During the pandemic, I took exercise physiologist Dr. Stacy Sims’ courses Menopause For Athletes and Women Are Not Small Men.
Dr. Sims kept pointing to a haywire-looking graph and using the word “perturbed” to describe how estrogen and progesterone fluctuate during perimenopause and postmenopause (the decade leading to and the years after menopause) and how that would affect a woman’s ability to build and maintain muscle, recover from training, and soooooo many other things.
I just turned 50, and looking back over the past 5-7 years as an OC1 paddling athlete, I now understand why she chose that word.
Definition of Perturbed: Disturbed or disordered; thrown into confusion.
As an athlete, hormonal changes are perturbing!
What Changes Am I Talking About?
- Difficulty building muscle? Real.
- Feeling like I’m getting slower? Real.
- Taking longer to recover from workouts? Real.
- Losing muscle, gaining fat? Real.
- Hot flashes and generally feeling hot all the time? Real.
- Racing thoughts and waking up in the middle of the night? Real.
- Taking forever to get going in the morning? Real.
- Inflammation, joint pain, and stiffness when standing up? Real.
- More frequent soft tissue injury and pain? Real.
- Overwhelming anxiety or sudden rage? Real.
- Loss of mojo and desire to exercise? Real.
- Changes in appetite, metabolism, and thirst sensation? All real. And so much more!
If I had not taken Dr. Sims’ courses or started studying to become a Certified Menopause Coaching Specialist, I would be in the dark; left scraping together bits of information from podcasts, social media posts, library books and mainstream media articles. Women have historically been excluded from research. No doctor ever broached the subject with me, my mom never discussed it with me, and I am often the one to instigate the conversation among my fellow paddlers and friends. And if it did come up, most people would brush it off instead of acknowledging how real the changes are.
Normalizing the Conversation
I want us to normalize the conversation so that when women OC1 paddlers start to notice small changes and don’t feel quite like themselves in training and daily life—long before menopause or immediately after a medical event—they know that what they are experiencing is not imaginary, not to be brushed off, and not something to just tough out.
In hindsight, I recognize that changes to my recovery and response to training were already happening in my early 40s. The need to change how I approach being an athlete is real because my hormones are changing and misfiring all the time. It can feel like whiplash—some days feeling great, followed by physical and psychological chaos.
Here are a few things I have learned that I hope will help you understand and normalize what might be happening to you, what you’ve already been through or what is coming your way!
1. Do Not Expect Your Body to Stay the Same
Your body will change, and that’s normal.
What’s not normal is the limited version of how society presents aging women and the historical lack of honesty, acknowledgment, or acceptance around it.
When I resist or ignore the changes happening in my body, I feel powerless. If I don’t accept where I’m at, I’m less likely to make adjustments that work with my body instead of against it.
It has taken work to accept that change is normal. Staying the same is not. But just because we are changing doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. I can look at the research, try new things, and still get results.
2. Stop Comparing Yourself to a Past Version of You
Younger me and older me are different. Different hormones, different age, different body, different skill set.
Comparison is the thief of joy. There is nothing worse than comparing myself to my past self. Instead of trying to get back to my past training volume or frequency, I can adjust my training to be more suitable for where my body is now:
- Improve OC1 technique and move my body more efficiently.
- Focus on shoulder movement and posture to prevent injury.
- Train my paddling tempo and teach my body to sustain speed.
- Upgrade my OC1 brace stroke and refine my ocean and downwind skills.
When I stop comparing myself to my younger self, I can see more clearly where I am today and make choices for the athlete I am right now. This shift opens up new opportunities and keeps me engaged and challenged instead of frustrated or discouraged.
3. Don’t Tough It Out
Women are taught not to complain and to tolerate pain in silence. But when I “tough it out,” I end up feeling isolated and suffering more.
Perimenopause is not something we just “deal with.” Hot flashes and the other hundred things going on are real and incredibly stressful on the body. Lack of sleep and soft tissue changes make it harder to recover from training, so we need to do things differently.
When I lean into support systems—whether that’s a naturopath, a physician, a menopause specialist, or a coach—I can explore interventions that help smooth out the transition and improve my experience. This means I feel more in control and can still enjoy my life as an athlete.
4. Participate in the Changes
Aging doesn’t stop, but I have the opportunity to think and do things differently.
Instead of wondering what’s going on and letting hopelessness take over, I started talking, educating, and taking charge.
Instead of fighting change, I am adapting my training and my athletic approach.
To do this, I first have to acknowledge and accept what’s happening so I can see it clearly and be more adaptable and forgiving towards myself.
There is still nowhere near enough research on how women experience these changes and how to adapt training accordingly. But we can share what we are learning and support each other so that future generations are empowered and we are stronger together.
Every woman’s experience will be different. No one can tell you exactly how it will feel when your hormones start fluctuating, so you’ll need to tune in to your own experience.
I don’t have to be the same athlete I was. Frankly, I can’t be. So it’s better to be the athlete my body can be today—to practice tuning in and adapting, because tomorrow might feel different.
Since this is ongoing, I’ll share more specifics about what I’ve done differently in upcoming newsletters.
In the meantime, please share this! The more we talk about women’s physiology, the more we can help and support each other through this inevitable transition. 💛