Half Ironman Training with kids

Triathlon Forum
1

I might do a Half Ironman in August, the problem is I have a 15 month old and my wife is due with our second in mid July.

I want to at least give it a shot, thinking about when to actually train.

I could ride my bike back and forth to work which is really only 7 miles each way :0(

My job is flexible so I have at least 1 hour at lunch to workout, I could do 1 day a week of a long workout of 2 hours plus during the workweek.

Son now wakes up at like 6am on Saturday and Sunday I would have to be up early to bang out a workout.

Any ideas in how to “sneak” in workouts?
thx

2

I’m a mum with 2 grade-schoolers, and I did a half-ironman a couple of years ago. Speaking from the perspective of someone who at one point had a toddler and a newborn at home, I don’t think this is the right time for you to be planning a 1/2-ironman. Your wife is going to need your help. I don’t think planning a race a few weeks out from her due date is putting your energy in the right place. That’s just my opinion, but like I said… I know that of which I speak. There will always be other races.

3

Ditto above. I dropped out of riding entirely when my wife and I started having kids. The time demand for training will hit when your wife needs you most. Every minute you help her in the evenings is worth years of happy marriage ahead. The first six months of our two children were some of the most exhausted moments of my life, and I was not the one doing the heavy lifting. I cannot imagine that I could have substituted HIM training during that time without unfairly putting a massive burden on my wife.

4

Actually get up early. I’m up at 330 to get trainer and treadmill workouts knocked out. that bike commute to work hardly seems worth the trouble.

5

I have a 20 month old and will be doing IM North Carolina 4 weeks after the due date of our 2nd child.

  1. Early Mornings - can do 2 hours before work
  2. After kid/wife go to sleep- usually trainer ride or easy run
  3. Saturday/Sunday AM from 5am-10am is “me time”

Did my 1st IM last year with 1 toddler and it worked. 12:41 so not KQ but not terrible.

6

Hard for anyone to say on here if you have the time to train for a half at this particular point in your life.

Ways to sneak in workouts to stay in shape however would be get on the trainer so you are there at the house. Netflix and TrainerRoad make the time pass a little easier. For runs, hopefully you can sneak out for some QUALITY 30-45 minute runs during the week and sneak out for a long run and swim on the weekend.

Personally, I would probably wait for the race and take care of family first. Triathlon isn’t going anywhere, you can do one in a few years.

7

Wake up early. Set the alarm for 4. You’ll be fine.

8

15-month old, plus a pregnant wife? Do you want to actually stay married?

9

15-month old, plus a pregnant wife? Do you want to actually stay married?

This. Just divorce now and save yourself the trouble. Then you’ll be free to train as much as you want!

10

A trainer In the garage and a few early morning sessions is a good start. If getting up early is out of the question, it might be tough.

11

One more piece of input for you, re. those who say “just set your alarm and get up at 3/4:00 a.m.”. In my household, my first born was up roughly every hour or two at night. Many mothers of babies/toddlers also have this thing where if you hear so much as a carpet fibre rustle under the weight of a little foot, you’re jolted awake wondering what’s up. Can’t speak to everyone’s experience, but this was my own (and I had previously been a sound sleeper). If my husband had set an alarm, or even crept out of bed at 3:00 a.m., it would have woken me up. And if that was during one of my precious uninterrupted 1-2 hrs of sleep, I would have seriously gone nuclear on him. Even if you sleep in another bed, on another floor, your wife will likely hear your treadmill or trainer, or the front door closing as you leave for your workout. If you’re dead set on keeping up with your training load, I would cut back on your work hours and fit it all into your (normal, not extended or you’re taking time from your family) work day. If you insist on taking 5-hour chunks of “me time” on the weekend, make damn sure you give your wife at least that much for herself while you look after the kids (which frankly, might be difficult if she’s breastfeeding).

12

I’d postpone. You aren’t going to be getting any sleep when the second one comes and that will be during your in heavy training. You’ll quickly realize how easy you had it when on only had one kid.

13

I might do a Half Ironman in August, the problem is I have a 15 month old and my wife is due with our second in mid July.

I want to at least give it a shot, thinking about when to actually train.

I could ride my bike back and forth to work which is really only 7 miles each way :0(

My job is flexible so I have at least 1 hour at lunch to workout, I could do 1 day a week of a long workout of 2 hours plus during the workweek.

Son now wakes up at like 6am on Saturday and Sunday I would have to be up early to bang out a workout.

Any ideas in how to “sneak” in workouts?
thx

I have 4 kids age: 12, 11, 5, 3. I’ve been training for triathlon for 5 years, so I’ve gone through the newborn thing. 3 years ago, my wife also started triathlon. We both trained/raced a 70.3 together this past April in NOLA.

Here’s what works for me. And I will preface this by stating that it has actually gotten easier since my wife has been training too. True, we have less time. She has always been understanding and supportive, however now that she’s also training, the level of support is greater because she understands the importance of workouts, etc.

