If you are not against HRT, make an appointment with a physician associated with sotopelle. It has changed my life!

Good luck,

Nancy

Menopause doesn't automatically cause weight gain. For some people, you may see slight loss of muscle mass and slight gain in fat, because of hormonal changes. If you're seeing weight gain, perhaps you should have your thyroid checked?

Otherwise, keep up the training and in particular, if you have time, do some weight training twice a week to minimize loss of muscle mass.

BrokenSpoke

My fat has moved to my belly (like a man) and away from my hips. I'm using progesterone cream and DHEA pills to control the hot flashes that kept me awake at night. Like another poster said, doing something about the hormone drop changes life for the better. Exercise doesn't do enough to change this, if anything.

DHEA, by the way, is a banned substance on the WADA list, so if you think that you might finish on the podium in your inaugural effort, you wouldn't want to take that supplement. However, my sex hormones tested at virtually zero and my DHEA levels were too low as well. I don't know enough to say whether testing involves looking for normal levels or elevated levels, but my usage is to get UP to normal hormone levels again.

Anyway, taking action to feel better going through menopause also brought back my monthly friend :-/ Good luck to you in finding what works for you.

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DFL > DNF > DNS

Speaking from experience: You're training should help with the Menopause.

I hope so. It hasn't been horrible but the weight gain thing is annoying considering how hard I am working. Other than that the other issues are of a much more personal nature that I would like to solve.

Have fun on your Ironman journey. Hang in there! Celebrate each workout.

I read this and thought of you. I like the comments. Hope you find it helpful, too.

Note: The author is coach Gordo.


"Golden Rules For Your First IronmanHi There - I'm writing this from a very comfortable chair inside my editor's house in Auckland. One of the benefits of being an XTri columnist: Hurricane Bob-bring your family and we'll have a party down here. Over the last few months I've been in contact with many athletes who are contemplating their first crack at the IM distance. Their goals are very similar-they want to finish the race. Period. If they skip the med-tent and manage a smile, great. However, what they are looking for is some advice on how to make their journey as satisfying (and pain free) as possible. If this sounds familiar, then I hope you will find this article helpful. Call these The Golden Rules of Losing Your IronVirginity. Frankly, I think these points apply to everyone, and I need to constantly remind myself to avoid repeating my mistakes. These are the biggest mistakes I made in training for my first Ironman. They are also temptations that I constantly need to help others, as well as myself, avoid. Rule One: You don't have to kill yourself in training. So you've signed yourself up for an Ironman. You know it's a grueling race, so you better toughen yourself up by signing up for two marathons, half a dozen Century rides and a three-mile rough water swim. Not recommended! For me, endurance training is exactly like turning a Styrofoam cup inside out. So long as you take it slowly you'll be able to do it. Try to rush things and - rip - you'll tear the cup. You are the cup. Rule Two: Build technique and endurance in your first year. If you are making the jump up from Olympic or 1/2 IM racing, more than likely your greatest weakness is base endurance. Most first timers (myself included) have averaged less than ten hours a week in training the season before their first Ironman. Most of our previous training was done on feel, a little of this and a little of that. Laying out a sketch of the year is essential. The core of your week is your long slow distance session in each sport. Plan to build your swim up to 4K, your ride up to five hours and your run up to two and a half hours. I like to build up very slowly. Three weeks forward, one week back, repeat. I never add more than 5-10% in terms of duration in any week. You've got a lot of time, even if you are racing early in the season. Everybody has their own idea on distances and times, but I believe that it is better to be a little conservative on the long stuff. This will enable you to recover quickly, maintain consistency and avoid injury. The two most likely times for injury are during high-intensity training, and when you run long after a long ride. Avoid these kinds of sessions. A classic "Ironman Weekend" is a six-hour ride on Saturday followed by a three hour run on Sunday. These sessions are typically billed as "confidence builders". From my painful experience, however, these sessions are counterproductive. Lying on my couch with the ceiling gently spinning on a Sunday night left my confidence more shattered than built. Each time I tried it, I was destroyed until at least Wednesday. Spread your key sessions for best results. Rule Three: Focus on your key sessions and make your key sessions focused. With your key sessions laid out, the rest of the week is easy to plan. Add your other workouts so you get three sessions of each sport. You have one goal each week-hit your key sessions fresh and injury free. Everything else is filler. If you are whipped, take a rest day. If you are a little tired, use the session for skill and technique work. If you feel good, do some endurance work, but ensure that you finish wanting more. Do whatever it takes to arrive at the start of your key sessions feeling fresh. This leads nicely to volume. Volume is an interesting topic. We all love to talk about our monster training weeks (someday I might actually get fit enough to do one of those "average" training weeks in the IMH brochure). For your first IM, I don't believe volume matters. From what I have been able to observe in myself, and in others, the most important predictor of success is the quality of your key sessions rather than the overall volume of your sessions. So, if you are recovering well from your long sessions, don't sweat the volume. A word on your key sessions: If you are following these guidelines, make sure your long workouts are quality. Avoid long breaks and make sure that they are true endurance sessions that build your base. Know your HR training zones for endurance and stick with them. For me, long slow distance always starts at an easy pace, but after three hours on the bike, you are working no matter what the pace. Rule Four: Sleep is more valuable than training. I used to drag myself out of bed at all hours because my schedule said I had to ride X minutes at Y heart rate. By far, the best thing you can do if you are exhausted is to sleep. Better to miss a short workout on Thursday, than a whole weekend with an unexpected illness. Of course, going to bed an extra hour early every night is a better option than missing training. Weekend naps are also great for the working athlete. Keep them under an hour for best results. Rule Five: Forget about speedwork. Be honest with yourself. Are you expecting to run sub-four hours? Are you expecting to run the whole marathon? If the answer to either of these questions is "no", then I believe running speedwork is a complete waste of time. Some folks disagree with me on this point, but it is something that I firmly believe. A track session toasts me for 12-36 hours. If I am going to fry myself, then I want to do it in a manner that most benefits my race (i.e. a four to five hour ride). Rule Six: Recovery is your friend. Make sure that you drop the volume WAY down every four weeks. I've met many excellent athletes that look at me with a blank stare when I ask them about their recovery strategy. Your recovery strategy is the most important part of your plan. Recovery is when you will make all your fitness gains. Last year, the greatest change I made to my program was developing a clear recovery strategy. Nutrition, sleep, hydration. It worked wonders for me. Free speed. You should end every recovery week feeling fresh and dying to get back on it. If you don't feel like this after a week, then your total volume is likely too high. Note that I call it a recovery week rather than a rest week. I like to stay active in my recovery. I maintain frequency, but drop the volume and intensity way down. Rule Seven: Check your ego at the door. I struggle with this aspect of training (and life!). Any time you are in a group situation, there will always be someone who wants to go faster than you, or a swim coach that thinks that 10x100 fly would be a great way to kick off the session. In these situations, I swallow my pride and get dropped. It is tough, but eventually you get used to it, kind of. Know your session goals before you start and do everything you can to stick to your goals. Group rides are the most dangerous for me. The pace slowly creeps up and before you know it… hammer time! For that reason, I either ride alone or with friends that accept my pace in advance. My training pace is non-negotiable. Perhaps that's why I train alone so much. ;-) Rule Eight: Keep your eyes on the prize. Remember your goals when you decided to start this journey and keep the training fun. There is no point in putting all this time into the sport unless you are having a heck of a good time. When it all becomes a bit much (and it will eventually), back off and re-assess. The right answers will come to you. Another issue I struggle with is goal inflation. In December 1998, I was thinking that it would be nice to finish. By August 1999, I was thinking that 10:15 and a Kona slot were a very real possibility. Where did that come from?! Keep your time goals to yourself. At 7AM on race day, you'll have plen-tee-o-pressure. No need to make things tougher on yourself.

