Parenting and Training - Triathlon Week

11-01-2004, 06:23 AM

Hello,

This is for the other dads and moms out there who have a new baby and
A LOT LESS TIME for anything:

How have you been able to manage and maintain your training routines?
What kind of changes/consessions did you have to make? Does anyone
have a spouse who went from mildly supportive to unsupportive of
training time now that the baby is here?

I know I can't be the only one who has seen long rides and long runs
go out the window!

Thanks,

Myo

11-01-2004, 02:48 PM

"Myo Jorn" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:653e52db.0411010523.58093a6a@posting.google.c om...
> Hello,
>
> This is for the other dads and moms out there who have a new baby and
> A LOT LESS TIME for anything:
>
> How have you been able to manage and maintain your training routines?
> What kind of changes/consessions did you have to make? Does anyone
> have a spouse who went from mildly supportive to unsupportive of
> training time now that the baby is here?
>
> I know I can't be the only one who has seen long rides and long runs
> go out the window!
>
> Thanks,
>
> Myo

Myo,
I know what you are talking about, at least the reduced training part.
Luckily for me my wife also runs, so she is still very supportive. My
children are now 6, 5 and 3 so we're past the worst of it.(lack of
training). My best suggestion is to lower you expectations a bit and focus
on quality over quantitiy for a while. Before you know it, you'll be back
to running/riding as much as ever.

Chris

11-02-2004, 06:11 AM

Myo,

I have a 3-year old and a 6-month old. I have also had to cut way
back on my training, but have still managed to finish 2 Ironmans in
the last 2-years. When I finished Ironman-USA Lake Placid in July,
Emily our youngest was 3-months old.

The biggest asset you can have as a new parent is the ability to train
indoors, particularly if you live in colder climates. Over the last
4-years, I've saved up to buy a computrainer and then a treadmill. I
probably do 75% of my year round training on these devices. Its not
as much fun as being outside, but at least it keeps me going. I
usually do my workouts at 9PM after the girls have gone to bed. Even
during an Ironman base period, I usually limit my workout to 1-hour
either on the treadmill or on the bike. On the weekend, I try to get
outside for a couple of hours each day. I find a steady diet of
2-hour long weekend runs year round keeps me ready to jump up to
marathons or Ironmans without too much difficulty. About 8-weeks out
from a longer race, I begin doing a few longer runs to get up to
3-hours. I try to time these workouts with my daughter's nap time. I
find it hardest to find the time to get in really long rides. For
IM-USA this year, I signed up for an MS150 ride which ended up being
my only ride longer than 2-hours. All in all, I average 8-10 hours
for the 3months leading up to Ironman, and 5-6 hours/week the rest of
the year. This amount of training isn't going to get me on the podium
or stamp my ticket to Kona, but I finished each Ironman comfortably
holding my daughters in my arms as I crossed the finish line.

Oh yes, I swim during my lunch hour twice a week. My pool is across
the street from my office, which is a big advantage. Right now the
"Endless Pool" is just a little over budget.

On the spouse support topic. My wife is very supportive, but still
finds my training trying at times. You do have to be ready to chuck a
workout from time to time to prevent spousal overload. I've found the
whole teething period to be particularly bad for getting workouts
done. While my wife may not have actually said, "if you go running
out the door you better not come back," while holding 2 screaming
children, I can see the intent in her eyes. In those cases, its best
just to reschedule.

I hope this was helpful. In the end, just keep trucking. Be flexible
to your new situation. Balancing young families and triathlon can be
done, but it takes some practice and persistence.

BB

11-02-2004, 07:41 AM

LOL, I gave up the sport until we divorced ..... not the answer you
want tohear.

Actually, a new job with NASA, working strange hours training for
Space Shuttle missions, and a new baby caused me to give up the sport.
After I left NASA, I started working out again.

It's great your wife is a runner. My ex was a runner, then quit, so
that didn't help either.

Now that my kids are 13 and 10, I can leave them alone for a few hours
to get workouts in. Pretty soon they will be joining me. My son, the
13 year old, wants to bike, we built him a bike this fall. My
daughter wants to swim. They are both proud they are "good" runners
in gym class. It's neat seeing your lifestyle rub off on your
children.

Good luck!

Mark

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (Myo Jorn) wrote in message news:<653e52db.0411010523.58093a6a@posting.google. com>...
> Hello,
>
> This is for the other dads and moms out there who have a new baby and
> A LOT LESS TIME for anything:
>
> How have you been able to manage and maintain your training routines?
> What kind of changes/consessions did you have to make? Does anyone
> have a spouse who went from mildly supportive to unsupportive of
> training time now that the baby is here?
>
> I know I can't be the only one who has seen long rides and long runs
> go out the window!
>
> Thanks,
>
> Myo

