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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New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast drop every Tuesday at 7 AM (UK time)! Make sure to subscribe so you never miss the inspiring journeys and incredible stories of tough women pushing boundaries.
Do you want to support the Tough Girl Mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media in the world of adventure and physical challenges? Support via Patreon! Join me in making a difference by signing up here: www.patreon.com/
Your support makes a difference. 
Thank you x
***
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
- Courtney Dauwalter
- 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.
Instagram: @skadisportpsychology
Fiesty Media Podcast: feisty.co/podcasts
Jennifer is an adventurer, wellness professional, and founder of The Adventure Wellness Club, helping women connect with nature, challenge themselves, and build lasting friendships through experiences grounded in the 3 Cs: Challenge, Connection, and Community.
She designs international hiking adventures and UK-based experiences that blend movement, mindfulness, and wellness. Her work spans everything from planning logistics and designing programs to facilitating group hikes, yoga, sauna and ice-bath sessions, and breath work.
Jennifer lived in Trentino, Italy for four years, where she learned to speak Italian and fell in love with the mountains and the sports within them, including ski touring. Over time, she has also run ultra marathons and bike packed long distances. Adventure is what makes her feel alive!
As a late-diagnosed ADHDer, her adventures are rooted in wellness and informed by research like the 3 Day Effect, showing that just three days immersed in nature can boost attention, creativity, and emotional resilience — benefits especially meaningful for neurodivergent women. Each international trip ends with a sauna experience, which she considers essential for physical and emotional wellbeing.
Her experiences encourage women to step outside their comfort zones while feeling supported, mindful, and fully present. Through adventure, movement, and shared experiences, Jennifer helps women slow down, feel capable, and reconnect with themselves and each other.
***
New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast drop every Tuesday at 7 AM (UK time)! Make sure to subscribe so you never miss the inspiring journeys and incredible stories of tough women pushing boundaries.
Do you want to support the Tough Girl Mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media in the world of adventure and physical challenges? Support via Patreon! Join me in making a difference by signing up here: www.patreon.com/
Your support makes a difference. Thank you x
Show notes
- Who is Jennifer
- Original from Manchester, but now based in Sheffield
- When her running journey started
- Maintaining a good level of base fitness
- Running 50k in January
- Feeling the need to go for a run
- Getting into ultra running
- Supported a guy who did the Bob Graham Round and running one of the legs
- If he can do it - I can do it to
- Knowing that she was capable of achieving
- Breaking down the goal
- Seeing the behind the scenes of planning a run and how it inspired her
- The Japanese Odyssey
- Doing the next best thing - signing up to a race in Italy
- Being supported by people along the way
- Running the Edale Skyline with Barefoot John
- Digging into the planning and learning new planning skills
- Being impulsive and spontaneous
- Being determined enough to do it
- Why it’s not just about the planning, but also about the execution
- Coming up with a rough plan
- Planning, hormones, structure
- Not having the energy for hill reps and feeling fatigued
- Beating herself up for not achieving it
- Having to reframe the situation
- The night before the race and doing a race strategy with Chat GPT
- Working with a coach - S&C and following a 12 week running plan
- Why there isn’t a right and a wrong - why it’s what works for you
- Looking at the training plan and listening to her body
- Running the ultra marathon while menstruating
- Fitting training into life and work
- Running to her cleaning job
- Starting a marketing contract for 4 days a week
- Having a rest day on Monday
- Being forced to find the time
- Combing running with life
- Starting with a running coach and training for a 50k in April in Wales (She Ultra)
- The Ultra Race in Italy - being the only British women running
- Her aim for the race
- Why it’s not about the other people racing - it’s about you
- Treating it as a fun day out - chatting to people in the mountain huts, changing her top, taking things steady
- Teaching herself that she could do it
- Sprinting towards the end, just trying to get there
- Gaining new experience
- SheUltra Race
- Wanting to build her confidence in her physical abilities
- Getting into plyometrics - for building bone density
- Founding the Adventure Wellness Club and what it’s goals are
- Wanting to bring people together to share her passion
- Being diagnosed with ADHD and starting to understand how her brain works and working on her self confidence
- Pushing herself out of comfort zone with travel and adventure
- Delivering her first trip in 2025
- Teaching herself that you can make your idea a reality
- Ending each trip with a sauna and spa experience
- The “3 Day Effect” - spending 72 hours disconnected from technology and surrounded by nature has a breadth of benefits for your mind.
- Why adventure is key to wellness
- Looking at herself with more compassion
- Why it’s not just a focus issue
- Why a diagnosis does change everything
- Trying medication and working with a nurse practitioner
- Starting to realise how awesome she is
- Seeing yourself in a different way
- Issues with ADHD, perimenopause and mental health
- Her feelings with turning 40
- Becoming more comfortable with not having children
- Being more comfortable with how her life is
- Wanting to age as strong as she can - keep pushing it, keep learning what it is capable of
- Wanting to go ski touring in New Zealand
- How to connect with Jennifer on social media
- Developing her website at the moment
- Final words of advice for other women who want more adventure in their life
- The thing that you’re thinking of doing that seems scary, follow the thread of that curiosity, it’s there for a reason.
Social Media
Website: www.adventurewellness.club
Instagram: @adventurewellness.club
Facebook: @adventurewellnessclub