Preparing for ultra's with babies/ young kids

[chriskmurray]

Just wondering how you guys with kids manage to find the time to build the fitness needed to finish longer races.  I used to be at that point in my fitness that I felt I could ride all day and a good pace...fast forward to having a now 5 month old baby and it seems I am lucky if I can ride once or twice a month.  I have rollers but even with them it seems as soon as I get home there is so much to do I feel guilty trying to take an hour or so to ride the rollers despite the fact my wife is very supportive of me trying to race.

What has worked well for all of you with so little time it would be tough to train for a 45 min cross race, let alone a multi day stage race?

At least come spring time baby man should be able to come on some of the tamer rides with me which will make things a bit easier but I feel like I am falling back to where I was years ago fitness wise which might just be in my mind but either way it sucks having worked to hard to gain the fitness I did to just let it fade away.

[Done]

Hi Chris,

My "adventure-sports life" pretty much vanished when my son was born, and it's just starting to return ten years later. I think that it's really hard to work full time, raise a kid, spend time with your spouse, and train at the same time. Something has to give, unless you've got a trust fund (no job required), very active grandparents (less parenting required), full sponsorship (training = working), etc.

That said, my wife and I managed stay pretty fit for the first for years of my son's life. We hiked a lot with him in a kid pack--which--with diapers, food, clothes, kid, etc.--is a pretty good workout. I also managed to find time to run a fair bit, since I could do it from my front door, so no wasted time in the car was required.

These days, I find that bike commuting is a great way to stay in shape, while not taking much extra time. My drive takes about an hour each day, and bike commuting takes about two hours. So, I get a two-hour workout--and it only
"takes" an hour! In the winter, I also ride rollers in the basement, usually after my son has gone to bed.

Weekends are tough for training, mostly because I really enjoy hiking, backpacking, riding, sailing, etc. with my wife and son. A big part of my life is about spending time with the people that I most love, so oftentimes that means no training. Maybe if my wife and I didn't enjoy playing together, I could fit in more training--but I'm happy with the way it is.

So, while I did manage to complete the CTR, I don't see doing more than one long race like that a year--and I don't ever expect to compete at the top level. Still a hell of lot of fun though!

My brother, a Red Bull sponsored athlete, gets paid to train and compete--so that's a good way to "have it all." I have a few friends who are mountain guides, and that works pretty well too. But I honestly don't personally know anyone who spends a lot of time with their kids and spouse, holds a demanding full-time job (with limited vacation time), and performs at a world-class athletic level. Not saying that it can't be done, though--just that it's pretty rare. There are only so many hours in a day, and only so much energy!

[Stefan_G]

Wish I had some good advice or news, but I don't.  It was sort of manageable with only 1 baby, but now with 2, it seems nearly impossible.  My workouts are limited to 1-3 hours at a time, a couple times a week, and then maybe 1 or 2 full days in a month.  And that is being optimistic.  Getting up early has proved to be the best way to squeeze in fitness time.  I will say that once you are in pretty decent shape, a 1-3 hour workout twice a week at very high intensity is a great maintainer of overall fitness.

And as far as the CTR goes, by the 2nd or 3rd day, your physical fitness becomes far less important than your mental fitness.

[murphyo]

Congratulations on your little one, Chris! I'm sure you'll get a variety of responses to this... For what it's worth, I've got a 13-month old at home and a whole new perspective on life, love, and riding. What worked re: training/racing for me early on? Well, nothing. Or at least no expectations. I stayed home for the most part and enjoyed being a dad. Then, when the days got longer, I started squeezing in the occasional commute to work and/or a short weekend ride (be sure to ask very, very nicely). I figure that the first year(s) of my child's life only come round once. Soak it up, be present. At some point you'll find a new balance that works well for baby, mom, and you, but don't be surprised if it doesn't resemble your old routine much. And then it will change again... To be completely honest, this has been the most beautiful and the most difficult period of my life. I plan to pull the "mid-life-crisis-must-do-the-Tour-Divide" card later, but for right now I'm happy. Good luck with everything!

-Owen

[gdillon]

Though I don't have kids right now... look out.  I think it's great that a kid/training thread got started, since I got much insight from the CTR planning thread already. 

You folks with young'ins already possess much mental toughness with respect to the long haul.  Keep it up!

[chriskmurray]

Thanks for the advise so far, I have had the mid-life must race the divide bug for about 4 years now...except it hit in my mid twenties (really looking forward to figure out what my "real" mid life crisis will be)

Once it warms up me and the wife do plan to do alot of hiking with babyman but right now he is still very fussy, even when compared to other kids his age.  Also looking forward to being able to take him out on greenway rides and since I wont be able to ride fast or far with him I plan on just loading the xtra-cycle down with lots of weight to make it a bit tougher.

