As women are living longer, pursuing higher education, and chasing athletic goals well into midlife, the decision if, when, or even how to have a baby has become increasingly complex, because the old formula of graduate, get married, have kids just doesn’t work the way it used to. So this week’s guest, Liz Carlson, created her own formula and after her decades-long pursuit of professional and athletic excellence, had her first baby at 43 and her second last year at age 52.

Liz is a former elite bike racer who was setting records and pushing U.S. women’s track cycling to the next level at an age when most track cyclists have long retired or hit the master’s circuit. She made the first-round cuts for the 2008 Olympic team in her late 30s, made the U.S. team again at age 41 and pursued a spot for the women’s team sprint at the 2012 Olympics. The Olympic dream wouldn’t come to fruition, but she broke records and discovered hidden talents and learned life lessons that stick with her to this day. You can read about that journey here. We talk about how our upbringing and adult life trajectory was affected by Title IX and the women’s movement of the 70s and (of course) menopause and what it’s like to have a baby in your fifties!

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