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Hilary Cairns races Hyrox at the pro weights, which means the farmer's carry is a pair of 53 pound kettlebells and she is essentially hauling her own body weight down the floor. She is the top ranked American in her age group. She also has three kids in their twenties and has been racing in DC since 1993.
Now the part nobody handed her. She nursed all three kids for years and trained hard the whole time. She got a stress fracture after her second. Nobody sat her down and talked to her about how to eat while doing both, because back then almost nobody was having that conversation at all.
This is the first in a new series where we sit down with the athletes in our own backyard here in the DMV. Hilary is a very good place to start.
🔹 What running through three pregnancies looked like when there was no information to work with
🔹 The stress fracture after baby two, and what she says she would eat differently now
🔹 The eating disorder she had in high school and college, what doctors offered her instead of answers, and what she wishes she had understood about long term cost
🔹 The commute stacking trick that made training possible when the kids were small
🔹 Going through menopause and having no idea what to attribute anything to
🔹 Raising a 26 year old competitive runner and hoping she gets the longevity without the glitches
🔹 Starting the Aging Athletically podcast with ultrarunner Michael Wardian, and the one question they keep asking older athletes
If you are deep in the baby years doing the math on whether you get to keep any of this, Hilary is what the far side can look like. Not because she got lucky. She will tell you she has been fortunate on injuries, and then she will tell you about 30 years of showing up.
Come find me after and tell me which part of her week you would steal first!
CHAPTERS
0:00 A new DC series, and meet Hilary Cairns
0:58 Minnesota to DC, tennis to track to triathlon to Hyrox
2:22 Ranking the three sports she is doing right now
4:08 The workout you dread is usually the one you need
5:38 Ten kinds of gel and the old school one she keeps picking
7:36 What she eats after: chocolate milk and salty things
8:29 Running in DC, Rock Creek and the Tilden hill
9:48 Banneker track and the free Wednesday workout
10:57 What she has now that her 30 year old self did not
12:08 Her Cherry Blossom result this year
12:34 Running through three pregnancies with no information
15:39 What changed in 26 years of postpartum advice
19:12 A stress fracture after baby two and the fueling gap
20:37 Strength training before it was standard
22:13 Energy availability, REDs and lactation
23:31 Going through menopause and not knowing what to attribute
25:36 Why peers stop racing, and why she has not
27:23 Eight ten mile races, all within 80 seconds
29:12 Her full training week, including the 100 burpees
32:05 What training looked like when the kids were little
34:04 Commute stacking and being the low maintenance queen
36:05 The eating disorder in high school and college, and what she wishes she had known about REDs
39:17 Raising a competitive 26 year old runner
40:24 The mental piece she works on with her kids
45:13 Starting Aging Athletically with Michael Wardian
49:05 Feeling 30 at 55
50:41 Why Hyrox, and what a first race is like
53:41 Pro weights, world championships and top American times
55:01 Station by station: erg, farmer's carry, sled, burpee broad jump
59:25 Shoes, and why not Alpha Flies
1:02:08 The thing she never could have planned
1:04:51 Where to find Aging Athletically and Track Pack DC
LINKS
Pelvic floor assessment, Arlington VA clinic
Telehealth PT and virtual consults
All free resources and courses
Hilary Cairns on Instagram
Track Pack DC on Instagram
Aging Athletically Podcast
This podcast is education, not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider with medical questions.
The Active Mom Podcast — a real mom's guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond, for active moms and the professionals who help them get there.
Quick-hit conversations with moms, providers, and researchers... because you don't have a lot of free time (you're probably listening at 1.5x right now).
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