How to Train and Race Around Your Cycle: The Performance Edge Most Women Are Ignoring

You're not going crazy. The same session genuinely does feel completely different depending on the week. And if nobody has ever explained why, this episode is for you.In this episode Poppy breaks down exactly how your menstrual cycle affects your running performance from a sports science perspective — not a wellness one. How oestrogen and progesterone create four genuinely different physiological environments across the month, what that means for your heart rate, fuel utilisation, recovery, thermoregulation and sleep — and the practical nutrition and lifestyle tools you can use across each phase to keep your training intensity without burning out.Including why a 10k run in the luteal phase might need a gel when the same run in the follicular phase needs nothing. Why your zone 2 pace being 30 seconds slower in week three isn't your fitness dropping. Why highly symptomatic periods might be a deficiency problem as much as a cycle problem. And what to actually do when race day lands in your luteal phase.This isn't cycle syncing. It's practical adaptation, the tools in the toolbox that make each phase more manageable so you can stay consistent across a full training block.Running series episode two. Episode one, What Actually Gets You From Good to Fast — is live now if you haven't listened yet.Fuel Her Fire 2.0 launches September 15th. 12-week progressive half marathon programme with cycle-aware nutrition, RPE and pace calculators, and bi-weekly check-ins. DM HALF to @poppy.nfc to secure your space — limited numbers.