Turning forty can feel like a big deal. When you are a youngster, this milestone seems almost an eternity away and pretty old indeed. Then just like that life flies by at a rapid pace and it creeps up on you. While you probably don’t feel old in your head, your body is now preventing you from ignoring the fact that you’re now middle aged and not the energy-filled twenty-something you once were. Metabolism slows, which makes weight gain more of an issue than ever. Energy levels also tend to drop and don’t even talk about recovering from one too many drinks. It can be easy to think it is all downhill from here, but in truth you shouldn’t stop living life to the fullest. For that reason I will now give you five great reasons to start triathlon in your 40s. It might just give you that new lease of life and the challenge you are after.
1) It’s Great For All Round Fitness.
Practicing any sport is better than living a sedentary life, but triathlon must surely be up there as one of the best options for all round fitness. The combination of swimming, cycling and running develops all muscle groups. It also helps maintain a healthy skeleton in the way other sports don’t.
When I was a racing cyclist as a younger man, my legs were my greatest asset. I was proud of them. Not only were they powerful, but they were tanned and well defined. Go above my waist though and it was a different story. Cycling doesn’t tend to recruit muscles of the upper body and so I often considered myself to have somewhat of a T- Rex physique. Legs of steel but arms of somebody who had been shipwrecked!
Each of the three disciplines of triathlon have their own benefits, but also have their drawbacks too. Practice each of these sports on their own and you’ll need to somehow offset these limitations like the twig-armed issue with cycling.
By combining swimming, cycling and running, you are ticking virtually every box when it comes to overall physical health and together they tend to eradicate the limitation of the individual sports. Let’s now take a look at the main advantages and also the limitations of each one.
Swimming
This is a sport which tones all muscles in the body and works wonders for the cardiovascular system. Professional swimmers must surely have some of the best physiques of all sports people. The feeling of moving through the water is also great for mental health. You can properly switch off from normal life, when you’re immersed in the underwater environment. I sometimes emerge from a thirty minute swim having really thought of nothing. A perfect remedy after a whole day teaching a class of eight year olds!
The main limitation of swimming is that is non-weight bearing and doesn’t help maintain a healthy bone density as you advance in years. Thankfully, the running part of triathlon more than deals with this.
Cycling
As already mentioned, cycling is one of the best sports you can do to develop a strong aerobic capacity. The nature of cycling means it is also a sport you can enjoy for several hours at a time if you fancy it. The same can’t be said for many others. You’d be exhausted in a far shorter time span. Finally, cycling works wonders in burning calories and shaping an excellent lower body. If you want to shed weight, then cycling is a great way to do it.
The main draw back is of course that the muscles of the upper body are massively under-used when compared to those in your legs. Being on the bike also means it is a non-impact sport. Great when it comes to offsetting injuries but not so good in maintaining a healthy bone density and overall strength. Seeing as I’ve mentioned this issue twice now, please click here to find out more about its importance.
Running
Contrary to the other two disciplines, running offers plenty of impact and so is great at maintaining a strong and healthy skeleton. In addition, it tones the muscles of the legs and also your core, as you work to hold a good running form. There are also no opportunities to free wheel or glide for a few moments in this sport. The effort can feel relentless. While you may curse this fact at times when out there on the trail, it sure is time efficient. Very handy if you have a busy family and working life.
The negative side of running must surely be the risk of injury. The repeated pounding on the ground can wreak havoc with your knees, ankles and leg muscles in general. I tried exclusively running for several months on the run up to my 40th birthday and kept getting niggles. Interestingly, those have all gone since I added swimming, cycling and the odd gym session too. I like to think my less ‘ one dimensional’ fitness improvement has been a large contributing factor.
2) You Get To Experience Some Wonderful Places
Yes you could do almost all of your training indoors like the professional Iron Man competitor Lionel Sanders has done. It is safe, time efficient and actually necessary if you live in a place with a severe climate like he does.
If you start triathlon in your 40s though and take each discipline outside, you have the chance to explore much of your local area and further afield too in a way you maybe haven’t done before.
Cycling has taken me all over the country and enabled me to get to know virtually every country lane in my local area. The odd country pub or five may have been discovered along the way too. I certainly wouldn’t have known about them had I stuck the bigger roads in my car.
Cycling also really allows you to intimately get to know the landscape of an area. You experience every uphill and speedy descent, which you just can’t appreciate as much in a car. It might burn on the way up a tough climb, but the views and satisfaction when reaching the summit are hard to beat.
Exploring On Foot
Running allows you to get properly off road and explore every park in your local area if you so desire. Park Runs are now a massive thing across the world and provide you with the chance to enter a free 5k event every Saturday morning. As the name might suggest, they are almost exclusively held in parks, with a mix of trail and paths being negotiated.
You can of course travel further afield to explore some more varied areas. In the few short months I’ve been running, I have conquered mountain summits, crossed moorland, found my way in and out of forests and run along rugged coastlines. Even if the terrain is challenging and you find yourself walking up some of the climbs, being immersed in nature like this is just great for the soul. I’d argue that everybody would feel better if they did this regularly.
