There’s a very specific kind of fatigue that shows up in this season. It’s not the “I watched too many videos and sabotaged my bedtime” tired. It’s deeper. It settles into your bones. It makes runs that used to feel automatic suddenly feel heavier, even when your brain is fully ready to work.
For so many peri- and postmenopausal athletes, this chapter becomes a strange mix of still wanting to feel strong and capable while also trying to understand why your energy suddenly feels unpredictable. And if you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, “Why does running feel harder than it used to?” I promise you’re not alone.
This isn’t a sign you’re losing your edge. It’s not laziness, and it’s not a lack of discipline. It’s physiology shifting underneath you and asking for a new playbook.
Let’s break down what’s really going on when fatigue ramps up in menopause.
Your Hormones Aren’t the Enemy — They’re Just Changing the Rules
Estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone don’t just handle reproductive health. They influence recovery, inflammation, sleep quality, hydration, energy production, and how your nervous system responds to stress. When those hormones fluctuate or decline, the tolerance you once had for higher volume or sharper intensity starts to shift too.
That doesn’t make you weaker. You didn’t lose capacity. Your operating system is updating, and the “old settings” don’t run as smoothly anymore. You’re not trying to get back to your former self — you’re learning how to train the version of you that exists today.
Your Nervous System Is Working Overtime
That wired-but-tired feeling? The 3 a.m. wakeups? The random irritability? None of that is personal failure. It’s your nervous system recalibrating. Hormone shifts change how you process stress, how quickly you downshift after hard training, and how much recovery your brain needs alongside your muscles.
Your body isn’t saying “stop.” It’s saying “support me differently.” And when you give it that support, your resilience becomes next-level.
Fueling Becomes Non-Negotiable
This is the part most athletes underestimate. Fatigue in this chapter rarely comes from “not trying hard enough.” It comes from not fueling enough for the training you’re doing.
Menopausal physiology requires more protein, more strategic carbohydrates, more sodium, more consistent meals, and more pre-run fueling than you needed in your thirties. Not because you’re doing something wrong, but because the hormonal buffer that once let you get away with under-eating isn’t there anymore.
The truth: you can train hard in menopause. You just have to fuel like you mean it.
And if this piece feels confusing, overwhelming, or like a complete 180 from how you were taught to eat as an athlete, my Fuel Like You Mean It guide breaks it all down in a way that’s actionable and rooted in physiology, not fear.
Your Training Needs a Tune-Up — Not a Downgrade
Menopause isn’t your invitation to go smaller. It’s your invitation to train smarter.
Recovery becomes part of the plan, not something you squeeze in if you remember. Strength work moves from optional to foundational. Intensity becomes intentional. Sleep becomes a performance tool. Rest stops being something you apologize for.
Think:
more protein
more strength
more sleep
more intentional recovery
more pacing by feel
smarter intensity
This is not decline. It’s progression with precision.
You Don’t Need Permission to Adjust
If you’re listening to your body and shifting your strategy when fatigue hits, that’s not you slowing down — that’s you evolving as an athlete. You’re not losing your identity. You’re deepening it.
And the athletes who thrive in this chapter aren’t the ones who try to pretend nothing changed. They’re the ones who adapt with purpose.
What Support Looks Like Right Now
If you’re in this season thinking, “I still want to run well. I still want to challenge myself. I just want to feel good doing it,” then you’re already on the path.
If you need structure, guidance, and strength programming that meets the physiology of this chapter, Thrive³ gives you the blueprint to stay powerful, capable, and confident as a masters or menopausal athlete.
If your fatigue feels confusing and you’re not sure whether it’s hormones, training load, or under-fueling, start with my Low Energy Availability framework inside the Fuel Like You Mean It guide. It walks you through exactly how to identify the gaps and rebuild energy from the ground up.
You’re not losing ground. You’re learning a new way to build it — one that honors this season and still supports where you want to go.
You’re in the strongest era of your athletic life. You just need the right tools to match it.
When you’re ready, here’s your starting point: Fuel Like You Mean It