Dr. Duncan Simpson has a PhD in Sport Psychology and is the Director of Personal Development at IMG Academy, a multi-sport training institution in Florida. He has worked with children, high school students, and professional and Olympic athletes in a range of sports.

Duncan was formerly an Associate Professor in the Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology Program at Barry University. He is also a certified consultant with the Association of Applied Sport Psychology.

Given his experience and education, Duncan possesses a deep knowledge of the mental game that athletes are faced with.

In our conversation, Duncan covers a variety of mental skills and how athletes utilize them to gain a performance advantage:

• Creating short- and long-term focus
• Avoiding external distractions
• Doing self-assessments
• And how to apply it all to your own running
• Connect with Duncan on Twitter
• Email him at [email protected]
• Train your mind

A big thanks to Elemental Labs for their support of this episode! They make electrolyte drinks for athletes and low-carb folks with no sugar, artificial ingredients, or colors.

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The citrus flavor has quickly become my favorite and I'm drinking one a day now to help me get enough fluids in our dry Colorado air. It's tasty and delicious and I find that I'm not peeing every 45 minutes throughout the day, which might be an indication I wasn't eating enough sodium.

There's now mounting evidence that higher sodium intake levels are not unhealthy – and athletes need substantially more than your typical sedentary person. Of course, ask your doctor if you're worried. But for those athletes running outside in the heat, an electrolyte replacement makes a lot of sense.

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