Racing While On Your Period

Really uterus, today?! Waking up on race day with your period may make you curse the triathlon gods. However, Feisty Team Head Coach Miranda Bush wants you to know that you can perform your best at any point in your cycle. In fact, racing on your period could even make you feel #blessed.

Text By Miranda Bush

I am racing this week!

Yes, I did race a couple weeks ago — but that race was not an “A” race. I had thrown it into my schedule last minute as a way to be more prepared for this week. Did I show up and give my all? Did I love it and have loads of sweaty, heart pounding fun? Absolutely!

But this Sunday I get to race the distance I have been preparing for now for years: Lubbock 70.3. And according to Garmin Connect I will get my period three days before my big "A" race. YAY! This is good news!

Now, before I continue, I am sure that statement and reaction stirs up conflicting thoughts and feelings. Some of you are curious or feeling empathetic. Some of you are grossed out, irritated, or unsure. Some of you are fist pumping, smiling, and clapping—relieved that someone is willing to acknowledge a real part of being a menstruating female athlete. 

I urge you all to stay with me (men and women), even if it makes you a little uncomfortable. It is OK to say period. And tampon, menstruating, vagina, bleeding, uterus, menstruating, etc. And sometimes, as athletes, we get our periods before or even during a big race.

It is up to all of us to change the conversation around periods for female athletes of all ages. 

Why You Need to Talk About Your Period and Cycle As An Athlete

• Female athletes need to be able to talk to coaches and other mentors about their menstrual cycles and how they feel during different times of the month. We need to be more open on this topic so that we can inform others when we miss periods, which can be indicators (but not the only ones!) of Low Energy Availability (LEA) and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S). The more open and comfortable girls and women are, the more of the chance they have to continue in their sport as healthy athletes. 

• Women need to be able to discuss our monthly and life cycles in order to work with them to keep performing at our full capacity in our sport. When we can talk openly about our physiology we can more easily work with it.

• Men can support women by checking their own biases surrounding female-related topics and allowing open conversation at home, on the field, track, court, etc. Men can model this behavior for younger boys. Male coaches, rid your minds of the negative stigma surrounding bleeding, seek education on LEA and RED-S, and stop considering girls and women missing their periods as normal or even a positive in training/racing. 

Racing on my period: How will I train and think like a woman before and during the race

You also might find it confusing that I am sincerely hopeful that Garmin Connect is correct. I am a perimenopausal woman with irregular cycles, and so nothing is a given. But, I would rather have my period during a five-hour race than try to perform my best during the seven days leading up to menstruation because of the physical and hormonal changes during that part of the cycle. I will happily, instead, accept my fate of carrying tampons and a potential bloody mess. 

AND, the great news is that I am also confident that if things change (as they often do), and my period is late, I have the tools to mentally and physically work WITH my unique female physiology to understand and mitigate symptoms of the high hormone phase of my cycle. 

• As an educated female coach working with female athletes I have a lot of information readily available to serve me… or, if I allow it, derail me. I get to choose how I use it. I will remain intentional in reminding myself to stay present and connected to my mind. I will seek understanding and aim to not dwell, but to trust my body and knowledge. I will visualize potential obstacles and success. I will practice mindfulness and focus on thoughts that serve my goal. I will use my knowledge as a strength, not as a reason to panic or make excuses. 

• I will remain physically aware and connected to my body. I will mitigate PMS symptoms— starting seven days ahead of my period by taking a cocktail of 250mg of magnesium, 45mg of Zinc, 80mg of baby aspirin, and 1 gram of fish oil. 

• I will focus on my predetermined protein intake, specifically high in leucine. I will prepare a protein shake for Jamie to bring to the finish line to drink within 30 minute of my finish to promote recovery. If I get my period, I will keep my carb intake the same (women don’t benefit from carb loading like men do!). If not, I will focus on taking in extra carbs during the race. 

• If I have PMS for the race I will up my sodium intake pre-race even more than planned to accommodate shedding more sodium. I will take Tums to combat GI distress. 

• I will be mindful of staying cool in the 24 hours before the race. I will freeze my nutrition bottles and apply sunscreen on race day. I will use my knowledge and experience as a long-time athlete and coach to plan to dial back my effort accordingly to accommodate the 95+ degree forecast. No excuses, but smart execution for my endurance race. 
• I will not leave things to chance while traveling! I will have a plan and take whatever I think I may not find near our VRBO.

So, bleeding or not, I am ready. I am thankful for my knowledge and embrace my physiology. 

I will show up as a feisty female to kick ass. 

****

Miranda Bush is the Feisty Team Head Coach and Educator. She is also a USAT Level I and Training Peaks Level 2 certified coach and an ACE certified Health Coach. She is the owner and head coach of MB Coaching and the Zone Racing Team. Her passion lies in using lessons from training and racing to improve all of life and ultimately make you a more content, well-rounded athlete and person.