I think a big part of the problem is on top of babyman being born I also got a new job which I actually like alot but since the job requires me to drive a company van full of tools/parts (i work on elevators) there is no more commuting to work, I also moved into a nicer place but it is farther from good cycling roads and its harder to ride out the front door.

Don't get me wrong either I do love spending time with my family, they are great but I can't get the idea of the tour divide out of my head and I have been obsessed with it for years and I am having a hard time mentally thinking that wont be able to happen for another 18 years or something.

[TruthRider]

I've not done any ultra race - or any race at all, in fact - but am planning on the CTR this year.  I do, however, try to ride as much as possible.   I have 6 year old and 3 year old girls, and built my own house over the last five years.  So up until the last two years, with a house and a young girl and a baby girl, there was a stretch there for about five years where riding was MINIMAL.  And by that I mean literally 10 rides or less per summer.  It almost killed me.  I felt it changing me, and hated it. I slowly built it back up until this last year and a half has been pretty decent.  For me, my secret has been 4:30 am alarms.   I've found that literally nothing interrupts a 5 am ride, except my own head.  Even when my wife is supportive and I schedule an evening ride, there are so many variables that can block it.  Kids, work, traffic, whatever.  I can fit in 2.5 hour rides and still be back in the house by 7:30 in time to help with the kids AND get to work on time.  Makes for a happy wife, happy boss, and happy bike.    GOOD LUCK finding your training groove.  I also found that I stopped saying "I don't have time".   I switched to "I didn't make time."   Because that's really the truth.

[Done]

but right now he is still very fussy, even when compared to other kids his age.

Hopefully he'll settle down soon. My son went through some rough phases, and pretty much all we could do was hang on and be patient. It does get easier, and you'll eventually have time to pick up where you left off. Sounds like you're wrestling with some big changes, which will have their own rewards.

Having a kid was WAY harder--and way more rewarding--than anything else than I've ever done.

[P Nome]

An understanding wife. Agree with the early morning, higher intensity and I try not to dink around.  It's a hard balance, but manageable and actually helps keep me focused and organized. 

[chriskmurray]

I felt it changing me, and hated it.

This is where I am at exactly, I am riding about as much as it sounds like you were, one ride a month and sometimes less and they usually are limited to a couple hours.  Riding has always been my way of coming back to a place of normalcy after busting it at work and coming home to a very overwhelming list of things needed to be done.

I've also thought about the early alarm thing but that would be rough too, I have to be at work at 7am and depending on where the job is that day it could be over an hours drive away so that would make for some very early alarms.

I guess it looks like its just a matter of me sucking it up until spring when he is old enough to ride on the back of the bike with me and able to go hiking with us in one of those baby back packs.  At least this is fairly normal in terms of how limited your riding becomes the first year but ultimately id rather sacrifice fitness over family any day... in the mean time, come on lottery

[elobeck]

I agree with what others have said about the 4:30 alarms. I have a 16 month old and full time "sedentary" job, and have ridden the divide twice since her birth. Obviously a supporting wife is key, but daily workouts from 5 am to 8 am are HUGE in terms of building a fitness base. Weekends are an opportunity for at least one loooong day at very low intensity to maintain the endurance aspect (10 hours +). The other weekend day is spent lugging the kid trailer around from playground to bookstore to library. That is actually unbelievably hard work. Add in daily commuting miles and one can get quite close to a decent semblance of fitness. For me, I am considering this year adding a weekend babysitter to the equation for the month of april-so 4 days total to get both weekend days. While I might be accused of being a poor dad in this scenario, I typically more than make up for it during the 6 months after the event I am shooting for, when I might not be all that interested in logging big miles. However, I am limited to one event per year only with this scheme.
For myself, key to the 4:30 alarm it seems, is doing it regularly-get your rhythm tuned to that and you will find yourself waking up at that hour without an alarm.
An unintended side bonus is that when I park myself in front of my work station for 8 hours, I feel better, more alert, etc.

[LyndaW]

Soak it up, be present.

At some point you'll find a new balance that works well for baby, mom, and you, but don't be surprised if it doesn't resemble your old routine much.

-Owen

I have a now 8yr girl and 11 yr boy. The above advice from Owen really speaks true to me. The little baby years were limiting and trying. Especially the crying jags.

#1 Soak it up an be present - really...you don't get a second chance on this one.

