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What happens when the body that carried you through marathons suddenly starts changing the rules on you mid-stride…?

In this episode, I sit down with Whitney Heins — founder of The Mother Runners run community, host of the Mother Runners Podcast, and a lifelong runner who chased an Olympic Qualifying marathon time through years of frustrating injuries before becoming a certified running coach herself. Whitney knows the gap between what training is supposed to look like and what running through motherhood and perimenopause actually feels like… and she's here to talk about all of it.

We get into the realities of masters running: how shifting hormones change training, recovery, and injury risk as you move through perimenopause, why pelvic health belongs squarely in this conversation, and what it takes to stop rushing the comeback and start recovering smart. Whitney opens up about the mental side of injury — the pressure to bounce back fast, the identity tangled up in our race times — and how learning to reset goals instead of abandoning them can change your entire trajectory as an athlete. Plus, how raising active kids reshaped the way she thinks about her own running, and why staying open to doing things differently might be the most athletic move of all.

Whether you're a runner navigating perimenopause, a mom training around real life, or a clinician supporting active women through these transitions — this conversation is for you.

In this episode:

• Masters running and what really changes after 40
• Perimenopause, hormones & pelvic health for runners
• The mental load of injury recovery & the pressure to "bounce back"
• Resetting goals and expectations when your body shifts the rules
• Raising active kids — and what they teach us about our own training

Time Stamps

1:00 introduction

6:39 speaking “teenage boy”

10:04 training your daughter

14:30 navigating years of injury

17:55 deciding to find a new coach

23:55 talking more about perimenopause and menopause

29:45 hormone therapy in perimenopause and menopause

33:23 having guests on podcasts

39:43 being open to trying something different

43:50 rapid fire questions

CONNECT WITH CARRIE

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/

Website: https://carriepagliano.com

Course waitlist: https://course.carriepagliano.com/RSAWL

CONNECT WITH WHITNEY:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themotherrunners/

Website: www.themotherrunners.com

The Active Mom Podcast is A Real Moms' Guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond for active moms & the professionals who help them in their journey.

This show has been a long time in the making!

You can expect conversation with moms and professionals from all aspects of the industry.

If you're like me, you don't have a lot of free time (heck, you're probably listening at 1.5x speed), so theses interviews will be quick hits to get your the pertinent information FAST!

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