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I hope this helps a couple of folks avoid some of the mistakes I made. If you are racing California, Lake Placid or Canada, then look for the XTri cap and Aloha shirt. When you spot me, be sure to say "Hi!" We can swap stories about our monster workouts. gordo

This is awesome. Thank you so much for thinking of me and sharing this. I have been keeping a file with these sorts of things. I love that I have something new to add to it.

At about 2 years post menopause my training took a serious nose dive. I could not tolerate heat at all, i was tired and lethargic all the time and just had an overall feeling of blah. A friend (non exerciser) recommened a gyno who specializes in treatment for menopause. This doc not only replaces estrogen but also testosterone. All done by pellets inserted under the skin for absorption so no side effects from digestion. Thhe testosterone is key and I feel better than I have in a year. Not all gynos will do testosterone replacement for women but research shows it is a valid therapy.

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Nor do I use punctuation in the way a child sprinkles glitter over a ribbon of glue on construction paper - Trash Talk

I have completed 9 IM races since going into menopause. I had a hyst. early in life and menopause symptoms soon followed. The first few months I suffered with hot flashes, night sweats, low sex drive, horrible skin, no energy, belly fat etc. My husband was not happy and I was miserable. I talked to 3 doctors before I found someone to listen to me. I wanted someone take my symptoms and desire to participate in endurance sports seriously. I chose to do compounded HRT.
Some HRT is not approved by WADA to the best of my knowledge so if you are Kona bound you will want to take WADA rules with you when you visit your doctor. FYI...look for a doctor who understands endurance sports. I found an internist/endo who also races.

