boat, and Sixthman announced Dexter Freebish was coming back to the line-up and AHHHHHHHHH I AM SO EXCITE!
4. I’ve been training with my new Aftershokz Trekz Titanium Pink, and I’m really digging the cord-free run lifestyle, you guys.
5. I should find out soon if I got the job that I interviewed for (my current job, nonetheless) – and these are some annoying reasons why runners make good employees. 😉 {via Women’s Running}
6. I don’t put much stock into into the MBTI (it’s all in good fun though, right?), but this article typed me appropriately: How Each Myers-Briggs Type Reacts to Stress {via Psychology Junkie}
7. You have not expired: What we know about aging athletes. {via Pacific Standard}

Weekly Therapy: Olympics Edition!

- Mel

Spurred by a (kinda depressing) article about the Olympics last week, I wanted to keep in the Olympics spirit for this week’s post.

the week:
The live Olympics stream has basically been a constant throughout the house this week. Even in the background, I find myself looking up and being completely mesmerized by all.things.sports. Especially the women.

weekend:
We’re having a movie night with friends tonight, as I do enjoy my Rest Days to the max! But I’m also excited for all of the Olympic Track & Field races to begin.

Saturday, Life Time is holding a Foam Rolling Workshop, so I naturally signed up. Hopefully, I’ll get my butt up early enough to join social run club in the morning and foam roll immediately after. I’ll be ruining all that good work by filling my maw at the Iowa State Fair with all the foods on a stick.

seven things, seven days:
1. In the spirit of the Games (and our own Iowa State Fair), we had a corn shucking contest at work. This city girl won the first round, and got 2nd in the second round. WOOT!
2. Meet Simone Biles’ sports psychology coach. {via ESPNW}
3. Why is NBC’s coverage of the Olympics SO BAD?
4. This is kinda weird.
5. Mental tricks that Olympic athletes use to perform under pressure {via Business Insider}
6. Olympics athletes stay poor {via Washington Post}
7. How about that Michael Phelps expression? Definitely best meme on the Internet right now.

Weekly Therapy: A week full of Mondays

- Mel

the week:
Well, it’s the last week of July — I started training for my Fall half marathon this week, and I just saw my first back-to-school commercial. Which means we can almost put this awful humidity-heavy weather past us in a few more weeks. AND we’re SO CLOSE to Iowa State Fair time! The week felt like it was running repeats of Monday-ish moments, and WHEW am I glad it’s the weekend.

weekend:
We are invited to a dinner party Saturday night and got a last-minute invitation to see Jim Gaffigan on Sunday night. And after having some happy hour fun last night after work, I’m going to feel pretty Monday come Monday.

seven things, seven days:
1. Watching the DNC speeches, feeling pretty pumped up about being a woman right now. *fist bump*
2. OMG I love my new running watch!!!
3. The growth mindset in children and how it affects academic achievement {via Pacific Standard}
4. Stumbled across this article when looking at OTHER articles about paying down my student loan debt (I KNOW, RIGHT?): 4 keys to ambition.
5. You can’t keep competing with your younger self. *SIGH* Kind of depressing. {via Science of Us}
6. How exhaustion became a status symbol {via New Republic}
7. A psychologist worked with Spotify to create a playlist of the best songs to wake up to.

Weekly Therapy: Brevity is the soul of wit.

- Mel

the week:
I had one of the most inspiring and empowering experiences at work this week — invited by a coworker to a women’s networking event, which was lead by an incredible speaker (a senior executive at my workplace). The event encouraged these feelings of female camaraderie that I’ve never had at ANY of my jobs, and also helped me make the decision to post to an open position. I really, really like my job, and well… I’m feeling pretty pumped this week.

weekend:
This morning is Bootcamp & BBQ at Life Time. One of my coworkers had a part in putting together the obstacle course, and a few others from work will be out for the fun. I’m pretty excited about this event (and also for some much-needed pool time) for something new to do and getting outside for a dirty, sweaty workout.

