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Ironman after baby #2
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Hey all,

How soon after baby #2 did you (or your wife) do an Ironman? I did my first Ironman in Dec 2013 (Cozumel), I am due in Sept 2014 and plan on doing Ironman Mont Tremblant in August 2015. I know I will have limited time in terms of training, but that is nothing new since I was able to pull it off with a full-time job and a small toddler. I will have one full year of maternity leave. My main concern is, how quickly does the body bounce back into a decent fitness level after baby #2 (and a pregnancy very light in training) if before getting pregnant I used to be a very competitive age grouper (qualified for world championships 70.3 and ITU and used to win my AG in local sprints all the time). My goal for the ironman would be just to finish.

Thanks all!

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Re: Ironman after baby #2 [IronLady] [ In reply to ]
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Re: Ironman after baby #2 [IronLady] [ In reply to ]
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hi there,
just happened to stumble across this.

i see no one has responded on this thread except to link you to another....that,while had some great points, it also had some pretty annoying responses in it.

i particularly hate the "sure you could, but why would you responses"...and the "my child is now all grown and i miss them, don't do it" responses.

i think we're in a shockingly similar place. i'm also expecting this fall with baby #2 and #3 (surprise). my first child, a daughter, will turn 2 in august. I was also competitive before kids (kona and competitive in local races, as you mention).

there are many reasons that a person would want to do an IM so soon after having a baby. you and i both know those reasons because we're contemplating registering, right? chief among mine is that I have been pregnant or nursing for three straight years. I plan on continuing to nurse my twins and I am ready to try to fit in something for ME. I, like you, would't be aiming to have an amazing time. I just want to get back into the IM game. I'm fearful that if I'm out of it for too long, i'll never get it back. ...and i LIKE the me that does IM. I am confident and happy and content. endurance sport is a large part of who I am. I want my kids to grow up knowing mom is an athlete and, hopefully, being inspired by that. i want to be their hero.

with all that being said, i'm not willing to be an MIA mom to my kids. ...and i'm not willing to sacrifice nursing my kids until they are one. so, i understand that my training couldn't be what it was pre-kids. as such, my time won't be the same, likely.

i got pregnant with my first about a month after kona. i had a great, no complications pregnancy and got back into training shortly after having her. on 7-10 hours of training a week I was able to PR the 70.3 distance by a significant margin and go to the 70.3 champs. my daughter was at the finish line for both. i was able to stop and kiss her along the way during the run course both times. they are my most meaningful race memories ever. I remember being very grateful that i had only signed up for a 70.3. my goal was to pr the 70.3 distance and I'm fortunate that i was able to do it.
with all that being said, i'm drawn to the IM registerations this year. i think it's the three years I've been out. again, i'm afraid the longer i go without doing one, the less likely it will be that i get back to it...

so, like you, i'm trying to figure out do i register for a fall 2015 IM or do i stick with another fast 70.3 goal? not sure.

a friend of mine had a baby in jan 2013 and did IM MT in aug 2013 and qualified for kona. it can be done. however, she was up at 4-5am most mornings to get her workout in before her kiddo woke up. she, i believe, has a nanny and is able to work from home a lot so she can see her daughter during the day. which, makes training easier. so, i think it will take an extraordinary amount of discipline, work flexibility and (not to be forgotten) a really great, understanding, supportive, award winning partner....like, truly, your partner has to be worthy of the noble peace prize in order to swing it. mine is. so, i'm lucky.

so, thanks for letting me commisserate. i'd love to know what you've decided or will decide and then maybe let's keep in touch. feel free to pm me.

all the best!

http://www.hooslisa.com
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Re: Ironman after baby #2 [hooslisa] [ In reply to ]
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Hey! Congrats on baby #2 & #3!!!

