Easier to train AFTER having kids

Have another one. :-)

As a teacher it's much easier for me on school days. You would think the breaks and summer you could train more. Much like you the opposite was true

Definitely not for me. Much harder to fit it all in with kids. I used to be able to just go for a run or ride after work and figure out the rest of the evening from there. Now I need to pick up the kids from daycare, make & eat dinner dinner (4yo can't wait to eat until after 8pm), take the dog for a walk, put kids to bed, and finally collapse in a tired heap. Probably doesn't help that both my wife and I work and have long commutes.

I should add that my daughter is 4, and when she was still an infant who slept all the time and was willing to ride in the jogging stroller, it was easier.

Our daughter is 8 months and currently naps on a regular schedule and goes to bed at a predictable time. So it's going to be easier now than in future presume.

Fair point on the commute and long hours.

I wasn't running as much and I wasn't doing triathlon before I had kids. But when they were babies, I found it pretty difficult to organize my time and keep active and take care of myself. Mine were not that predictable with scheduling, and I found stay-at-home parenting very tiring. Now that my kids are older it's way easier.

I didn't know what organization was until the twins were born.

I'm hoping your right because my first is due next Monday!

My guy is only 6 months but I have found the same thing. Before, I wouldn't plan ahead and often skipped workouts. After he was born I went out and bought a whiteboard to map out our week. We even plan meals now, something we never did before. It really helps.
I guess only time will tell if this keeps up.

yep, it forces you to be organized, prioritize and be better at time management. I know that if I don't get up early to get my workout done, one of the kids may be sick or something else happens. I also didn't get into triathlon until after both my kids were born.

They are 7 and 10. The hard part is working around sports games and practices. Weekends - especially Saturdays - can be a crap shoot with timing and long rides/runs and I try to be at every one.

I certainly get the organizational part - if you don't plan with kids you will certainly miss your workouts.

But what is impossible to predict are children - just when you "think" they have a good nap schedule, etc. they take that, crumble it up along with your soul and throw it out the window at high speeds. Planning only goes so far with kids. I have learned to get up super early to make sure I can get in at least an hour or more in the am so that way I at least got in one workout before the wake up (i.e. all hell breaking loose.)

So I get the planning thing and no doubt I plan like a mutha to make sure I get my workouts in. But it's NOTHING like pre - kids. The amount of time I had before kids was staggering even while working 3 jobs. 2 kids is like having the stress of the President, logistical planning like a NASA scientist and the want to get out of the house like a life sentenced prisoner. Kids... world's greatest challenge!

I feel the same way. I don't know what I did with all my free time before I had kids, but I definitely was not as rigid about my training. Also, the thought of being up before 6:30 seemed so uncivilized before kids. Now I can't sleep past 7 even if I try, and I'm very used to being up at 4:30 or 5:00, so it's no problem to get up for early workouts (assuming my kids oblige by sleeping till 6:00; there is nothing that chills my spine more than hearing a whimper or a cry from the boys' bedrooms as I'm about to step out into the darkness with my running shoes and headlamp).

When they are young it is pretty easy, workout during naps, use a jogging stroller and a bike trailer.

Once they become school age and start having activities of their own is when it becomes more difficult. They come home from school and you need to eat and get them to what ever lesson / practice / scouts etc they may have. If you don't need / want to watch you might be able to get a run in. If you are lucky and they swim you might be able to swim in an open loan.

x 2. I have 4 children, and it's a real struggle to fit in the training. I almost always have to get up super early to get it in, because evenings are tied up with homework and activities. Saturdays are off as well as most games (soccer, football, etc.) are held on this day.

This is my biggest problem - I have no problem getting up early to work out, but my wife is NOT a morning person and so the unlucky days where the the youngest (2yo) wakes up earlier than usual are not pleasant if I am not back when that happens. "If Momma ain't happy - ain't nobody happy!"

We have 4 and it's an organizational nightmare... Of course my wife and I working opposite shifts adds a level of difficulty

The oldest @ 15 is pretty much self-sufficient. I have to wake him in the morning, but as long as he's fed, he's good.

The next two girls @ 9 & 6 are manageable. Gotta get them up, have their clothes laid out make food... etc. At night there's dinner, homework, baths, etc... I try to have them in bed by 2000.

The youngest @ 2 is the biggest monkey wrench of all. She gets into EVERYthing . I can't do anything at night until she's crashed out (usually after 2200). I can take her to the Y when I swim on Fridays because they have child care, and she loves it.

That leaves early mornings 0400-0600 (including shower time), or evenings after 2200ish. From time to time I can leave the youngest with the oldest while I run... On those nights it's generally a very short run around and around the block (.4mi)

Now that my wife is wanting to try a tri, scheduling is even more fun. But we do what we have to to get healthy and spend time with the kids and each other!