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Balancing Parentling With Triathlon...

Monday, 23 February 2015 06:10

ED. Posted with the permission of Kort and Midwest Events. This story originally appeared in MWE's 2015 Women's Annual.

By Kortney Haag

Believe it or not, life as an athlete does not end after having children. I myself have become a better athlete after having my two boys and actually raced just eight weeks after having my second child. In this article I wanted to provide Moms (and Dads) with easy realistic ways to stay in shape and hit those personal records while not forgetting about your children, spouse, friends and yourself!

I thought it would be helpful to have different advice from moms with young children to moms with older children and asked my friends and competitors who are moms on top of their game in the triathlon scene! ...

Tip #1-Honey Help: Both my husband and I are competitive triathletes and we both raced an Ironman last year. He raced Ironman Wisconsin and I competed at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, HI. We do a great job of communicating to each other our training and who gets priority on certain days.   Work with your partner to create a routine where you both support each other’s activity and once in a while go out and train with each other. It is OK to get that babysitter for a couple of hours so you’re able to get your long workouts in without taking the entire day so you can all spend time together as a family. If you are a single parent, try a kid swap with other parents so you can hit the road running.

Tip #2-Have a different challenge: Diane Hankee provided some guidance for parents to make your challenge not about the competition, but about feeling good and healthy during this point in your life. A favorite memory of hers is sharing Kona with her children. Her son is the one telling her she should do another Ironman again. She makes sure she includes her children in her training and thrives on the challenge of managing her priorities of family, competition and work, and shuffles those priorities at different times of the year.

Tip #3–Be flexible: Brooke Darst Rice is a great example of this. She is a part time working mom of two, in addition to being spin instructor. She adds that it is equally important in her house to recognize the need for fitness for everyone and making room for all interested parties to have their time and activities. She adds for new moms instead of napping for energy, try doing 30 minutes of cardio to wake you. Another great tip is on long workouts listen to parent podcasts like Hand in Hand Parenting Connection, it makes her feel like she is getting stronger all around. “On long runs, I listen to parenting podcasts (especially those by Hand in Hand Parenting Connection); it makes me feel like I'm getting stronger all around.”

Tip #4-Be Creative: Lisa Lendway has a full time job and is the single parent of two little girls, ages 5 and 2. She gets creative in her workouts and finds ways to sneak them in. She bikes to work as often as possible, pulls the girls in the Burley (this is definitely a strength workout) and gets lots of motivation from them as they tell her to go faster! On her solo bike rides to work she races against herself, trying to beat her time. Her long runs happen on the weekends and then she does her short runs during the week right after or before picking the girls up from daycare. Swimming is the hardest of the three sports to fit in and she usually gets in one swim a week. Lisa added that her children don’t know any other lifestyle and are her biggest fans. They love going to the races and cheering for her and others and it chokes her up to see her kids on the sideline when she is out there competing. She looks forward to the day they can all race together and is sure the day they beat her is right around the corner.

Tip #5-Make it a Team Effort: Michelle Andres a mother to five boys, accomplished Ironman athlete and teacher. She resonates team effort as part of her blog -teamandres.blogspot.com and confirms that her success as an athlete is because of her “team.” Michelle and her husband have taught her boys at a very young age how to laundry, dishes, cook, etc. Each have jobs and they rotate themselves through them. When Michelle was training for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, HI she made sure the boys knew it was her dream just like her boys have big hockey dreams.  

As a mom, I know what it is like to be up all night with a crying baby and there were times when I just wanted to crawl back into my bed. The last thing I thought I had enough energy for was a workout but once you get on a plan and keep the consistency going it becomes a normal part of your day just like changing a diaper.

Kortney Haag

USAT Level 1 Triathlon Coach

NSCA CSCS

USAC Level 3 Cycling Coach

Elite Amateur Athlete

Mom of 2