The flirtation had started on the mats at our upscale gym in Santa Monica, Calif., lasted through months of my staring at the star tattoos on his oversize calves, through heart-racing banter by the weight machines, on to Facebook messages, which never went the way I wanted. It ended, finally, at our stalemate.

-ANNA DIMOND for THE WASHINGTON POST

  LIKE HER FORMER-PRO PEERS, THERE WASN'T A ROADMAP FROM COMPETITION TO WHAT FELT, AT FIRST, LIKE A MORE MUNDANE EXISTENCE. BUT WITH COMPARTMENTALIZATION, PROCESSING AND TIME -- PLUS SOME CATHARSIS, SUCH AS WHEN SHE LAID DOWN ON THE KITCHEN FLOOR ONE DAY WHEN HER KIDS WERE SMALL AND SOBBED -- SHE EVENTUALLY SETTLED INTO ACCEPTANCE.

-ANNA DIMOND FOR ESPN