by Mindy Parsons.
Training and Being a Mom. It’s hard. It’s hard enough just getting your child out and about their day with proper clothing on and the right stuff in their bags. You managed to get their water bottles filled and packed. But you forgot your own again.
So how do you find the time to train and race when family comes first? Every family dynamic is different and while there isn’t one perfect answer, there are lots of options if you’re willing to explore them and stick to them. The balance in my early training years worked out so that I trained in the morning, and my marathoner husband. It worked for him because he wasn’t a morning person and it worked well for me because after a day of work and parenting and cooking, the last thing I wanted to do was exert myself more. When our first child started preschool, we also negotiated an arrangement where he’d get up early couple times a week and take care of our son so I could head to the gym for a class or swim. I found a gym near the highway so I could do my workout, shower, and hit the road for the office.
Ask yourself, are you a morning person or a night person? Do you have a lunch break in which you have enough time to get in a workout and get back to work? If you don’t feel strongly toward morning or night then give yourself a couple weeks of trying one then the other to see what your more comfortable with. The key is commitment. There’s a lot of players in your family, so establishing a schedule and sticking to it is going to give you and your family the most success at keeping balanced and sane.
Look at your family’s schedule and talk with your partner. If your kids are older, perhaps it’s time to let them have a little more responsibility. My children are 9 years apart and when my firstborn was 11 I realized that’s the age girls take baby sitting classes, so mine could definitely watch his younger brother while I went out for a run. I started small and built it up as he got more comfortable (really it was me being more comfortable leaving him in charge of his brother; he loved it).
I also worked with my younger child to establish a routine, as I got divorced when he was still quite young. He learned that on the weekend I would go for a run in town and might not be home when he woke up (big brother was still there if he really needed help), he could have some TV, and I would bring him home a blueberry muffin. My Saturday mornings are often with a local running club and we hit a bakery after the run. Kids love tv and muffins. His favorite morning is now my long workout day.
Coaching. There are two kinds of coaches. The first is the kind that you commit to working with and who will form a plan that works with your schedule and your race needs. For years I did my own training plans, and while they worked for me, I knew I could do better. I also procrastinated sitting and figuring it out, because who has the time? My 16-week plans would inevitably be 12-week plans by the time I got to them.
The second kind of coach, if you’re fortunate enough to have young children, is free! I ran with my 2-year-old out of necessity at first, but it became our thing. A local town 5k before the holidays was perfectly timed with his nap. And when he was awake he’d cheer me to run faster. So Motivational. He became my coach, always telling me to run faster.
For this, a good jogging stroller is worth it. I had my first son’s older stroller that his father had used, and it was heavy and had a fixed front wheel. I used it because I had it but I wished I had a different one. I’d highly recommend a front wheel that is either free-turning or can be locked, as a fixed wheel makes the stroller have a really wide turning radius, or you’ll have to lift the front to turn quickly which can zap energy. Hand and foot brakes are great safety features. Look for a good snack tray that will hold snacks or toys over bumps.
Lastly, choose wisely what will go on the ride with your child or accept the fact that you’ll be getting an agility workout along with the run as you dive to catch lost snuggly buddies or rolling snack cups. At the end of your workout, make sure to treat your awesome little coach to big kudos and high fives.
5:30 Fanatic. I am fortunate enough to have a running club in my community. There are members who, like me, are crazy enough to get up before the kids for a 45-minute run. We run all year long, in nearly all weather and temperatures. There is also a gym nearby so if it’s too icy or I’ve had enough soggy socks, I hit the treadmill. The point is that I commit. Making that 5:30 workout – in whatever form it ends up being – keeps me grounded, energized, and sane.
I only get an hour to work out, so I streamline as much as I can to minimize what I need to do between waking up and starting training. I set out my workout clothes the night before, checking the weather if need be. If I’m going to the gym or down to the basement for my bike, my water bottle and fuel are ready to grab.
What about that second workout? We all need a second workout on the same day at some point. Thankfully these typically build up more when the weather is warmer and the days are longer. They tend to be shorter workouts so they’re easier to find a pocket of time to get done. I will often do my run between work and dinner, and make sure it’s an easy-to-make dinner night. Or I have dinner ready to go on time and get the run in between dinner and my son’s bedtime. For parents with kids at sports, getting a run or ride in while they’re at practice can work out well.
Match your goals to what you can realistically accomplish. In the end there are only so many hours in the day. I know I can get in the training time to do a Sprint or Olympic distance triathlon, but I don’t have enough time to train for a 70.3, as long as I still have children who have their own schedules that need me. Instead, I fill my race season with a couple interesting triathlons, and a bunch of road races. I plan them when my kids are with their father, or the race is near my mother so they can stay with her. Some venues are also great for them to come join me and I hope as they get older they’ll time their vendor freebie explorations well and put down their devices at the right time so that they can catch me at the finish line.
We’re still working on that one.