Skiing, Running, and Mountain Biking After Age 40: How a Former Competitive Athlete Approaches Health and Fitness in Her 40s With Patience
What’s it like to balance motherhood, working, skiing, running, and mountain biking after age 40?
Sarah Kennedy explains how she tells herself and her children, “I can do hard things”.
Sarah is a working mom who has loved running her entire life. She recalls her dad running during the jogging boom and how she and her siblings would participate in the local 5ks.
After completing college, Sarah continued to run, sometimes for 8-9 hours a day.
She also found a passion for mountain bike racing and was a competitive high level athlete in her 20s. During the running podcast interview, Sarah answers the question, “Does running help with mountain biking?”. Spoiler alert- the answer is yes!
Balancing cycling and running gave her an additional challenge. Although swimming didn’t come naturally to her, she completed some off-road triathlons and even finished an Ironman Triathlon!
Like most runners and cyclists after age 40, Sarah started seeing her times increase and struggled with the slow down.
She didn’t complete any races for a long time. She faced an arthroscopic knee surgery and told herself, “I’m not too old yet to stop running”.
Running after knee surgery presented new challenges but Sarah was ready to meet them. She joined a running group and started changing up her training. Sarah was surprised to find a different approach really worked for her and she recommends:
- Progression runs
- Run walk workouts for speedwork
- Running three time per week
- Not running on consecutive days
"Keep experimenting and keep up with it- I would like to be the old person out there still running"
Regarding cross training for running, Sarah continues to enjoy mountain biking, cycling, and even cross country skiing.
Balancing running and skiing gives her yet another fitness challenge.
Because Sarah travels for work, she expresses gratitude for getting to go running all over the world.
She notes that it’s given her a chance to get a feel for different locations and cultures and see things she never would have had the opportunity to see.
For runners and cyclists after age 40 looking to stay healthy , Sarah recommends:
Sarah finds motivation within, but she also just reminds herself how much better she will feel if she gets up and does a workout.
Almost everyone can relate as she explains how hard it can be to get out of bed. She highlights how important it is to build habits and feel the benefits of exercise after age 40.
Finally, Sarah looks ahead as 50 is on the horizon. She wants to be “the old person who keeps moving’.
She will keep experimenting and keeping up with running, cycling, and mountain biking after 40 for as long as she can!
Check out our latest posts about staying fit after 40!
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