#217 Adam Wood on Chasing the Olympic Trials, Navigating Panic Disorder & Changing the Plan, Not the Goal

 

Adam Wood was barely recruited out of high school in Utah. He reached out to the coach at BYU anyway, was given a time to run, and spent the summer betting on himself until he walked on to the team and earned a scholarship. These days he races marathons and makes running videos, and his wife, Mica, is a marathoner too. In April a panic attack at home turned his life upside down for a month, and he was diagnosed with panic disorder. We sat down in Chicago three days before the marathon, where he was chasing a time under 2:16 to qualify for the US Olympic Trials. I'm grateful he talked about all of it this openly.

In this episode Adam and I discuss going from not getting recruited to chasing an Olympic Trials qualifier. What he does in a race when it hurts, and what he does when he loses focus. Pacing Mica through her first marathon. The anxiety that came with walking on. The panic attack in April, and getting his life back on track. A voice memo question from his wife Mica. A line he picked up about the two kinds of suffering. And the promise he made himself while he was in the thick of it.

This episode touches on panic attacks, anxiety and mental health. If anything it brings up for you, Lifeline is 13 11 14.

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