What does it feel like to turn 30?

The same as turning anything after 21. Just another day. Plus you'd be amazed at how many insanely hot 18 year old ladies have daddy issues. Crazy.

Daily struggle for meaning

If you look at most road race results the 30 -35 is usually one of the weakest. Most college runners are just DONE with putting any more effort into training . They've been doing that since they were 15 and now they are on to real life.

Also real life really starts, that when many are marrying and having small children, buying a home. Little kids require a lot of time, and a lot of energy, wives require attention, homes require upkeep. The first thing you will ditch is the run to take care of any of the above situations. Pretty soon it's just not worth the effort.

I will agree that you CAN run well in your 30's. You still have youth on your side and you are no where near the decline that happens in your 40s & 50's.

It's only because you are distracted by the 30 milestone. You are fine.

VroomVroom wrote:

The same as turning anything after 21. Just another day. Plus you'd be amazed at how many insanely hot 18 year old ladies have daddy issues. Crazy.

If you are 30 messing around with 18 year olds you have issues.

My early 30s were the best years of my life. Running great, great career, etc. People told me when I was 17 to enjoy because those would be the best years of my life. I even knew then that was not going to be true for me. I am 55 and raising a wonderful 15 year old girl. Glad I waited to be a father until 40. But, that is not true for everyone. 30 was just another birthday for me. 50 was the first time I actually reflected about it. 40 was just about winning those Master's prizes. Most people start to slow about 45. Strength starts going down. Injuries take forever to heal.

A lot like it feels to turn 20. Or 15. It's just time.

We don't call ourselves Swaglord anymore. Swagger is for children and rappers. Adults have assets and investments.

NeverTooOld wrote:

My early 30s were the best years of my life. Running great, great career, etc. People told me when I was 17 to enjoy because those would be the best years of my life.

How sad would that be if it were true? From 16-18 "The Best Years of Your Life", so only two years out of eighty-two and they happened in the first quarter of your life! How terrible would the rest of your life would have to be for that to be true. A true, Peaked In High School moment.

With regard to NotManyRun's post above, I've actually found the 30-34 age group is pretty competitive. Some may be fast people who've kept up with their running, but it's also far enough removed from college that some may have stopped running at 21-22, bummed around, and had time to get back into it.

30 is when I got serious about running again- I had been doing 4-5 miles a few times a week to lose weight, but my then-girlfriend now-wife suggested signing up for a half marathon the year we both turned 30 which meant finding an actual training plan and sticking to it which was what I needed. While I'd still lose to high school Jimmy in a 1600m race, I'm stronger at long distances than I ever was then, couldn't even have finished a half marathon much less a full. This is all to say your best marathon may still be ahead of you.

Jimbo Jambo wrote:

Swaglord_the_real_one_1 wrote:

I’m already feeling the mental aspect at 28. I guess there’s still some room to be “youthful” but it’s definitely waning.

When does the physical decline really set in? I’m pretty healthy. Not a runner anymore though.

29 was the rough birthday for me (emotionally) I was pretty much over it by 30. Physically - I haven't slowed down at all running wise - most of my best races have been after 30 - though aches and pains are a little more severe.

Yeah I felt "almost 30" since about 27, so when I turned 30 (8 months ago) I did not feel anything. From other posts, it sounds like you (OP) are already decently established in your career. I could see why 30 might be depressing for someone with a dead-end job and no savings, or a single woman who wanted to get married.

It felt great for me. two days after turning 30 I set my marathon PR (2:41:48).

At 30 one has not even begun to live! I know this to be absolutely true. When I was 30 I had, like everyone else I knew, so little experience of everything PLUS the fact that with increasing time the world changes like no one can never image.

By 45 I just got to the point of having it all. The next 10 years proved that I got it right and my life experiments and discoveries brought me happiness and quality of life I or anyone else could not have known! I never knew distance, topography, longitude, culture, exhaustion, rest, humidity, sun, sea, food, travel, time zones and new technology would all come together and blend in such a way as to create all I ever wanted!

The last several years have been my best running years. They have also been my best thinking years. I created political philosophies that are playing out right now. I should write book.

So 30 to me was never old. In fact it was part of the youth spectrum and I'm damn glad I was able to evolve over the years. So have no fear young man. The best is yet to come!

30 is an age for most, as many on these boards have already alluded to, that people start getting their stuff together. Try and envision what retirement will look like. Move up at work and earn more money. If you want a family and don't have one by 30, should probably start thinking about it. You're still young enough to be physically fit and attract people of the other sex (or same sex if that is your thing). But some maturity has happened in not wanting to screw around in relationships

I'm currently in my 30s. Had my first kid at 29 and got married, had my 2nd at 31. Bought our first house around then too and got really serious about earning more money for the family.

Fitness-wise, I still ran a good amount at 30, but the drive to train hard like I had in my 20's gradually went away from 30-35. Ran a marathon at 33. I'm 37 now, and still run 3-4 times per week, but do a lot of hiking with my kids and also do more weights / HIIT type workouts. Many other goals are ahead of running fast, including spending time with my kids and educating them, being with my wife, traveling, home improvement etc.

A little about me. I'm 32 year old White male in the north east USA.

When I hit my 30s, physically I was/am as robust as when I was 20 (I think). I never really stopped exercising. I just moved from running to cycling. Thing is, I actually ride a lot more than I used to run so I'm actually in better shape than when I was running D1.

I definitely had the "holy shiiit" feeling at 30 that my life was actually finite and I had consumed a fair percentage of it at this point. I started to heavily invest instead of just sitting on cash in my savings account. Stuff like that.

I still love f--king off whenever I can, playing video games, and checking out the smoking hot babes in the office. But there's another side of me that's changed. I hate people speeding down my road, I follow nextdoor threads on my neighborhood, and other 'lame' adult stuff that 25 year old me would laugh at. Also, when I am on a college campus around a bunch of 21 year olds I'm absolutely blown away at how juvenile and vain they appear. I cringe to know I was like that once.

Jimbo Jambo wrote:

Swaglord_the_real_one_1 wrote:

I’m already feeling the mental aspect at 28. I guess there’s still some room to be “youthful” but it’s definitely waning.

When does the physical decline really set in? I’m pretty healthy. Not a runner anymore though.

29 was the rough birthday for me (emotionally) I was pretty much over it by 30. Physically - I haven't slowed down at all running wise - most of my best races have been after 30 - though aches and pains are a little more severe.

Or...you could learn to appreciate life and being healthy or trade places with my friend who died of brain Cancer last year at age 28.

Learn the real lesson of life and you'll let things fall into place without stress and appreciate life more and more each day.

If you're going to worrying about it, you do it when you're 27/28. That's when it sucks. Whenever these big birthdays come around, you've already come to terms with it and it's nothing.

Then a few years down the line you think 'wow, 28 was fantastic and I spent half of it worrying about turning thirty'.

I swear we've had this conversation recently...It really depends on how your 20s went. I was married at 19 and first kid at 22, so for me, turning 30 was no big deal. I was already a married family guy with a "career."

Even when I turned 40, I didn't think too much about it.

For me, it was 44. I started to realize that I was getting closer to 50 than 40, and that my physical peak was irretrievably gone.

I turned 30 back in February. So far, I love it. I quit drinking a couple of years ago so compare to say, 23, I'm getting 8 hours of sleep every night, my diet is clean, and I've really prioritized healthy relationships with good friends. I feel way better in all facets. I think people that groan about 30 tend to have screwed something up in their 20s in a way that makes them feel like their best years are behind them... Neglected health, forgone savings, bad relationships, etc.