Dr. Erin Ayala – Psychologist, Mental Performance Coach & Endurance Athlete
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Meet Dr. Erin Ayala, a Licensed Psychologist and Certified Mental Performance Consultant from Minnesota, specialising in supporting female endurance athletes. With over a decade of research and clinical experience, she’s a published author, sought-after speaker, and advocate for mental health in sport.
In this episode, Erin shares insights on:
Building mental resilience for endurance challenges
Strategies for coping with performance pressure and burnout
Balancing high-level competition with wellbeing
Lessons from her own journey as a competitive cyclist
A must-listen for anyone looking to strengthen their mind while chasing big goals.
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Show notes
Who is Dr Erin - Licensed Psychologist and certified mental performance coach
Being based in the twin cities, Minnesota, USA
Her love for working with female athletes
Her backstory and being a multi-sport athlete in High School
Getting to grad school and starting to get into running
Joining a run club and getting the running bug
Working her way up to marathons
Meeting her spouse and getting into cycling, triathlons and doing Ironman
Moving to Minnesota in 2016
Joining a cycling club and being encouraged to start racing bikes
Gravel racing for the past 10 years
Growing up in a small, midwestern town.
Wanting to look after herself better
Being a workaholic and not prioritising her health or wellness
Stretching herself to thin and not feeling proud of what’s going on inside
Being very achievement driven
Needing to match the internal to external
Being consistent with therapy since undergraduate
Why running and riding can be therapeutic but it can never replace working with a licensed therapist.
Thoughts while running and how they have changed over the years
Being a smoker, waking up coughing and not feeling good
Starting running to be healthy and fit again
Why it became so much deeper so much quicker
External motivation can only get us so far
The internal motivation is what keeps us going
How running helps her prioritise her “me” time
Figuring out the WHY
Wanting to get off Strava, not following anyone on it, and not worrying about the social comparison game
Getting sucked into the world of social media
Starting with your WHY and what does that actually mean
What words do you want people to use to describe you as a person
Setting herself up for success
Why her favourite clients are women in their 50s
Getting the balance right between going after your goals and managing a relationship
Being supported on her bike adventures, both on and off the road
Doing really long road trips and going back country hiking together
Doing 2 big events per year
Planning a race strategy and what the mental side of a race strategy looks like
Nothing new on race day and why the same applies to mental work and mental skills
It’s never too soon to start.
Doing meditation every day via a free app
3/4 weeks out and getting series about her race goals
Being ready to reassess her goals based upon life circumstances
Taking into account- life - when setting race goals
Life gives us training scores too
Tips and tricks while being on the start line to get into the zone.
The cognitive piece and psychological piece
Here are my pre-race jitters
Feeling anxious at the start line e.g. going to the bathrooms multiple times before the start.
Take a deep breath? Breathing
The importance of low and slow breathing and how it helps to balance out the nervous system.
The concept of the pain cave
Taking it to the next level- finishing strong - the final push over the finish line
Figuring out - What is the most difficult or most important part of the race?
Visualising success…. Toxic positivity
How am I going to respond once the feeling hits?
If - then - situation
Responding and dealing with failure and set backs
Letting the disappointment settle in
Reminding yourself that just because you didn’t reach your goal didn't mean you are a failure and did anything wrong
Doing everything right and still not hitting your goals
Outcome goals are how we compare to other people
Set process goals and why they are more effective than outcome goals
Starting a new podcast with Fiesty Media
Focusing on what she can do
The noise on the internet
The Feisty Women’s Podcast - January 12th 2026 was the launch date - with weekly episodes going forward.
Women and sleep and why women are more efficient sleepers than men
Focus on the basics
Taking on the more taboo topics
Book: The Stronger Sex: What Science Tells us about the Power of the Female Body. By Starre Vartan
Sports psychology and why there is so much work to do in this space for women
Research which is specific for women
The lack of large scale studies in sports psychology for women
How to connect with Erin online
“Skadi”- The Norse Goddess of ice, snow and mountains
Words of advice to motivate and inspire other women and girls
Being willing to ask the hard questions around where our expectations are coming from
Why it’s ok to make our own rules and break them
Going back to your value system
Does leaning into this experience make sense for me?
Social Media
Website: www.skadisportpsychology.com
Instagram: @skadisportpsychology
Fiesty Media Podcast: feisty.co/podcasts
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