With the amount of training that is required for a Half or Full Ironman, how many of you families vs. single.
And if you have a family, how do you find the time to train?
I have a family. I try to train during the week at lunchtime, and then eat my lunch at my desk…that way I can spend time with my family after I get back from work. If I’m not training, then my time is with my family…I don’t have or want any other hobbies that would take me away from them. For example, I pretty much gave up golf and skiing after we had kids since I couldn’t do it with them.
Spot
No snot nosed brats just a wife and dog. Wife is a runner, dog takes naps. My day revolves around my training, not the other way. Not having to get up at the crack of dawn to train which means sleeping in and getting the proper rest.
What is this family thing you speak of?
I’m talkin about a wife 3 kids, a dog and a “Mortgage”. I know marathoners aren’t real welcome, but I just trained and ran one in June and that took up a lot of my time. Trying to find a way to juggle time to train for the 70.3.
I’m lucky, my work schedule is a little light (35 to 36 hours a week), and my wife is a workaholic (50 to 55 hours). Tha usually gives me enough time to train. I seldom train more than once a week during the times I could be spending with my wife.
I’ve got a marathoning wife and 3 kids. Fortunately I work from home and usually do most of my workouts at lunch. It also helps very much to have a wife who runs as she is very understanding of the time and need for training. Plus the kids love to ‘train’ with us when we’re done. For instance, they will ride with us while we run or run a mile or so with us when we’re done running. Most all of my races we try to turn into a family ‘getaway’ which makes it great for all of us.
Wife and 8 year old son. I train from 6 am to 9 am daily and end my workout with a ride to work. Work from 9 am to 6:30 pm. Ride home by 7 pm and hang out with my family or coach son’s soccer team two nites per week. Train one morning on the weekend from 6 am till 11 am. Other day, from 7 am till 9:30 (sleep in morning). Its all fun. I can only handle 1 week per year without my family max. After that, I go nuts and want them back from the in-laws !
Both? Okay, this probably doesn’t qualify. I have a 4-1/2 year old daughter that is with me slightly more than half time. No wife. Separated for 1 year.
I’m with you on this, except I have 2 dogs and they amuse each other so I can get a break.
My wife and I always laugh about how nice it is on a Sunday when we get up at noon, eat breakfast,and then go for a 3+ hour ride. Then we can take a nap, go eat, and go to a movie. Never having to worry about what the kids are doing or finding a babysitter.
Guess we aren’t cut out to have kids.
Family - two kids (11 & 9) and a wife.
I ride to and from work twice a week (12 hilly miles one way and with a 15 lb pack).
I swim for 45 minutes two mornings a week.
I swim, bike or run every weekday at lunch - about an hour
I get my long ride/run Saturday starting at 6:00 AM, this will be switching to Sunday as I will be coaching my daughter’s soccer (like I know anything about soccer!) and games are on Saturday. Actually, I’m the asst. coach and I’ll be improving their strength and stamina. The coach will deal with skills and strategy.
I have two kids. the only way to make it work for me:
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Early morning and lunch workouts.
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Bike trailer and jogging stroller for evening workouts
Wife loves it because she gets a break from the kids.
Kids love the ride (candy helps with this)
I love the workout
Good luck
I just have had an addition to my family - by now he is 2 mths old. I’m training for the Long Course Worlds in 3 weeks, and my schedule has been anything but ‘regular’. The first month it was really hard to get the hours in. Mostly due to lack of sleep. Noah has been sleeping the entire night for about 3 weeks now, so the morning workouts have started again. This is my 3rd long course race, and by far the hardest to train for. I imagine that for the next few years I will be sticking to Oly and HIM races!
I’m actually looking forward to running/riding/skiing with him when he gets old enough to hold up his head in his Chariot.
I have a wife and 3 kids (15, 12 & 10). I did a HIM last summer. My kids each train about 7 - 12 hours a week for swimming. Since in a typical week I was barely matching my 12 year old in terms of workout time, I don’t get too much grief. I’m just doing what everyone else in the house is doing. I swam in the morning before their practice. I did my long bike rides on weekend mornings so I could be home by 10 or 11. I have a standing 45 mile group ride on Tuesday nights that counts as my “night out with the boys.” There is almost always an hour or two in the evenings for a run or ride. All and all, given my family’s attitude towards athletics and a little flexibility, it was pretty easy to find the time.
Of course, 3 or 4 years ago it would have been very hard. The age of my kids makes it easy.
1 - before work-B,RorS; lunch-lift or stretch; after work-B,RorS
2 - 8-10hrs of working out M-F; 8-10hrs of working out S&S (real early)
3 - kids’ practice (swim or row in my case) is an opportunity to S,BorR - never sit on the sidelines and bs w/ the other parents
4 - take a yoga class w/ your teenager
5 - always keep the grass cut, and never complain about how much she spends on gardening
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I have an understanding and interested wife (she a Masters swimmer and sometimes triathlete), two girls 10 and 8, both of us parents work full time.
Here’s how I did CdA this year (mind you this is for a 13 hour IM, not a Kona slot)…
Run in the early a.m. before the family wakes up, be home to wake everyone and help with the morning routine.
Commute four miles each way on the bike. Swim or run or cycle for an hour every lunchtime, eat at desk throughout the day.
Long swim and bike on Saturdays starting early as the pool opens, go right to bike, be home around noon. Run long Sundays after church.
Mondays off.
Include the family whenever possible (swim together, run while they ride). Give the wife lots of love and acknowlegement of her role in the process (presents are good too). Kids were very excited by the prospect of wrapping the family vacation around IM and they were heavily invested in my success (to the point that they would burst into tears at the thought of me not finishing; that surprised me).
Worked like a charm but I’m not sure I can do another until I age up again; that was the deal I cut after I finished and said “Dang that was fun! Can’t wait to do another!”
I have a very understanding wife and two daughters (ages 9 and 13). My wife is working on increasing her running so that she can attempt a marathon. My children have grown up knowing that a normal day involves me arriving home after a workout just in time for breakfast and rarely being home weekends for breakfast so we do things together later in the day. This is why after a crazy training the past 2 years to qualify and go to Kona, this year is a non-ironman year where my training ranges from 12 up to a maximum of 20 hours each week.
I have a 5, 4, 2.5 year old 4 month old, and a not very understanding wife (which is understandable since she is a stay-at-home with kids all day, every day). I get to work around 6am, and I am able to have a workout at lunchtime about 3 days a week. When I get home I take over child care as best I can, until we get them to bed, then it is time to do house work and then time for bed. No training on weekends, just taking care of kids. I do what I can, when I can fit it in; and every once in a while, I am able to win a race if I cherry-pick. Once our youngest gets a little older (like a year or so) I will be able to get in a little more, but for now I get very little training.
Stephen J
I’ve heard some of these terms before. “Wife”, “Child”, and another word that starts with a “j” (I think it’s something called a “job”) are all things that I’ve heard of but never pursued. I guess they never seemed that interesting.
it was actually my friend that started this thread. He is avoiding the addiction that the forum becomes, so he hasn’t got an account, for now. i can see it coming he is constantly voyuering.
as for myself, I am married with a 3 y/o son. I have a full time job and was doing night school. I am taking some time off for family time and to see how far i want to push the triathlon thing. with my hard headedness it will be all the way. I just did the rock and roll marathon in june. bought my bike 6 days later and starting to look forward the ford (ralph’s) in march.