Elite long distance runner Kara Goucher may not be competing in the Olympics, but she’s still training as if she is. Goucher, 45, shared a picture of herself wearing shorts and a blue sports bra, smiling her way through an intense workout. “Y’ALL- I am having a case of the Mondays!! One bright light today- got to workout with @kinesisintegrated. Had to switch gears with my sore knee but still got some work in- and thankfully some laughs. Good grief- I need more laughs!!! Hang in there people! ❤️” she captioned the post. Here’s how Goucher is living her best life in her 40s.
Goucher is still passionate about running, even after being diagnosed with dystonia. “It’s still my happy place, meditation; I feel so happy in movement,” she told The Washington Post. “I have this rare neurological movement disorder, so I can’t run as much as I want. But I am in a pretty good place right now where I’m running most days. And I still love running so much. Some people would call it an obsession. But truly, it’s not a chore for me.”
Goucher loves eggs, any style. “My stomach isn’t usually ready for hardcore food right after a workout, which is why protein shakes are good for me,” she told Well+Good. “But after 30 minutes or an hour, my stomach starts waking up and is ready to eat—and that’s when I go to brunch. I love eggs and avocado, plus some toast and potatoes on the side. And I’m not discriminatory about my eggs—I’ll take a good omelet, I’ll eat them over veggies, or I’ll have them scrambled.”
Goucher has good advice for anyone looking for a running coach. “It’s just someone who’s invested with you, respects you, understands you as an athlete, understands what motivates you,” she told The Washington Post. “Some people need that challenge of, “So and so is going to beat you.” And some people need, “You just need to be focused on yourself.” A coach that is flexible between athletes doesn’t necessarily treat each athlete the same way. If you have a bad day, everybody should be taking ownership, not just you.”
Goucher uses a foam roller before bed. “My routine is all dynamic stretching,” she told Well+Good. “I do lots of leg swings, walking and pulling my knees into my chest, or pulling my foot up to my butt, and I finish with some balance work to remind my tired body what it needs to remember as it gets fatigued at the end of a workout or race.”
Goucher wants women to take their time bouncing back from pregnancy and giving birth. “I would certainly tell women coming back from pregnancy that there is no timeline and that you should not feel pressured to return to any sort of space,” she told The Washington Post. “I like to say like, yeah, I ran [a 2 hour 24 minute marathon] less than seven months after I gave birth to my son, but then I spent the next rest of my career really being injured, healthy, injured, healthy. Faith Kipyegon, [the Kenyan middle distance runner] took a year before she started training. And she’s a world champion and the Olympic champion. So I would say really take your time and don’t feel like there’s this timeline that has to be met.”