It took me nearly nine months postpartum to even entertain racing triathlon again. I was feeling fit but unsure I wanted to take on the added pressure and logistics of a race. But when an off-road triathlon slated to take place right here in Whistler came online, I felt like the stars had aligned. Time to race!
If you’re eyeing up a race as a new parent, here are four things to consider that got me to the finish line:
Setting expectations can be tricky.
You have “pre-baby you” to contend with on course and “new mom you” to look after when the race is done.
In the past I would have signed up for the longest distance I could manage, go full-gas on course and come home to eat, nap and relax in a glorious post-race glow. Now, having a baby means that this recovery might not be possible. I used this race as a stepping stone. Plenty of ultra runners and Ironman athletes are also parents. But for me, I needed to start small. A big part of getting to race day is just being in a comfortable headspace to take on the challenge.
My solution: Have a plan. Set expectations with your partner before signing up for the race or get extra help from friends/family. I actually opted for the shorter distance race so that even if I went all out (you know that I did!) my race was over an hour earlier than the Championship distance.
Erin Beresini of Triathlete Magazine rounds up an exhaustive list of mental prep resources here:
A few laughs moments before the swim start with Liz
Train with a friend.
My dear friend Liz was my training partner for this race. Our babies are four months apart and we have a special bond from racing many cool events pre-kids. For the Whistler Off-Road Triathlon we started by picking a cool (achievable) training plan through a coach on Training Peaks named Phil Mosely.
Victories are that much sweeter with a great training buddy.
We signed up and started showing up. We held each other accountable. It was awesome. I managed to get sick, mid-training cycle but felt motivated to get healthy and jump right back into training. Props to Liz. She kept me going.
My Solution: pick a friend that is of similar athletic ability or life phase. It’s so much easier to relate to someone that is going through similar training challenges and victories.
On a side note about illness and injury, it’s super common for training stress to accumulate quickly and that may lower your immune system. Especially with a baby in the mix! Tri Radar has a great article about how to approach these disruptions to training here:
Have a solid foundation.
One thing I hadn’t done with any seriousness pre-baby was strength training. In this article I talk about building my postpartum fitness foundation. Although I was introducing a triathlon specific plan into my daily workouts, I made room for strength and stretching to keep my body strong. The strength work I do is at home with bands and body weight through a program called Mountain Mom Strong. The stretching I do casually while hanging with baby on the floor.
Pregnancy & Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist, Sara Niblock writes about where to start with recovery after giving birth, here:
My favourite leg of a triathlon: the bike! Photo: Scott Robarts
Lastly, make it count.
If you make space in your life to race and arrange for help looking after the little one to do so, enjoy it. There are many little sacrifices made by you and your love ones to get to race day.
I lined up at the swim start not feeling my strongest from a few interruptions in the last month of training. But ultimately, I was grateful for the time and space to test my fitness and be outside. No interruptions. Now that’s a rad way to spend a Sunday morning.
So appreciative of my #1 fan and race crew extraordinaire, Dan. I was even lucky enough to have my aunt and uncle visiting from California cheering me on at the finish and my in-laws looking after my little one. It takes a village to race.
Some helpful tips for traveling with a little one for the first time. Plus fitting in triathlon training too.