Open Water Swimming
I’ve only recently discovered this after taking up triathlon, but what a discovery it has been. You get almost all the benefits of being in a pool, but added extras too. There are no lanes to stick to and once again you feel totally at one with nature. Having to give way to a goose on a lake for the first time is a weird experience, but it’s a wonderful one too.
3) You Can Meet So Many New People When You Start Triathlon In Your 40s
A stranger is a friend you haven’t yet. That’s a saying I remember my dad telling me as a kid and it certainly rings true in the world of triathlon. There are many options when it comes to meeting other like-minded triathletes if you so desire. You could of course join separate running, cycling and swimming clubs and there are also many specific triathlon clubs local to you.
I have sampled a couple of these locally and found members to be a very friendly and welcoming bunch. While I currently do most of my training alone due to time constraints, I do hope to properly join one of them during the winter months. I’ve no doubt that the training and relationships I develop with others will help me through the off-season.
4) The Equipment
With three separate disciplines to cater for and an equipment list that can easily seem to spiral out of control, you may well wonder why I’ve included this as a reason to start triathlon in your 40s. It certainly isn’t the cheapest sport to take up that’s for sure.
What is wonderful though is that you can almost spend as much or as little as you like on your equipment. A basic bike, running shoes, triathlon suit and wet suit is more than enough to get started. These can all be done very cheaply too if you turn to the second hand market like I did. It really doesn’t have to break the bank.
If you’re a bit of a geek when it comes to certain equipment and the benefits of each, then you’ll have an absolute blast becoming a triathlete.
Start with the bike and you’ve got so many factors to consider. Do you buy a road bike or triathlon specific bike? Should you opt for clip-in pedals and all the benefits they offer? What about the helmet? Which one will be most comfortable and quickest when trying to cut through the air? There are so many things to consider, but the journey in addressing them can be pretty fun indeed.
Running & Cycling Gear
Move onto your running and you need to find the perfect shoes for you. There are so many models to choose from and you mustn’t forget that a gait analysis is probably needed if you are a complete newbie. I personally headed to Up and Running in Oxford with a keen running friend and I came away with some shoes that perfectly suited me. I’ve been very happy with them and would highly recommend investing in a pair. Click here to find out more about them. The whole process is pretty interesting, as you learn about how your body behaves when you run.
Then there’s the swimming. Various Tri suits are available to suit every budget along with wet suits and goggles. Each brand and model offers its own unique selling point and it’s sometimes a journey of trial and error to work out what works for you. That was certainly the case when I was time trialing. Be prepared to spend lots of time researching different items and asking the opinions of more seasoned triathletes.
5) The Variety Keeps It Fun
When I just focused on cycling, I found myself getting bored of competing and fell out of love with the sport. I know of many other sportspeople who have experienced the same thing.
Although still new to triathlon, the variety in training keeps it interesting. Each discipline feels very different from the other and it is wonderful going for a run in the park one day to swimming in a lake the next.
You could argue that competing feels the same way. I have completed several long distance time trials of a hundred miles or more and each seemed to get pretty boring after the three hour mark.
No matter how long the triathlon event is, you always have another discipline to look forward too, which can be good for motivation and morale.
There is also the challenge of being good at all three disciplines. Every athlete will have strengths and weaknesses across the three sports and it is a great challenge to work on your weaknesses to better compliment your strengths. I’m certainly looking forward to this.
Some Thoughts From Other Middle Aged Triathletes
I decided to join some triathlon specific groups on social media and asked other 40 somethings to share their reasons for starting triathlon along with the journey so far. Have a read about some below and hopefully it’ll inspire you even more to start triathlon in your 40s.
I did my first triathlon at 30 and did a few more but stopped after having kids about at 34. Got back into them again after turning 40 and now doing some of my best ever times and picking up win or podiums at local events. Michael Donnelly
Started at 45 after breaking my neck in a dirt bike accident. Never would have done triathlon if that hadn’t happened. The journey since has been amazing. Life is very different now. First sprint tri a year after fusion surgery with lots of events since. The Valencia Ironman 70.3 is next year. Now in my 50’s. Andy Jones
I started in my 50s. Just completed a half iron man I’m totally hooked now. Sarah Woodiwiss
I started in my mid 40s. Three years of doing Olympic and 70.3 and I entered my first full distance race in Austria. Now at 67 I am still doing it …… not quite as fast but love the training and lifestyle it brings. Peter Overvoorde
First triathlon at 48! Now 55 and still going! Eventually I’ll be the only one in my age group so maybe I’ll get a podium place! Judi Ebbrell
Welcome to the club!
I started because I used to be a long distance cyclist and sort of ran out of challenges.
My mum used to be an incredible athlete and was never able to follow it due to circumstances and family pressures and then was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at around 50 which robbed her of mobility and her mind. I decided that I’d like to do an Iron man because Mum would never be able to.
I started tri and working my way up the distances until I hit full Iron distance last year. Mum died shortly before hand so was never able to see me do it. It also blew my training out of the water for several months. I decided that I was going to do it no matter what! It was an emotional finish line for so many reasons!
On the journey I became a Level 2 British triathlon coach and am looking at Iron number 2 next year. Chris Hamlin