When will I stop?

My racing age this year is 60 and already and I have received way too many questions on - when will I be stopping triathlon. Is 60 some sort of magic number when people have totally different expectations of what we should be doing? The answer seems like yes because this is the most that I have ever been asked this question.

Where is this expectation of stopping at 60 coming from? I suspect it’s the usual society narrative which comes from history and previous generations. There were not a lot of 60+ year old women doing triathlon racing or any sports for that matter over the previous 100 years so for some it’s hard to imagine. As a matter of fact, women of all ages were not doing as much in sports as we are now. So even well meaning educated people have an ingrained narrative that does not include a 60 year old women doing Ironman training and racing. When I look at it from this perspective it sort of makes sense. Something I like to talk a lot about is most people need to see it to be it or see it to believe it OR even see it to allow it into their consciousness as an actual thing. If they are not seeing women 60+ doing triathlon (or Ironmans) then it automatically goes into the belief bucket that it’s not really a thing.

Also, I’m wondering how many men are asked the same question at 60+ probably some but I’m guessing not as much.

The interesting part of all of this is that we now know that continuing to move and do both aerobic and anaerobic and strength training work is what helps us become healthy and stay healthy as we age. These are the things that you do in triathlon training. So in reality, triathlon training is actually perfect for a women 60+.

If you look back on history you will find an alarming number of beliefs that were completely absurd through all different time periods in all different areas of our world. My belief is this will be one in the history books too. What we believed was possible for humans as we age. My belief is that 100 years from now humans will look back on the ridiculous limitations we set on each other and ourselves. Most humans simply conform to the current trends of belief in our current generation and time here on earth.

I have no intention of stopping and I hope others don’t stop or feel judged or pressured to stop or pressured to not even begin.

Let’s all keep moving forward.

Training in Santa Cruz