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Training and (very) young children
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 2015-07-12 11:36 AM |
 157  |  Subject: Training and (very) young children Last year was my first season of triathlon (I have a swimming and running background, but am a new cyclist). I had a then-two year old son, but managed to fit in at least 6 hrs of workouts a week without too much trouble. Then I got pregnant, and had our second son this past April. I have such high hopes for training, and they never seem to pan out. I try to get up early, but with chronic sleep deprivation, an hour commute, and having to be at work by 0700 most mornings, it's hard. Weekends are tough, between mom guilt and a SAHD husband who thinks (not wrongly) that he should get some child-free time on the weekends and get to sleep in. After work is my best bet, but the commute means I can't stop if I have a later workday (our end times vary wildly) and still be home for dinner. Nursing/pumping means everything takes longer and needs a little more planning too. After dinner is bath, stories, bedtime - and I usually pass out in my older son's bed somewhere during this process. On top of all that, our finished basement flooded 2 weeks ago and we're going to have to redo it ourselves - in our free time. How do people do it with little ones? Next year will be a little better when the baby is eating solid food, I hope, but I need some advice from those of you who have been there! |
| 2015-07-12 12:06 PM in reply to: MMW37 |
Pro 4824   Houston | Subject: RE: Training and (very) young children How do people do it? Most don't. Kudos to you for wanting to get back into training and I support all women in whatever makes them happy and fulfilled. However, maybe this is not the time to be working so hard at training? Of course it is important for you to take care of yourself and maintain your sanity but balance is very important right now. Take care of yourself and your family (not insinuating tri training would mean you are not). Just give yourself some grace. Maybe this would be a good time to focus on one discipline? You could get on the trainer in the house after kids go to bed to focus on cycling or run when you can. I have 5 children but am glad I didn't find triathlon until my youngest was 2, I honestly cannot fathom how hard it would be with an infant AND a toddler. Be kind to yourself. Triathlon will always be there. |
| 2015-07-12 12:12 PM in reply to: MMW37 |
1300 | Subject: RE: Training and (very) young children For me it was most workouts after kids were in bed. I got in a habit of falling asleep in my sons bed while reading to him. Became a pre workout rest. Getting a bike trainer made a big difference. Just easier to jump in that for an hour I found. Either way, good luck. |
| 2015-07-12 1:49 PM in reply to: MMW37 |
| 201 Hereford, England | Subject: RE: Training and (very) young children I'm in a similar position. I have a nearly 6 month old, and my wife, although supportive, doesn't want me out the house all the time. So I'm training three times a week, one of each. The bike and run I'm getting up around 5am and training before she and the boy wakes up! The swim about 6am as the pool doesn't open until 7am anyway. One morning away she is fine with. If I can squeeze in the odd evening every now and then, all the better. I'm training for an Oly next year, it'll be my third season and only done sprints in the past, but this season was a right off as couldn't really train properly until the baby was into a decent routine. |
| 2015-07-12 3:14 PM in reply to: #5128206 |
| 50 | Subject: RE: Training and (very) young children For my sanity I had to pick a sport for a while and chose to do 3 bit sized runs per week (and built to a half marathon at 7.5 mo post partum). AND I am a SAHM. It wasn't a lost year, but it was certainly not what I had hoped for. |
| 2015-07-12 3:33 PM in reply to: #5128236 |
| 157 | Subject: RE: Training and (very) young children Sometimes when I come to this site, I feel like everyone puts in 12-15 hrs a week. I'm glad that isn't always the case. I've been trying to just take it one day at a time and be grateful for the workouts I can get in, but I'm a really competitive person so it's tough to step back like that. Since I only had one year into the sport before #2 came along, I don't want to stop entirely and never get back into it. I was planning to do a sprint next week, and I keep waffling. I think I'm trained enough to finish, but I doubt I'll do well. Why couldn't whoever is in charge have put more hours into the day for me? Lol. |
| 2015-07-12 7:54 PM in reply to: #5128241 |
