Allison Cooke a Mother, Swimmer, Cyclist and Runner, which all adds up to an inspirational Triathlon Champ

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Triathlete, cyclist and coach Allison Cooke has a busy few months ahead of her. Having won the Australian Half Marathon Championships in August, she’s set her sights on what comes next: the Sprint and Olympic Distance World Championships on the Gold Coast in September.

Cooke qualified easily for the sprint event: a quick 750-metre swim, a 20-kilometre bike ride and a 5-kilometre run. Compared to the recent Hawaiian Iron Man, where she came 20th, it was a walk in the park. “That’s very short for me, it was over and done with in just over an hour”, she says.

If that makes you feel a tad lazy, consider that Cooke has begun competing in the 45-49 age category. She concedes she’s had to adapt as she’s moved up the age groups. “In the past I’ve done the really long endurance events, but as I’m getting older I can’t handle the six-hour bike rides or the three-hour runs anymore.”

Many athletes and people who lead active lifestyles find it difficult to adjust as they get older. Doing the same old routines at 40, 50 or 60 won’t produce the same results as they did at 20. Injury, fatigue and simple boredom become risk factors, healing and recovery times lengthen, and the comedown from a younger peak can be disheartening.

In many ways, the challenges of keeping fit into middle age can mirror those of retiring from the workforce. As life and the body slow down, it can be difficult not to slow down with them.

Rather than giving up triathlons altogether as she passed the traditional competitive age, Cooke developed ways of meeting the demands of the sport as she gets older. She cites “massages, yoga, physiotherapy, nutrition” and simpler strategies, like taking rests to break up training sessions, as crucial “to hold the body together and stay in one piece as you get older”...continue reading

https://www.theguardian.com/advertiser-content/colonial-first-state-be-ready-for-next/no-signs-of-slowing-down-for-triathlete-alli-cooke

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