seven things, seven days:
1. I hired a running coach for my half marathon training! More on that in a later post.
2. Many thanks to several other runners online who helped with recommendations on their favorite running watch. You know that I’ve NEVER, in over two years, connected my current Garmin to the Connect software because wires? I upgraded to the 230, which OMG BLUETOOTH SYNC! is exactly what I needed.
3. I got two separate kudos at our team meeting this week. WHOOP!
4. The power randomly cut off at work on Wednesday, so they sent everyone in our building home an hour or so early.
5. Our weather got up to 115 degrees this week, and it was as awful as you think.
6. I LOVED Hootie & The Blowfish, so I LOVED THIS ARTICLE: My Life in the Bush of Hootie about signing the band to their first record deal. {via Observer}
7. If it doesn’t suck, it’s not worth doing — the science of the anticipation of an event and pushing past your capabilities {via Medium}

Weekly Therapy: “There’s a huge difference between losing and being a loser”

- Mel

the week:
It’s time to make the introductory rounds of new doctors in Iowa – I had my dentist appointment this week, and I get to meet my new PCP on Monday (morning. At 7am. WTF was I thinking?!). From that appointment, I need to get referrals for a new gyno, a new dermatologist for my annual skin cancer screening, and a trip to the Ortho (hopefully continuing my luck of having hot sports medicine doctors).

I also apparently got poison ivy while I was on an urban vacation… SERIOUSLY. So I had to cancel my pedicure this week. And there’s a possibility that I might have some kind of stress reaction in my foot. At least there was good news with no new cavities!

tl;dr – I’m falling apart. Bring wine.

weekend:
I got an amazing care package from ToGoSpa this week (their Ice Water EYES product is wonderful!); so in my earlier promise of self care, I will be relaxing with some face masks and bubble baths. I’ll also probably go outside a LOT because it’s 73 degrees and BEAUTIFUL right now.

seven things, seven days:
1. There are 33.814 fl oz in a 1000ml water bottle. #tmyk
2. After a pretty shit week at work, I was SUPER excited to receive an invitation to National Root Beer Float Day (yes, free root beer floats for employees in my department). BEST DAY EVER!
3. We went to an AMAZING Penfolds wine tasting at the country club. And brought home more than a few bottles.
4. Started AND finished “Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?” this week. Probably one of my favorite books of the year. I really loved Timothy Caulfield’s writing style and humor, and his compiling of research really had an impact in how I think about the health and beauty industries (especially the myth of “anti-aging”). 30-something approved!
5. “There is no such thing as perfect”: Female athletes fight expectations for perfection online {via Reebok}
6. Since I’m a creature of habit — and now mostly settled here in Iowa — I’ve been really looking at some of my routines, and if they’re really “working” for me. Here are some signs that your routine might be getting in your way. {via The Muse}
7. James Clear with another wonderful essay: Motivation is Overvalued

Weekly Therapy: Rabbit, Rabbit

- Mel

the week:
The last week of the month when you work in the mortgage industry… AMIRITE?! Happy for some of that approved overtime, though this week felt really long.

weekend:
FINALLY, a massage! Man do I miss the monthly splurge. I got a LifeTime Spa gift card for my birthday, which I get to enjoy almost two months later. Sunday morning, LifeTime is having a sunrise yoga poolside, which I’m going to try to make wake up for!

And we made it to the long, holiday weekend! Whatever your plans, I hope there are fireworks. 😉

seven things, seven days:
1. Ahhhh, my MIL sent me A Million Cats coloring book. It’s so fabulous!
2. I met the kitties’ new sitter this week! It’s a big relief to find someone so great, and one more thing to cross off our move list.
3. I also FINALLY made appointments for both my new doctor and new dentist.
4. MarathonFOTO sent me a holiday coupon for 50% off my photos from the Gasparilla half marathon – I had an AWESOME photo from that race (and it’s my current PR), so I’m really pumped about this!
5. This week, I’ve been getting the STRANGEST (and most annoying) missed calls on my cell phone. Including two missed calls from Egypt. WTH?! No messages, of course.
6. Why we like what we like {via Guardian}
7. Why do we still not know how our periods affect our athletic performance? Crazy. {via Pacific Standard}