Second Wind and Sport Psychology

A few weeks ago, my good friend Hector Yuzon invited me to give a talk on mental preparation and sport psychology for a lot of his runner/cyclist/triathlete friends.

with Hector Yuzon (left) of Second Wind fame

Hector is one of the owners of Second Wind Running Store – one of the country’s first-ever running-only store concepts.  When we were still working together in the Nike trenches making sure the Swoosh remained the #1 sporting brand in the country, we would often talk about pursuing our passions.  And for him, it was all about setting up a running store by runners and for runners.  In a few months after he talked about his running store concept and partnered with his fellow running aficionados, the first-ever Second Wind Running Store came to life in Teacher’s Village, QC.  After two more branches and hundreds (thousands even) of kilometers burned, Second Wind has become the “real” runner’s go-to store (yeah, you know what I mean).

Making sure I had the right slides

Of course it was a no-brainer for me to accept his invite when he called so I could share what I know to hardcore, true-to-the-blood asphalt (and trail) burners.  Nothing like sharing stories with this breed of athletes who truly live and breathe their sport.

While schedules have become very tight for me, this was a great opportunity for me to “spread the sport psyche gospel” and I hope that I was able to help the participants (esp. since most of them at that time were a week before competing in the Subic international triathlon).

Explaining the importance of mental routines

As is the case in seminars, speakers usually learn a lot from their participants/students and it was fun interacting with all the different runners and triathletes and hearing their mental techniques.  (Yes, Hec, discovering that your running watch’s battery is out before the gun can lead to a blown race).

Thanks Second Wind-  hope I can join my first triathlon soon!