>>Some HRT is not approved by WADA<<

Exactly.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

Hi there:

What a great thread and replies . . . I can speak from experience on this one. I went through menopause about four years ago -- on the early side, which I'll attribute to all the exercise. It was very rough for eight months, then slowly settled down. I was on the verge of taking HRT countless times (even have a packet sitting unopened in my bathroom), but here in the UK they limit you to a 3-year prescription, and I didn't want to have to experience any of these symptoms twice, so I ground through it. Now I'm exceedingly glad I did, and am now feeling 'normal'. It's a new normal, but that's fine. What I learned:

-- early in the transition, you suddenly notice that you're sore in the joints rather than in the muscles. That's resolved now, and I'm back to being sore in the muscles :>
-- your metabolism definitely changes and energy you used to take for granted must be mustered. It's a good focus though, and helps you feel in control when you accomplish your goals. But it is important that you don't dwell on past times/pbs/abilities. While I do think it's possible to train back up to a previous level after you're through menopause, comparing against old stats during the transition will make you miserable. It's kind of like pregnancy in that way, the playing field is shifting too hard for comparisons to make sense.
-- I'm pretty convinced (with no evidence at all) that female hormones buffer pain (which explains female mood around PMT time -- you simply hurt more). You also hurt more during menopause. This sucks, but the consolation is that you grow accustomed to it, and eventually the sensitivity fades away.
-- your skin thins, making you more prone to chafing and blisters
-- your sleep is disrupted very easily: by a snorer (buy custom-made earplugs), and especially by alcohol.
-- I have essentially stopped drinking because I need my sleep to make every bit of growth hormone I can eke out -- waking up for an hour at 3:00 a.m. due to alcohol rebound negates any training gains, and leaves you subject to overtraining wayyyy too easily.
-- An odd one: you become much less sensitive to social opinion, which actually makes it easier to go your own way with how and why you train.

On the positive side, I'm training for my first IM this year and have found that the long, slow distance has been fantastic for my fitness, mood, and sense of well being. And I'm fitter than I've ever been in my life.

Another positive: if you're training consistently through menopause, you will look and feel 1,000x better than others who aren't doing the exercise.

Good luck!

http://www.yearoftrainingdangerously.blogspot.com

Great Post kiki, thank you for your personal experiance.
I don’t take medications for anything, I have given birth 3 times without pain relief, not because I am a martyr but because I chose to let my natural endorphins take care of the processes that my body was designed for. Mind you I did have small babies.:-)
Menopause is a new experience for me and an area I have not thought of much, your post is great for my motivation into my next stage in life.

I think I need to save this post Kiki. That's good information and I need to remember that menopause is not a permanent state but a transitional one.

I have been in peri menopause for over 3 years now. I'm 48. Something has shifted in a negative way. I've had disrupted sleep from night sweats for over 3 years, but now I've no libido, extra weight that won't come off no matter what (all around the belly darn it!)
and a very fuzzy brain. I'm just about to start HRT and am working with an experienced compounding pharmacist (a woman!) and nutritinionist who is is an endurance athlete in her mid 50's. All my sex hormones tested as low or non existant.

I feel fortunate that I don't experience anxiety, or headaches as well. But 3 years of disrupted sleep and training for long course and IM is taking a toll. I am hopeful to have some relief from the constant nightsweats, the disgusting feeling of being soaked and then chilled many times a night, and to want to chase my hubby around the bed again! ;) Fingers crossed!

I have been lurking on here for a couple of months and I just wanted to say thank you for this thread. I was beginning to think I was a freak of nature or simply going insane. So many things from Kiki's post ring true for me (skin more prone to chafing/breakdown, don't care what other people think, etc.) I also have a lot of rage. My DH says that boys have to fight the rage all of the time once they hit puberty, so it makes sense that having less estrogen allows my testosterone to get out of control. Ironman training is good to help me smooth it out.

My GYN doesn't know if I'm perimenopausal or menopausal, but since we don't know and I am in the range of childbearing (39), I am still taking birth control pills which double as a bit of hormone replacement therapy. It does not help the night sweats, though. What has helped me a lot is topical estrogen cream.

Thanks sisters...I have been wondering how menopause is affecting other endurance athletes, and I finally found some good information. Yes, it is a drag that we aren't researched more, but at least we have each other. I see many symptoms listed that resonate with me...aching joints, insecurities, lack of interest in training. Nice to know I am not alone, and nice to see on one post at least that it may pass. I am 55 and about 8 months into menopause; doing what I think may be the bioidentical hormone therapy. I could stand the hot flashes etc. but the mood swings were making me feel crazy and out of control!! Sometimes it feels like the tendons and ligaments in my body are "loose" for lack of a better descriptor, kind of like they aren't going to hold me together? Anyone else experience that one? Thanks again gals!!

I wonder if this is the reason my tendons have been giving me all kinds of problems for the last several months. I'm 49 and have been experiencing many of the same things you all are describing. Strike that -- ALL of the same symptoms you're describing. I've been wondering why my tendons have been giving me so much trouble and never put two and two together til now. No hormone replacement therapy for me yet, because I'm still on b.c. pills (what my doc described as a form of hormone replacement therapy). How does one know when to go off the bc pills and onto HRT?