#2 At some point you'll find a balance - Yes! This changes ALL the time as they grow. The paradigm is not static as they grow and get opinions and abilities. One baby plus a trailer is awesome training with the road bike but 2 kids in the trailer needs a mountain bike and gears, then they get too big for the trailer, but then they go to school and a new window opens etc...

Now my kids can ride themselves and it is shocking (to me) how much fun that is for me to ride short and slow with them. I really love riding with my kids. Wesley has asked me to chill it a few times when we have been riding ;-)



I would LOVE to do Tour Divide and every year flirt with the idea of doing CTR but the reality is I made kids and being a great mom is a higher priority than training for, racing and then spending 2 months blown from said race. Being blown after a big race effort makes me a crappy mom - tired, disinterested and impatient. I struggled with that for a long time but settled down...TD will be there for years mostly unchanged and I have a second and third chance at those things.

I joke with my 11 year old boy that when he is 16 yrs and can drive he can take his sister for a road trip from Banff to Antelope Wells and I'll ride it. It was a joke for a long time but hey it is only 5 years off for me now!! 2016...

There are ways to have a real good time on your bike and stay in shape without paying the price TD extracts. Early morning hammer sessions on the trainer does a ton to maintain fitness.

I am going to be able to leave and do AZT this spring which I am really excited about. These things are sorta more special and exciting when I have wanted them for a long time and had to wait.

Just thought I would share my journey through the kid/big race dilemma being a decade along the road from the lil' baby poopy diaper stage.

Lynda

[Marshal]

nail is hit on head by Lynda

[elobeck]

Nice writ up Lynda...you are far ahead of me in the kids game. I find it consistent with most athletic parents-wether the TD or ultra's are on the radar or not, that some method is found to maintain athleticism with critters in the den. The early morning exercise routine is quite common. Ultimately the kids are in some way or another part of this "fitness" experience/athletic household. My observations thus far indicate that exposure to being outside, eating well, exercising translates into similar habits/passions for the young uns, which is a healthy outlet IMHO. Personally I have found my days to be more efficient when I have a goal to prepare for, and this cuts out some of the unnecessary fat, like television for example, or installing trim in an odd corner of the house. I value the time I spend with my daughter, and the bulk of my time goes towards that. More often than not, she is a component. She hikes up the ski hill with me in the backpack, she is in the trailer, she sleds down when I snowshoe up, etc. This has actually influenced my "training" positively- I train smarter, I am more diverse in what I choose to do. This is good good. I wholeheartedly agree that this will change as my child ages, and it will be fun to adapt. Adaptation is in and of itself a good philosophy. Training smarter (i.e. heart rate in the right zone, and no overtraining too much too soon etc) gives me more energy to enjoy my daughters company. Everyone must find their own overall energy level and determine to what extent it might accept ultra racing.
On a side note, I can't wait to take my daughter on an extended bike tour with a tag along. Maybe 10-15 miles a day would be the norm? Seems like a good fit for Europe....

[LyndaW]

Fully loaded - how about a tandem with a tag-a-long?

http://aaronteasdale.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-we-did-it.html

This family is amazing!!

[Roland Sturm]

Competitive ultras and young children? You probably can't do it - or maybe shouldn't with very young children. Kids take a lot of time and they deserve full attention when they are little. It is a unique time period and it doesn't last that long. You can do full day rides soon enough, which is probably the preparation most people would need to hold up at ultra events. And 10 years go by pretty fast (by middle school, they may want to spend less time with you than you with them). Like Lynda said, try to enjoy the time with the children. In the meantime, maybe another hobby that does not require quite the same time commitment.  

Taking a full weekend day off means neglecting the family. Period. And what for? To place 57th in Leadville?

There are still many sports possibilities that are far less time consuming. Finding 5 hours a week with a full time job and children is quite manageable without neglecting either one. It is plenty to have a high level of fitness, even for some competitive events - but not ultra endurance.

I think the reason we see a disproportionate number of 40 and 50 year-olds in ultra events - and especially cycling - compared to other sports events has less to do with midlife crises but simply time availability. Randonneuring may be the extreme example. I venture the hypothesis that the majority, even among the top performers, have not done that continuously since their 20s, but returned in their 40s.

My situation is probably not that different from Lynda's, at least regarding taking time off from ultra training, and I fully agree with her description (I may be a few years ahead, my son will get his driver's license this year, my daughter is 10). I ride a lot now, but my long hours on the bike ended in 1995 and only in the last few years have been increasing again. Now my kids are old enough that they can (and enjoy) riding (although the joint family activity usually is playing music). As long as I have an interesting new trail and less than 3000 feet of climbing, my son will ride along. And the whole family will bikepacking (or at least dirt road touring) later in the summer in Germany.

