Getting ready for the big 4-0 and fitness over 40!

fitness over 40

Hello everyone. It’s me and I am still 39 but only for one more week! It’s time to start thinking ahead to what fitness over 40 will look like for me.

Over the weekend I was talking with another woman about my upcoming 40th and she told me don’t worry, my daughter told me, “Mom. you are not 40, you are 30-TEN!” I love it! So next week I will be 30-TEN. It seems a bit crazy to me to be facing this age. I still vividly remember my moms surprise 40th birthday which really doesn’t feel like that long ago. My 30’s have whizzed by. I was pregnant at 30 and having my first child at 31 and after that life just went on fast forward. It really does go faster when you have kids. But its a fast filled with love, adventure and laughter and a lot of learning too that’s for sure!

Now that I am headed into my 40’s I am determined to stay fit and strong. I actually feel the most physically fit that I have since I was in my 20’s when I was rowing at Colby College and also in a lightweight development rowing program in Philadelphia. While my fitness goals have changed my determination and desire to go after my goals has not. I am super proud of the athletic goals that I accomplished in my 30’s which include qualifying for my first Boston Marathon post babies no lees (I have since run 3 and hope to run my fourth in the spring but still waiting to hear from the B.A.A. to see if I my time was fast enough to squeak in!). After having experienced a few injuries, I switched gears a bit away from solely running to give my body a bit of a break by changing up how I was working out. After becoming hooked on triathlon at my first Olympic Triathlon I decided why not go big and signed up for my first Half Ironman. I have now raced the Timberman Half Ironman twice and am already registered to race the Mont Tremblant Half Ironman next summer and the Lake Placid Half Ironman next fall. In addition to those huge feats I have raced many other races, many other distances including the VT 100 on 100 Relay as a Women’s Ultra Team completing a total distance of 36 miles and I have also completed several trail marathons including my most favorite, The North Face Endurance Challenge in Park City, Utah.

Goals for Fitness over 40!

Strong and Fit

Running and Triathlon

So what lies ahead for me with fitness over 40? I know that at some point I will begin to slow down but I am not ready for that yet. With my focus switching over a bit more to triathlon there is a whole new world of P.R.’s ahead of me! This sport is still so new and I feel like every time I hit the road for a ride or hop in the pool for a swim I am learning something new or gaining new strength and more laps and miles under my belt. I am not sure what lies ahead for me and marathons. I have NYC coming up in November which will be my first official marathon as a 40 year old! Then we’ll see about Boston. After that, it’s a big question mark???? With my heart belonging to triathlon at the moment I may dial back my running distance to half marathons or shorter at least for a bit. I do love middle distances! The half marathon is such a fun distance too and their are so many fabulous half marathons out there to run.

Strength Training

Strength training will always be a focus. Strength training is an important element in run and triathlon training and was one thing that I neglected for awhile in my 30’s. Neglecting strength training is one of the things that led to trouble with injury. I will never make that mistake again! Strength training over 40 has awesome health benefits too such as helping decrease the risk of osteoporosis, improving athletic performance, injury risk reduction, fighting depression and more.

Cross Training

In addition to all of my endurance sports goals I also want to make sure that I maintain a balance of cross-training into my fitness schedule. I plan on doing yoga, spinning (there is a new spinning studio in town!), stand-up paddleboarding during the summer months. I hope to try some new things as well such as Pi-Yo and TRX.

Run Coaching and/or personal training?

Another fitness quest that I am still toying with is the possibility of getting my run coaching certification and/or even my personal trainer certification. If I had these certifications then I would be able to up my game on providing you with tips and tricks and workouts right here on the blog. These things would be a great addition to my site don’t you think?

Are you over 40? What are your fitness goals right now?