Finding Ways

There are months when training feels effortless.

This wasn’t one of them.

This last month has been a lesson in what it really means to train through perimenopause.

Like so many women, I’ve been battling the anxiety, self-doubt, brain fog and collection of random niggles that seem to appear from nowhere. There have been days when I’ve felt thoroughly incapable of training right up until the moment I’ve put my shoes on and walked out of the door.

And yet, more often than not, those sessions have turned out to be some of my best.

I’ve lifted heavier, run stronger, and felt the freedom that training brings more deeply than I have for a long time.

When Your Mind Tells You Not to Train

It would have been easy not to train this month.

Easy to listen to the shoulder niggle, the wrist pain, the ankle ache or the grumbling hip. Easy to tell myself that now I'm in my 40s, this is simply how things are. Easy to pass up opportunities to move because I didn't feel quite right.

But I also know where that path leads.

It feeds the self-fulfilling prophecy that as women get older, they simply "can't" anymore.

The truth is that training during perimenopause often requires a different skill set than it did in our twenties and thirties. It requires positive self-talk when confidence wobbles. Self-understanding when energy fluctuates. Self-forgiveness when things don't go to plan. Acceptance of what is happening in our bodies. And sometimes, good old-fashioned self-discipline.

At this stage of life, training becomes about the whole self.

The mind and body working together.

Finding the balance between listening and quitting.

Adapting without accepting defeat.

Finding ways forward rather than reasons to stop.

Why Exercise Matters Even More During Perimenopause

Mental Wellbeing

Exercise is one of the most powerful tools we have for supporting our mental wellbeing.

Regular movement stimulates the release of dopamine, serotonin, endorphins and oxytocin. These chemicals influence motivation, mood, reward, connection and resilience, which are often the very things that feel under attack during perimenopause.

When oestrogen levels fluctuate, many women experience increased anxiety, lower mood, reduced confidence and poorer stress tolerance. Exercise helps buffer these changes by supporting the brain chemistry that underpins emotional wellbeing.

Metabolic health

Training also improves insulin sensitivity, helping our cells respond more effectively to insulin and use glucose for energy. It improves our ability to use carbohydrate efficiently during exercise and throughout the day, supporting more stable energy levels, improved metabolic health and often easier weight management.

Strength for the future

Then there's muscle.

From our forties onwards, we naturally begin to lose muscle mass unless we actively work to maintain it. Muscle is our metabolically active tissue. It helps regulate blood sugar, supports healthy ageing, protects our bones and joints, and increases the amount of energy our bodies use each day.

The stronger we are, the more capable we remain.

Confidence Comes From Doing

Perhaps most importantly of all, training reminds us what our bodies can do.

Not what they used to do.

Not what social media says they should do.

What they can do today.

And that matters.

Because confidence isn't built by waiting until we feel capable. It's built by proving to ourselves, over and over again, that we are capable.

A Different Kind of Race

This month wasn't just about navigating my own training. It was also about quietly maintaining it while stepping into a supporting role for my partner as he competed in the European Standard Distance Triathlon Championships in Tarragona.

For five days, the focus shifted.

I welcomed the opportunity to slow down a little, spend time with the children and enjoy being part of someone else's race journey.

Then race day arrived and my role became very clear: professional supporter.

My job was to make sure we were all standing in exactly the right places at exactly the right times,

shouting as loudly as possible as he came out of the marina, ran through transition, headed out onto the bike, returned to T2 and then tackled the four-lap 10km run.

The children took their responsibilities very seriously.

What struck me most wasn't the race itself. It was watching their faces.

Watching them begin to understand what it feels like to be part of something bigger than themselves.

Athletes from nations all over Europe coming together. Thousands of people celebrating movement, health, fitness and community. Different languages, different backgrounds, different stories, all sharing the same finish line.

What Are We Really Training For?

It made me realise that this is what we really train for.

Medals, finish times and qualification slots are wonderful. They keep us motivated, focused and disciplined.

But they aren't the end goal.

The end goal is being able to enjoy life together for longer.

To have adventures together.

To make memories together.

To remain capable, independent and engaged in life for as many years as possible.

The 88-Year-Old Who Changed My Perspective

One of the most inspiring moments of the entire weekend came as athletes emerged from the swim.

The oldest participant in the race was 88 years old.

Eighty-eight.

Not struggling to get around their home.

Not waiting for life to happen to them.

Racing an international triathlon.

Humbling.

Life affirming.

A reminder that even though many of us consider ourselves fit and healthy, we're still so far from winning the race.

If we're lucky, there may be another forty years ahead of us.

Forty years of movement.

Forty years of adventures.

Forty years of opportunities to build strength, resilience and health.

That perspective changes everything.

Training stops being about shrinking ourselves, punishing ourselves or chasing perfection.

Instead, it becomes an investment in our future selves.

A commitment to staying capable.

A commitment to staying involved.

A commitment to showing up for the people we love.

Just Start Somewhere

That's why I do what I do.

Not because everyone needs to race a triathlon.

Not because everyone needs to run marathons or lift heavy weights.

But because everyone deserves the opportunity to remain capable, confident and independent for as long as possible.

There is still work to do.

And if we're lucky, there will be work to do for decades to come.

That's why I'm here.

To help people do the work.

If you're wondering where to begin, that's exactly why I've created the Summer Bucket List inside the Against the Grain community. It's packed with simple ways to get moving, build confidence and create a sustainable relationship with training that works with your life, not against it.

You don't need a race entry, a gym membership or a complicated programme.

You just need somewhere to begin.

Because the goal isn't perfection.

It's finding ways forward, one step at a time.

Thank you for taking the time to read 'Finding Ways'. I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any questions about my training or anything I've covered her, please do get in touch.

Root Cores provides workshops, group coaching and online courses. To find out more, email me: pippa@rootcores.com

Finding Ways

by Pippa Marsden