Member 220 Wakefield, Massachusetts | Subject: RE: Training and (very) young children I fit in what I can, and have had to learn to lower expectations for what that means. We've got a 4 year old and a 10 month old, so I'm in a similar situation. I always plan to go running with the dog in the morning, but am not very good about getting out of bed early enough to do so. I'm lucky that we have a gym at work, so most days I'm able to get out for a short run/ride during my lunch break. For a while I was using the trainer after the kids were in bed, but to be honest most nights I'm too tired and collapse in bed with my wife. But we recently moved to a new town and there's a bike club here, so I'm hoping to carve out Thursday nights for group rides. But like I said, mostly I set my expectations lower than before the kids, and look forward to a few years from now when hopefully it'll be easier to fit it all in. |
| 2015-07-13 7:49 AM in reply to: Fourteenkittens |
| 1055 | Subject: RE: Training and (very) young children During the week, before they wake up and after they fall asleep. On the weekends, while they napped. Almost all my time was on the treadmill and indoor trainer. |
| 2015-07-13 9:44 AM in reply to: 0 |
| 137 Birmingham, Alabama | Subject: RE: Training and (very) young children We bit the bullet and dropped $600 on a BOB double stroller for our kids who are now 3 yrs and the other 9 months. The baby has been in it since she was just a couple of weeks old (although we had to leave her in her carseat with an adapter). It was one of the better investments we've made as parents. Plus they resell on craigslist for around $400 in our area, so it's not like we'll eat all of that investment. My wife isn't training for a tri right now, so we run together, but I'm on my own for the swims and bikes. I do, however, do those exercises either early in the morning and return home before the kids wake up or during my lunch breaks during the week. I am pretty wiped out by the time the weekend roles around, but work in naps while the kids are napping on Saturdays and Sundays. Truthfully, it just depends a lot on circumstances like how much you work, your proximity to places to swim, bike, and/or run, your spouse's schedule, etc. Just my $0.02. Edited by marti038 2015-07-13 9:45 AM |
| 2015-07-13 11:54 AM in reply to: marti038 |
Master 4118 Toronto Bronze member | Subject: RE: Training and (very) young children Originally posted by marti038 We bit the bullet and dropped $600 on a BOB double stroller for our kids who are now 3 yrs and the other 9 months. The baby has been in it since she was just a couple of weeks old (although we had to leave her in her carseat with an adapter). It was one of the better investments we've made as parents. Plus they resell on craigslist for around $400 in our area, so it's not like we'll eat all of that investment. My wife isn't training for a tri right now, so we run together, but I'm on my own for the swims and bikes. I do, however, do those exercises either early in the morning and return home before the kids wake up or during my lunch breaks during the week. I am pretty wiped out by the time the weekend roles around, but work in naps while the kids are napping on Saturdays and Sundays. Truthfully, it just depends a lot on circumstances like how much you work, your proximity to places to swim, bike, and/or run, your spouse's schedule, etc. Just my $0.02. We bought a bob too. I don't love dragging it around - it definitely makes a run harder but now that my girl is 2, i can take her out for a shorter run and end at the park for her to play and she doesn't mind. Also, is your lunch hour available to you? I know lots of folks where lunch hour is when they really get stuff done. I do it more occasionally and when my schedule permits. It's now hot for running at lunch but there's a nice yoga studio across the street from work where I can nip over for lunch classes. It sounds like your commute is far but I also bike commute during the warmer months. It's a way that is not really training but is active time - we did some fun family stuff this weekend pulling the bike trailer. I've done a few tris and run races but I only have one child - it's tough when you want it but there are ways to at least stay active and do enough to feel like you could make a comeback eventually. It's not over, for sure. But as said above your circumstances will really dictate what you can do ... but really, on the sleep deprived part, it's so hard! You do need to rest too - just to feel some sanity! Best of luck. |
| 2015-07-17 10:04 AM in reply to: #5128206 |
