33. Dr. Lauren Puretz, OBGYN and ultra-runner, on "balance", prioritizing personal goals, negotiating, and starting your own practice

Moms of Medicine

"I wanted to maintain my running and then work was catching up and I think that's when it got kind of crazy in terms of you know I'm trying to do too much. And when you have too many balls in the air waiting until they hit the ground and a lot of problems with mariage, a lot of problems with kids, and a lot of problems at work. That was when I was like 'I need to figure out what to do here because I can't continue like this. It's time to prioritize. I don't want to look back and have my husband hate me, my kids hate me, I hate my life, my job.' That was kind of a big time that I needed to consider what to do."
This episode is with Dr. Lauren Puretz, who is a board certified OBGYN practicing gynecology in Colorado, an elite ultrarunner, a wife, and a mother to 2 children.
In this episode we talk about:
- How her relationhsip with exercise evolved in different phases of parenthood and her medical career
- Being married to another physician, who is a neurologist
- How and why she chose to give up obstetrics and focus on gynecology
- Finding the time to train for and race ultra distances while also working as an obgyn, being a wife, and being a mom
- Big changes at her prior job that led her to consider either leaving medicine altogether or opening her own practice
- The decision to start her own practice, and the logistics and challenges that went into this
- Her thoughts on "doing it all" (spoiler alert - you can't)
Connect with Moms of Medicine:
- Instagram @moms_of_medicine
- [e-mail]
Connect with Lauren:
- Instagram @Lauren1642