Thanks for your response! It is great to read comments from someone who seems to get where I am coming from. I got into triathlons in 2012, 5 months after giving birth to my first kid. That first season I enjoyed racing local sprints, then did my first 70.3 and got really hooked. The 2013 racing season was absolutely stellar for me and I qualified for the 70.3 world championships and the ITU world championships in 2014 (i.e. both of them are in a month) and won my AG a bunch of times at local sprints. I did my first IM in Dec 2013 (Cozumel) in 11:03 with only 8-10hrs of training per week and then found out that I was pregnant. So aside from missing out on the two world championship events that are now coming up, not training has been really hard for me. Even when I do work out, it is always depressing not to be able to exercise at the intensity and duration that I have grown accustomed to. Meanwhile my husband and all of our triathlon friends are continuing with their racing and prepping for various IM events.

With this pregnancy I felt like I never got the "me" time that I needed since I am always concious of the other human being growing inside me. This is why I started to think about planning my 2015 racing season in advance, to motivate myself. I am now really considering signing up for IM Muskoka that is to take place on Aug 30, 2015. I am not sure if it is too ambitious because I have no idea what training with two kids would look like. It was very doable with one baby/toddler (and even then, just like you, I didn't want to be a MIA mom). When it comes to motherhood, I am very hands-on mom and I always try to minmize my time away from my kid as much as possible. My mom would help out a lot with babysitting and I did early morning or late evening workouts a lot too since my hubby was also training for his IM, so he wasn't available that much for babysitting. But with two kids, whereby one is a baby that is breastfeeding, this may be tricky. My husband decided to take a break from IM for 2015, so presumably he will be more available to help out, but it is one thing to babysit one kid, and a whole other thing to be left wtih two! This means that realistically speaking, I will be lucky if I can fit in 8-10hrs of training per week, especially in the beginning when the baby is very dependent on me being its only supply of food.

My goal for IM muskoka would be just to finish the IM and to get back into my racing weight. I am due on Sept 1, so I think that doing an IM one year after is not that crazy. It is not like I would be starting from scratch either. I am pretty sure that I lost most of my fitness, but at least in my mind I already know what I need to do and what I used to do to get into my racing shape. The body goes where the mind is at (or so they say).

And yeah, I don't get people that say "why would you want to?" Why would you NOT want to? Presumably people do triathlons for fun and I never viewed training or racing as a dreadful task. On the contrary, it was the "me" time that I so desperately needed as a break! Instead of going shopping or to the spa, I will gladly go train! But most people don't get that. And as for the argument " the kids grow up so fast", yes, I agree they do, but that is why it is important to accept the fact that you can't train for 15-20hrs per week without cutting into the time you spend with the kids. On the other hand, 8-10 hours per week is very doable and not unreasonable. We as adults need some alone time as well. All my training for the Ironman was based on high-intensity intervals as opposed to long and steady rides/runs, and it worked out well for me (to the disapproval of my coach and all the other conventional triathlon training wisdom out there).
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Re: Ironman after baby #2 [IronLady] [ In reply to ]
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so, you've already done an IM with one kid on 8-10 hours of training. then, yes, i think you can totally do it again. two kids seems crazy to think about now, but i'm sure we'll all adjust... just as having 1 took an adjustment. i'm confident that your husband can handle watching 2 kids while you are out training, especially if it's only 10 hours a week. i don't even know him and i have confidence in him :)

my case is a little less clear cut because i haven't trained for an IM on that little training and i haven't been active with this pregnancy because of the different concerns/risks of carrying twins and, we'll have an extra kid (gulp)....BUT, your experience of 2013 is inspiring me and maybe tipping the scales a bit more toward the IM decision. :)

gonna pm you my info so we can keep in touch.

http://www.hooslisa.com
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Re: Ironman after baby #2 [hooslisa] [ In reply to ]
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Yeah I haven't been active much during this pregnancy as well (only 1-2 times of 40min spinning/swimming per week, no jogging after 26 weeks). If you qualified for Kona before, then I am pretty sure that even on 8-10hrs per week you can get into good shape, enough to get you through an IM! If you are considering doing an IM with a toddler and TWINS(!!) then I am even more inspired to do an IM with a baby and a toddler.
we are inspiring each other! lol.
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