| 157 | Subject: RE: Training and (very) young children I do anesthesia for a living, so I don't get a lunch break per se - just grab fo |
| 2015-07-17 10:08 AM in reply to: #5129347 |
| 157 | Subject: RE: Training and (very) young children Oops! So I just eat On the fly most days. I do have occasional down time between cases, and if it's long enough I do head over to the Y in whatever town I'm working in that day. I'm frustrated right now, because I was planning on racing a sprint tomorrow, and came down with a horrible cold yesterday. I haven't paid yet, but would have to register by tonight - there's no race day. I'm at the Y right now because I got off early, and I tried a 30 min bike/10 min run to see how I felt and couldn't finish it. This was going to be my first race of the year, and now I don't think I'll be able to do it. Getting really irritated with life!! |
| 2015-07-17 11:31 AM in reply to: #5129349 |
| 50 | Subject: RE: Training and (very) young children Try not to be too hard on yourself! We have treadmill and trainer in the basement. Sometimes I can get in 45-60 min before a kid needs me, sometimes 15 min... |
| 2015-07-17 3:19 PM in reply to: Spartypants |
Extreme Veteran 1942 In front of computer when typing this. | Subject: RE: Training and (very) young children This might not be helpful but I've come to view triathlons as a really nice-to-have rather than a key focus of my day, and it has helped me enjoy things more. The moment the training gets too stressful, to me it stops being worth why I started it. Its wearing to constantly worry about your next workout or feel like your failed your day because you only did a 20 min run. You have two little kids, nursing, diapers, work a full time job and have other things going on. Might be good to evaluate what you want out of this time in your life- training hard or just getting some exercise? Either one of those is perfectly OK, but one of those is easier to manage. Sometimes changing the focus is all it takes to get some enjoyment back. I sorta took some time away from triathlons and it is nice to be OK with missing a workout instead of trying to figure out a way to squeeze it in when it is just not going to happen because of other commitments. Remember, your littlest one will be older soon- things get MUCH easier then (and others have given you lots of options between jogging strollers, indoor trainers, treadmills, etc). |
| 2015-07-17 3:55 PM in reply to: louiskie |
Extreme Veteran 959 Greenwood, South Carolina | Subject: RE: Training and (very) young children Originally posted by louiskie This might not be helpful but I've come to view triathlons as a really nice-to-have rather than a key focus of my day, and it has helped me enjoy things more. The moment the training gets too stressful, to me it stops being worth why I started it. Its wearing to constantly worry about your next workout or feel like your failed your day because you only did a 20 min run. You have two little kids, nursing, diapers, work a full time job and have other things going on. Might be good to evaluate what you want out of this time in your life- training hard or just getting some exercise? Either one of those is perfectly OK, but one of those is easier to manage. Sometimes changing the focus is all it takes to get some enjoyment back. I sorta took some time away from triathlons and it is nice to be OK with missing a workout instead of trying to figure out a way to squeeze it in when it is just not going to happen because of other commitments. Remember, your littlest one will be older soon- things get MUCH easier then (and others have given you lots of options between jogging strollers, indoor trainers, treadmills, etc). Agree 100% I didn't tackle completing an Ironman until the time period in my life was right without creating family issues. My kids were 13 and 20 at that time so it was less stressful. Still hard to spend a lot of time away from the family during the training. You can pull off sprints and international distance with the time you have. Make the most of early morning training if possible. My daughter's bed time was always 9:00 PM and I went right behind her because I get up at 4:00 AM each morning to train. I usually have my run or swim completed before anyone in the family wakes up. Communication with your spouse is important. I was racing Triathlons for five years before I did an Ironman. I had conversations with my wife and made sure she was 100% behind me on my goal. She never complained one time because she knew what it was going to take for me to complete this bucket list item. Remember this is a sport. Your family is your life and they need you. |
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