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Old mom - new goals
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 2006-01-27 11:48 AM |
 2 |  Subject: Old mom - new goalsI'm a 34-year-old mom and I'm just ready to start focusing on ME a little more instead of my kids so much. Although I'm a former college track athlete (but not a star), I had "let myself go" too much in my opinion, so I started an easy exercise routine over a year ago. It's progressed into training for my first sprint triathlon. By this summer, I will have (hopefully) completed a triathlon and my masters degree (I'm a stay-at-home mom right now, so I have a little more time than you "working" moms and dads). My biggest concern right now is the swimming part: the closest indoor pool is over 30 miles away. On my budget (none) and schedule (the kids), it's hard to fit that training in. If anyone reading this has some advice for my problem, please advise. I live in a small community in SE Kansas, so I don't have a lot of convenient resources. As the time nears to my first triathlon, I'm getting very nervous. My goal is to finish... But am I getting too old for this? |
| 2006-01-27 12:54 PM in reply to: #333295 |
COURT JESTER 12230     ROCKFORD, IL | Subject: RE: Old mom - new goals I'm a 34 year old dad and no WE are not too old for this. As for swimming....do you have a background at all with swimming?? Are there any lakes near you that you can hit and swim along the shoreline with friends?? Otherwise, for the swim portion of your tri you're allowed to use any swimming stroke you want....yes, even the sidestroke. Take the swim easy and make it out of the water and have fun. |
| 2006-01-27 3:03 PM in reply to: #333295 |
Master 1315 Shreveport, LA | Subject: RE: Old mom - new goals mother_of_four - 2006-01-27 11:48 AM I'm a 34-year-old mom and I'm just ready to start focusing on ME a little more instead of my kids so much. Although I'm a former college track athlete (but not a star), I had "let myself go" too much in my opinion, so I started an easy exercise routine over a year ago. It's progressed into training for my first sprint triathlon. By this summer, I will have (hopefully) completed a triathlon and my masters degree (I'm a stay-at-home mom right now, so I have a little more time than you "working" moms and dads). My biggest concern right now is the swimming part: the closest indoor pool is over 30 miles away. On my budget (none) and schedule (the kids), it's hard to fit that training in. If anyone reading this has some advice for my problem, please advise. I live in a small community in SE Kansas, so I don't have a lot of convenient resources. As the time nears to my first triathlon, I'm getting very nervous. My goal is to finish... But am I getting too old for this? First of all welcome to the forum. You are definitely not too old for this. Most of the people in tris are in the 35-50 age range, so you are picking up where most pick it up at. I understand your swimming woes. I work in SE Kansas a few weeks out of the year at the refinery in Coffeyville, KS. The is an outdoor pool there, but the only indoor pools that I know of are at the Best Western and the Apple Tree Inn. They are about 10 ft long, so not much help unless I bring some cords and swim in place. The nearest indoor pool of significant lenth is in Jefferson, KS. Even if you could get one swim workout in a week, it would help build your confidence in swimming enough to do a tri. Good luck on your training. |
| 2006-02-02 6:56 AM in reply to: #333295 |
Extreme Veteran 586 Waterboro, Maine | Subject: RE: Old mom - new goals You are probably one of the younger Mom's on this forum! I am 43 and Mom to 9 and 7-yr olds. This will be my 3rd tri season. I am Middle-of-the-pack for Sprints, and I did one OLy my first year and was near the back. I am going to try an OLY this year and see if I can finish in a respectable time. Have fun! There are tons of Moms on this list and there have been many threads on how to balance workouts with family life. - Maureen p.s. I also stayed at home, and finished off my masters degree when the kids were babes and I had nap times during which I would do my homework! Edited by maureen 2006-02-02 6:57 AM |
| 2006-02-03 10:45 AM in reply to: #333295 |
Elite 3201 South Florida | Subject: RE: Old mom - new goals Welcome to BT! No - you are not too old. I'm a 33 year old mom of three (maybe 4 some day - but not for a while!  ) and I just started last summer. It is so hard to find time to train with kids and life in general. I was lucky last summer - my mother in law is a teacher so she was able to watch the kids once in a while while I trained. I only did a sprint so none of my training sessions were very long - the longest I was ever gone was probably for biking which took about an hour. My runs never took more than 30 minutes because I don't think I ever ran more than 2.5 miles before my race. Swimming was the hardest to fit in since I had to get to the pool- it's much eaier to just run or ride out the front door! I ended up doing very few swim workouts, but when I did them they were from 7-8am Saturday mornings. I didn't have the time to get really good at freestyle so I just stuck with what I was good at - breast stroke. It's not the fastest for most people but I can tell you I passed quite a few people during my tri! (and of course go passed by more...) In fact, strangely wnough, the swim leg was where I did the best in the standings! So - if you can get to that far away pool just a few times to convince yourself you can do it you'll be fine. Congratulations on starting to train and good luck!! Amy |
| 2006-02-07 3:57 AM in reply to: #333295 |
Veteran 117 | Subject: RE: Old mom - new goals Hi Mom You're certainly not too old. My wife finally learned to swim at age 39 because she wanted to do a sprint triathlon. She got hooked and did Ironman Wisconsin at 43. She really struggled with swimming for the first few months until she got the mechanics refined, but now she is a very solid swimmer. Good luck to you. |
| 2006-02-07 7:43 AM in reply to: #333295 |
| Crystal Lake, IL | Subject: RE: Old mom - new goals Seems like the age question has been answered. Welcome to BT! As the stay-at-home mother of four don't you mean you have LESS time, not MORE? Ok, maybe we don't want to open that discussion but I think you mean you have more flexible hours. As far as the swimming goes I don't think you should be too stressed about it. Like someone else said, just try to get enough in so that you are comfortable that you can complete it. If you don't have access to it so it's not going to be your strong suit, then so be it. Who cares? For now, focus on what you can do. Run and bike your a** off. This is the the Bear's philosophy, sort of (if you don't know who he is yet, you will). His attitude is the more people that come out of the water before him the more people he gets to pass on the bike. I know usually the advice is to train hardest on your weakest leg, but there are exceptions. Besides, A LOT of triathletes seem to just suffer the swim and really begin their race once they are on the bike. So good luck and welcome to tri training! |
| 2006-02-07 7:55 AM in reply to: #333295 |
| Tulsa, Oklahoma | Subject: RE: Old mom - new goals Welcome to BT............does your local high school have a pool? Even a pool workout once a week would really help. Maybe you can work a deal with the "nearest" Y or health club just to pay a minimal amount just to use the pool once a week. Sounds like you might have to get a little creative...but your a mom so you are probably good at that. Good Luck! |
| 2006-02-07 8:23 AM in reply to: #333295 |
Pro 4545 Orange Park Florida | Subject: RE: Old mom - new goals Mom, Congrats on focusing on you! Don't feel that you are ignoring the kids. By making time for yourself you will end up being happier and heathier. Your kids will appreciate your new found energy. Take the little ones with you when you can. My 18 month loves the jogging stroller. My older kids ride their bikes when I run. Most important...Have Fun! Mike (45 and father of six) |
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