Now, what can you do easily? Trying to think back 15 years, I know it was a rather dramatic cutback in hours. When my son was a month old, I bought a Concept 2 rowing machine. Best piece of exercise equipment there is, great design, solid, and minimal maintenance. Great cross-training even if you want to maintain fitness for (less than ultra) cycling races. A reliable power meter as well, plus a competitive community, as hardcore as any cycling crowd. Great to improve anaerobic thresholds.

For a few years, it accounted probably for 1/2 my workouts, now maybe once or twice a week and is purely cross-training. Low impact, like cycling, but higher intensity (maybe like track), so you get your workouts done fairly quick. Set it up while the baby is napping and you're well done before he/she wakes up. If he/she wakes up a little earlier than expected, time for 400 watt intervals, which will be highly amusing and you're delighted to change the diaper before they get bored with that entertainment. Tough fitness test: Get into the top 50 in your age/weight group in the 2k: http://www.concept2.com/sranking03/get_wrankings.asp
You can still ride your bike, even train for shorter duration events (and the concept 2 erg is hard to beat for anaerobic threshold training, I couldn't train that well on the road).. Maybe even go bikepacking for a few days while the kids visit grandparents. It is just difficult to get the long hours in that most people seem to need to prepare for ultra events. Now, there are a few lucky people that can deal with the high physical demand of ultra without specific (i.e. long hours) training. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them. 

[LyndaW]

My situation is probably not that different from Lynda's

I have to say it sounds a lot different from mine. I still ride a lot...and have few other interests and talents.

[Roland Sturm]

Lynda, then I must have misunderstood you. I thought your post said that you have not NOT been preparing for or racing ultra-events and that you made being a parent a priority. That's what I saw as the similarity and it had been my situation for a long time (but now kids are in middle and in high school).  

Probably different situation in terms of workouts. I never was a pure cyclist.

[elobeck]

"Taking a full weekend day off means neglecting the family. Period. And what for? To place 57th in Leadville? "

This comment talks more about one's opinions on parenting philosophy and less about "preparing for ultra's with babies/young kids". Different topic, different discussion. Rather I am guessing, perhaps incorrectly, that this discussion thread presupposes one has struck a healthy balance between training and family, and one is figuring out the best method to accomplish preparation without sacrificing the family unit. Every family and family situation is unique, number of kids, nap schedules, personalitites, etc.
Just because one trains on a few weekend days prior to an event doesn't mean they have to disappear from the family life. Exposure to grandparents, days off post event, camp, saturday school, these are all components that factor into the overall scheme. Again, every situation is unique. In the end, one could argue any parent going ultra racing is putting the family at risk no matter how old the dependents and wife are. Examples abound-the doctor who passed away racing RAAM leaving family behind, last years tragic TD (There were a lot of Dad's and Mom's out there, children of all ages). I don't think there is a clear boundary-in fact it is very fuzzy. Is risk exposure racing TD or similar responsible even if one has a 16 year old that wants nothing to do with parents at the moment? What about the significant other? Hmmm.

Just a thought. I'm not sure I have the right answer. I just organized the return of Dave Blumenthal's bike back to his family, and it was very emotional for me and definitely has me thinking....

[sherpaxc]

Dude, come on now Roland.  Your words seem a bit harsh and judgemental.  I'm sure you don't mean them to be, but saying for someone to be gone for a few days at a time is bad parenting (I'm paraphrasing here I know) is bad form.  Philosophy in parenting techniques are different for everyone.

As to the original question.  I have a 20 month old boy.  He is the joy of my life.  I also had to pretty much take the past 2 "seasons" of ultra rides, not races, off because I didn't feel right about being away and wasn't that fit to do them anyway.  That isn't to say I haven't had my fair share of multi day adventures but these have been limited to 3 days or so. 

Your new job sounds like it makes training tough.  In the end you'll have to make a decision.  Do you sacrifice some sleep for some more fitness or not.  There can be a balance there.  You can loose an hour and a half of sleep a night a few times a week or maybe get to bed earlier some nights.  I don't know the answer...just thinking out loud.

Hang in there for sure though.  My God, I'd give anything (up) for my son, he's so worth it.  Luckily, I believe that by being into the outdoors, being athletic, loving nature I am setting a good example.  I'm sure you'll do the same naturally.

It's so refreshing to see such a strong community come together on  :headbang:these boards.  You've already gotten some great advice from some very well respected riders on here.  It motivates me.  If they can do it I can do it!!!