Strong Core Podcast

Dr. Iris Nafshi
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Strong Core is a podcast for mother-athletes who are figuring out who they are beyond the roles they play. Through honest conversations, we explore what it takes to pursue big goals while staying grounded in who you are at your core.

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  1. Episode 11

    "Today Is the Best Day of My Life." Erin Song on Optimism, Motherhood, and Going After Big Goals.

    Send us Fan Mail Erin Song (@erinmsong) is a mindset coach, mom of four boys, and first-time Ironman finisher who trained for Lake Placid starting at nine miles per hour, unclipped, on a bike her coach wasn't sure could make it around the block. She got there anyway. This conversation goes deep on what optimism actually is, not the bumper sticker version, but the trained, practiced, daily decision to believe that something good is coming even when you're at mile 85 with a flat tire and a 10-mile run scheduled for the next morning. Erin draws a sharp line between positive self-talk and actionable self-talk, reframes imposter syndrome as something far more useful, and explains why she coaches athletes to crave the feeling of self-doubt rather than run from it. She also talks honestly about what it took to train for a full Ironman with four boys at home, the youngest just one year old, and a business she built from scratch one month after losing her dad. Including what made it possible: a husband who was all in, and a support system she built around every gap in the schedule.  The thread running through all of it is a sentence her father said to her for as long as she can remember: today is the best day of my life, and I'm the luckiest girl in the world. That sentence is the whole episode.  Support the show If this conversation resonated, follow Strong Core and share it with another mother who needs to hear this. Connect on Instagram at @iris_strongcore for more conversations on mental and physical strength in motherhood and sport.

    52 min

  2. Episode 12

    This Summer She's Racing With Both Her Daughters. Cindy Kelecic on What Sport Looks Like When It Becomes a Family Language.

    Send us Fan Mail This summer, Cindy Kelecic (@citakacs) is toeing the line at the Philadelphia Women's Triathlon with both her daughters by her side, all three of them on the course together from start to finish.  It started with her older daughter volunteering at a water aid station, watching women cross the finish line, and saying out loud: Women can do anything. That was the moment. The younger one has been waiting for her turn ever since. This is her year. After her second daughter was born, Cindy found her way back to sport and kept going further than she ever expected. What followed was a half-marathon, two half-ironman races, a full marathon she treated as a mile-by-mile experiment, and an eight-mile open-water relay in the Florida Keys with a close friend. She is also a clinical psychologist who spends her days with older adults. When asked what they regret most, her answer is clear: lost connections, friends, family, and not having a support system. It is a thread that runs quietly through everything else she talks about in this episode, the training partners she prioritizes, the community she builds, and the life she is choosing to show up fully. This episode is for the woman who understands that the life you build right now is the one you will look back on. Cindy has a front row seat to that truth every single day at work. And it is changing everything about how she trains, how she parents, and who she brings to the start line. Support the show If this conversation resonated, follow Strong Core and share it with another mother who needs to hear this. Connect on Instagram at @iris_strongcore for more conversations on mental and physical strength in motherhood and sport.

    46 min

  3. Episode 13

    Jennifer Sylva: She Let Go of First Place to Finally Earn It

    Send us Fan Mail  Eight years ago, Jennifer Sylva (@jensylva) stood at the start of a sprint triathlon in downtown Jacksonville with no swim training and a genuine belief that anyone who runs more than three miles during their lunch break is a little bit silly. In May 2026, she crossed the finish line of Ironman Jacksonville as the overall women's champion.  But her story is not a straight line from there to here. It runs through years of bulimia she kept secret from everyone around her, through a divorce, through panic attacks in the middle of a masters swim practice, through a DNF at Challenge Roth, and through finishing second. Again and again and again. What finally broke the pattern was not perfect training. She kept "break the tape" on her vision board all year. On race day, she trusted the goal enough to stop thinking about it.  Jennifer and I talk about what it actually takes to stay present when you have the win in sight, what it looked like to coach herself through an Ironman build after her husband and coach was no longer in that role, and when she thinks DNF is the right call and why she refuses to call it failure.  We also talk about what it looks like to train for Ironman as a working mom of three boys, and why Jennifer believes that every time she walks out the door to train, she is teaching them how to become men.  If you are carrying something behind your perfect profile picture, this episode is for you. Support the show If this conversation resonated, follow Strong Core and share it with another mother who needs to hear this. Connect on Instagram at @iris_strongcore for more conversations on mental and physical strength in motherhood and sport.

    55 min
See All Season 2 (3)

About

Strong Core is a podcast for mother-athletes who are figuring out who they are beyond the roles they play. Through honest conversations, we explore what it takes to pursue big goals while staying grounded in who you are at your core.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Iris Nafshi
  • Episodes
    13
  • Seasons
    2
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Strong Core Podcast
  • Show Website
    Strong Core Podcast

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