Almost all of my training takes place early in the morning. Usually, I’m starting to train each morning during the week at 4-5am. Either 1-2 hours on the trainer for cycling, almost all swims and runs. My longest runs for 70.3 cap out at about 2 hours, so I will usually squeeze one of those in during the morning. I train until 7am, then shower and go to work. This leaves evenings open for family. During the summertime, I can squeeze in about 3 workouts during lunch (swim or tempo runs). Weekends, it’s really a crap-shoot of what we have going on family wise. Usually, I can get one long bike in on Saturday afternoon, but more times than not, it’s also on the trainer.

When my youngest was an infant, I used to put him in a bouncer chair next to the bike/trainer and he would be mesmerized by the spinning legs/wheels and white noise. It was sure to put him to sleep.

One thing that I can say is that it’s best to do things very early in the morning and be flexible. If you insist on a workout when she’s having a hard time/needs you, it will only build resentment toward you, and your training. It’s a tough deal.

Commuting to work is not an option for me, but i wouldn’t do it even if I could. It seems like the time/benefit would not be there, compared to the work I can do on the trainer.

14

Whatever you decide, do not underestimate the added stress of not getting quality sleep. I have a four year old and a nine month old, the later of which just started to sleep through the night (kind of).

I raced my season-opening HIM last weekend. In the training leading up to this event, I failed to accurately account for reduced sleep and paid for it in the weeks leading up to the race (decreased motivation, tired all day at work) and during the race (diminished training=crappy racing).

Also, trying to squeeze in training around a newborn is asking for a lot of missed workouts and marital discord

My two cents would be to chill on the HIM for this season.

15

15-month old, plus a pregnant wife? Do you want to actually stay married?

This

16

Actually get up early. I’m up at 330 to get trainer and treadmill workouts knocked out. that bike commute to work hardly seems worth the trouble.

I’m not up quite this early, but the alarm goes off sometime between 4-4:45 most mornings, depending on the length of my workout. I have a 3 year old with another due in September. All of my workouts are done by 6:15ish during the week and by 8:30 or so on the weekends. The trainer and treadmill become your friends once you have kids, as does an alarm clock.

I’ve been getting in 12-15 hr training weeks by averaging around 1.5 hours a day during the week, then around 6-7 hrs total on the weekend.

17

15-month old, plus a pregnant wife? Do you want to actually stay married?

This

Ok Ok, I will stick to running/Lifting weights for now…

BUT I WILL BE BACK!.

18

I’ve got an 18 month old, so it’s a little easier. Training for a half in November. Currently haven’t hit huge work loads yet, but averaging 7 hours+ since November to do sprints and oly’s beforehand. Biggest thing for me is the ability to get home from work way earlier than my wife. She picks him up from daycare at 5, and I can get home at 4 a lot of days. Knock out a trainerroad workout or go for a run before they get in. Also, the gym I swim at is next door to the office, so I can grab a swim and be getting home same time as them. Sometimes interval workouts on the trainer at lunch. If I have to work later, I have to wait until my son goes to be at 7:30 and I’ll do something then. I try to get morning workouts in, but I already have a decent commute and like to be out the door by 6. So that means getting up at 4. Nights like last night when my son couldn’t sleep and kept me up most of the night ruins any possibility of me getting that workout in (laying out all my stuff before hand last night was a waste). So I rely on that flexible afternoon schedule.

There is absolutely no doubt that if we had a sub-6 month old running around, that I would in now way shape or form be able to handle the training. Best I can hope for is to keep in decent shape by getting some 30 minute runs in with the rare swim or bike. We are thinking about a second one, but I really want to attempt a full next year. I know that if it happens, that goal is out the window for a little while.

19

I’d postpone. You aren’t going to be getting any sleep when the second one comes and that will be during your in heavy training. You’ll quickly realize how easy you had it when on only had one kid.

Indeed, on all counts. It will get easier though, depending on how much your baby sleeps. I found when my wife was on maternity leave and our eldest was 4 that getting-up early to swim was manageable, but when she went back to work I dropped that as logistics took over! I did do a local half when the baby was 3 months old, but didn’t take it overly seriously and remember our eldest was four and in Kindergarten a lot of the time; I withdrew from the Ironman I entered when we discovered my wife was expecting. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, just be prepared to do a quick bit of training when the opportunity arises; treadmills and bike trainers in the garage are great for this. Chances are you’ll be really tired anyway, and there’s always next year or the one after for that PB :slight_smile:

I always say…Two kids = three times the work :wink:

20

With one kid, sure why not. With 2 or more? Personally I would not do it. Maybe wait a year or two until the sleep patterns are steady bt those first few months will suck. I could get by with 5 hours of sleep a night without kids, now I need 6-7 hours if I am training or I get sick much more often. Between allergies being horrible this year and a walking petri dish at home being healthy for the family is key