As endurance athletes, we are highly skilled at interpreting physical signals of training stress. However, when hormonal transition, illness, and continued athletic training converge — in my case, when a progesterone-releasing intrauterine device (IUD) expires at the onset of perimenopause and is followed by a significant infection like pneumonia — the body enters a very different state. In this context, traditional models of training stress and recovery no longer fully apply. What emerges...

It is really kind of outrageous, the hold that qualifying for Boston has on so many runners. It means so much to us to hit this arbitrary time. We believe that it validates our hard work. We believe that it confirms that what we are doing is meaningful in some tangible way. It is something for us to strive towards, something to keep us dedicated to a task, but sometimes we let it distract us from the truth that what we are doing is meaningful and valid no matter what. When we let that...

One of my all time favorite books is Letters to a Young Poet by Ranier Maria Rilke. It is the greatest book to read when you are going...