11-02-2004, 01:01 PM

"Chris Janus" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].com> wrote in message news:<Jayhd.49129$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].com >...
> "Myo Jorn" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
> news:653e52db.0411010523.58093a6a@posting.google.c om...
> > Hello,
> >
> > This is for the other dads and moms out there who have a new baby and
> > A LOT LESS TIME for anything:
> >
> > How have you been able to manage and maintain your training routines?
> > What kind of changes/consessions did you have to make? Does anyone
> > have a spouse who went from mildly supportive to unsupportive of
> > training time now that the baby is here?
> >
> > I know I can't be the only one who has seen long rides and long runs
> > go out the window!
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Myo
>
> Myo,
> I know what you are talking about, at least the reduced training part.
> Luckily for me my wife also runs, so she is still very supportive. My
> children are now 6, 5 and 3 so we're past the worst of it.(lack of
> training). My best suggestion is to lower you expectations a bit and focus
> on quality over quantitiy for a while. Before you know it, you'll be back
> to running/riding as much as ever.
>
> Chris

Assuming you do not do this for a living nor have a good shot at
making the Olympic team, I agree with what Chris said except for the
following:

1. You will not have the same amount of time to devote to training for
a long long time, if ever. Sorry, but you may as well hear it now.
That said however, your life will still be wonderful and you can still
accomplish a lot physically.......eventually.

2. If you scale back to bare-minimum fitness-maintenance levels for
the first year and focus on adjusting to the changes in your lives,
then everyone will be happier and your spouse will be more likely to
be supportive of your training after things settle down and you can
ramp it back up. If you leave her/him with a screaming baby (or even a
happy baby) every morning and announce you are heading out for a
2-hour workout, you may stay in shape but you may shorten your
marriage or your life expectancy. :-)

2. Buy, borrow and/or beg a GOOD baby jogger, baby backpack, and baby
bike seat. Use them as soon as you can and as often as you can. You
can get a very good workout (not perfect but very good) and make your
child and spouse happy at the same time. No excuses. Better to be out
on the road with a crying baby than stuck at home with a crying baby.

3. Accept that it's a brave new world you're in now. Don't fight
against it, just focus on enjoying your baby, getting decent sleep and
nutrition for yourself and your spouse, and exercise when you can.
Everything will be strange and different for a while and then it will
sort itself out into a new pattern that is completely different but
just as good if not better. It's all good.

This sounds a little harsher than I wanted it to but I all-too-vividly
remember the stage you are now in so I sincerely hope this helps in
some way.

Gotta go!

Susan (off to IMFL now with the "baby" who is now 4....hoping for
sub-13.....hmmmm, maybe I could have done sub-12 if I could have
worked out more but, hey, it is what it is what it is.... ;-)

11-02-2004, 02:52 PM

In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>,
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (Susan in LA) wrote:

> 2. Buy, borrow and/or beg a GOOD baby jogger, baby backpack, and baby
> bike seat. Use them as soon as you can and as often as you can. You

Okay, the baby jogger is for the run, and the bike seat is for the bike,
so the backpack must be for the swim? :-)

Seriously, what good does the backpack do you?

> can get a very good workout (not perfect but very good) and make your
> child and spouse happy at the same time. No excuses. Better to be out
> on the road with a crying baby than stuck at home with a crying baby.

I got a Burley double bike trailer which converts to a jogger. Worth the
money. It has a clear windscreen so you can or bike when it's cooler.

I suggested this before, but I was having some trouble posting and it
may not have gone throughL a health-club membership where they have
daycare is also good. Both the stroller and the health care let you
workout while giving your wife a break (or you, if you stay home with
your kids like I do.)

(I mean, I stay home with my kids, not yours. That would be weird.)

BTW, I don't think the kids are supposed to use a bike seat or bike
trailer until they're a year old and they can support a helmet, but
it's okay to use a jogger before then.

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night,
and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
-Homer J. Simpson

11-03-2004, 05:49 AM

Harold Buck <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in news:no_one_knows-
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]:

> Seriously, what good does the backpack do you?
>

It's for those stadium bleacher intervals.

11-03-2004, 06:27 PM

I know you guys won't want to hear it, but kids are one heck of a lot
more important than your triathlon training. Think of the old
tombstone adage. If you want to train properly for a qualifying time
in an IM, and keep a family with kids, you have to have a schedule
that YOU control-- e.g self-employed, recent inheritance,
work-out-of-home sales job, etc.

I am saving for the treadmill at home, the Cyclops2 works just fine if
you are disciplined, although a computrainer would be a bit nicer.
Just remember to record all the IM and cycling events you can, and
you'll become a pasty-white, indoor training freak that goes like hell
on race day. The endless pools thing seems a bit extreme, but I'd
still like to have one after trying it out at IMW a few years ago. No
more flip turns.

Early morning hours (4:30 to 7:00) are best for me-- no one can stop
me unless they can get up earlier than I can.

Balance, Balance, oh forget it-- just marry a professional
triathlete.

11-10-2004, 02:14 AM

"Harold Buck" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].giganews.com...
> In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>,
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (Susan in LA) wrote:
>
>> 2. Buy, borrow and/or beg a GOOD baby jogger, baby backpack, and baby
>> bike seat. Use them as soon as you can and as often as you can. You
>
> Okay, the baby jogger is for the run, and the bike seat is for the bike,
> so the backpack must be for the swim? :-)

Yeah; just make sure you purchase the optional infant mask and snorkle.

> Seriously, what good does the backpack do you?

You pack the baby in the backpack, put any other offspring in strollers or
on bikes depending on age, leash the dog, and clear out of the house for as
long as you possibly can. With any luck your spouse will resemble a human
being again when you return and you *may* even get some exercise.

Susan