How did having kids affect your training?

Congrats! Becoming a dad was the best thing that's ever happened to me. It's been incredible.

That said...

At least for the first few years, even if you're fortunate to have a kid that sleeps pretty well, you won't be getting consistent 8-9 hours a night if you're pulling your weight with childcare. That's basically unavoidable unless you want to hang your partner out to dry for the sake of your hobby. That's probably the biggest potential deterrent to high-level training.

The good news is you get used to functioning at a high level off of 5-7 hours most nights. You may need to slot in additional recovery days between harder efforts to avoid putting yourself in a hole, and of course you'll need to keep some training flexibility - that first daycare cold can take out your entire house for a week. But it's entirely doable to keep up with your running, especially once you get through the first few months post-baby.

Your priorities will shift, but for a lot of runners that's a positive. You'll become less neurotic and probably enjoy individual runs a bit more since they'll become your primary break from family. And I know plenty of guys - very involved dads - who are running faster than ever after one or two kids. Maybe you can't dawdle as much with your buddies after the long run. You might have to skip some weight sessions here and there. You'll get really good at condensing warm ups and cool downs to cram as much quality into a tight time slot as possible.

Even if you're having a tough go of things while your baby is young, you'll still be PR-able age when they lock into a more reliable schedule and enter pre-K. Do your best balancing it all, when it's safe to run with your baby in a jogging stroller, invest in a decent one, and have fun with it.

Well missing runs will be a thing a times. Running earlier and later cause you need someone to watch the kid. Sometimes your able to get on the treadmill or bike at home while the baby sleeps or plays at times. Even if you don't have enough time to get in a full run and/or workout doing something is better than nothing some days. I think the best option to get your training in and not missing out is becoming a morning runner (4am/5am wake up maybe) while everyone is sleeping.

You say you are 26 years old, that may feel really young to have child but it will be okay!

having child very individual. With my 3rd child I was still able to run 20 miles a week until week 29, but with 2nd no running. Morning sickness with 2nd in 1st trimester, none with other 3. Craving for applesauce and cottage cheese (not together) with 3rd but otherwise no big cravings. Very different needs and behaviors when child outside too.

you can start sleep training with cry-it-out after 2 weeks. The doctors don’t want you to know that, just get some good sound cancelling headphones lol jk. Helps with your sleep.

its a blessing.

I was much older and past what would my "prime" when I became a father. I am going to jump ahead here---I loved it when my kids got old enough where they could ride their bikes along on my runs. It was such a great time to spend with them. It role modeled being active for one thing and there were no distractions. So maybe look forward to that. The conversations and bonding were amazing.

Ok, others have noted that sleep can be an issue if you are pulling childcare load. Even if I was not the one getting up, I was often awakened. My wife did most of the "heavy lifting" in part because she was a stay at home mom. I was thankful and also made sure that she had time for herself to help offset it.

When I would train for a marathon and need to be a little more diligent with my running, she and I would sit down on Sunday night and map out the week. (This continue for a few years.) I would adjust my training based on what was going on. As the kids got into school and she was in school and working, it was a matter of coordinating some duties.

It really requires give and take---okay mainly give on your part. Unless you are making your living from running, the running has to move down in priority.

You might be amazed at how you will be okay hanging out with your kid even as an infant.

Great advice here. Can second this after becoming a Dad in January 2025.

First kid didn't affect things much, just required me to be more focused and even helped running consistency a bit. Second kid though basically meant the end of running, but thankfully I sought out whatever I could find to fill that exercise void and I quickly found kettlebell strength training, which fit the bill as something I could do at any time at home in under 30 minutes without any setup needed. I definitely miss some aspects of running, though kettlebells have a great cardio/power benefit, which has kept me in good enough shape that I still feel fit whenever I want to go for a run on a whim. Overall it's actually greatly improved my functional fitness and I feel better than I ever have - have even gotten pretty jacked - or ripped and shredded as we used to say here.

I didn't have a kid until 38 and did a good deal of training before. It's not so much that you run out of time to get your runs in, it's that you're just dang tired. I ended up over doing it and under recovering which lead to achilles tendinopathy and issues there for years. Getting very ill from the flu, stress and fights with the wife due to stress don't help either. I love my kid though

Congrats. I'm about half a year into it. A little bit older than you, but not by much.

I've been handling the broken sleep pretty good (usually 5 or 6 hours, then 2 more hours) but probably mainly as a result of my mileage dropping from the 70s to 45-55 because of the reduced time available for running in the morning since I am in charge of daycare drop off. The time I've had to run each day has shrunk from about 90+ minutes to usually around 30-40 minutes but sometimes up to 70.

The time crunch and slight unpredictability of the day-to-day running window has caused me to prioritize flexibility in training. What I mean by flexibility is that my goal is to be ready to workout any day that is not the day after a workout, since the 60-70 minute days could come at any time. That has caused my workouts to go from more "80-90% efforts" that might leave me fairly tired for a day or two, to more "60-70% efforts" where I almost always feel ready to go again by the 2nd day after the workout. I don't think I have been sore or tight waking up the morning after a workout since baby except for after the first time I did hill sprints. The time crunch also basically forces me to make all my non-workout runs short and easy, aiding in recovery. Is this the most efficient training method? No. Does the mindset make it easy to enjoy running and maintain some semblance of fitness while also having the time and energy to enjoy raising a child? So far, yes.

I don't think I've gotten "more fit" (I haven't raced yet), but I feel like I have done a really good job of at least maintaining a baseline fitness where if I hopped in a race tomorrow, I might not be in it to win it, but I could put forth a good effort and not totally embarrass myself. And if the opportunity presented itself to get in a month or two of focused training, I would be well prepared to make the most of it.

Only real setback has been 2 cases of Daycare Disease, made me feel like doodoo for a couple days each time. Nyquil is like a plunger: you want to have it before you need it. This applies whether or not you have a baby.

When there's a crazy night, I don't feel bad about taking a day off. In the grand scheme of things, It's all good.

If the stars ever align and you've got the green light to go out for a nice long run on the weekend - take it and savor it!

Good luck!

A lot would depend on how much flex time you have. If you work a regular 8 hour day, it means some adaptation and compromise. If you have a lot of flexibility then it's very doable. Harder when you have 2, and must be very challenging with 3 or more kids. Early runs are probably best for family life, but that means some sacrificed sleep. Weekend long runs and travel can be an issue. Things get a lot easier when they reach about 6 or 8.

Old timer here, and I remember the Home Depot guy who said he worked 40-45 hour weeks, ran 100+ mpw and ran low 2:20s for the marathon and had a kid or two. He said it was all a piece of cake and was kind of patronizing about it.

Like most of the posters here- be flexible. If you're going to PR at a race, it might come as a surprise because of family obligations etc. Just race when you can fit it in and have fun first.

Get all the sleep you can, NOW.

Ewww 🤮kids are pure hell, congratulations on ruining your life. No man wants kids, why did you let your dumb wife talk you into it? You’ll get fat and resentful, spending your weekends at Costco and going to overpriced theme parks, say goodbye to your fitness and any semblance of freedom.

Congrats on becoming a dad! New dad here & biggest adjustment has been sleep/energy. I made the mistake of racing pretty shortly after birth because training had been going great up to that point & it was a pre-planned race that I had been targeting. I obviously took a couple days off from training when we were at the hospital. My first few training days back were miserable. I didn't race horribly but the result wasn't what I wanted. I do triathlon & basically raced a half at full pace. Stuck in that gear & then ended up with better power on the bike 6 weeks later in a full/able to run well off of that. If I could go back I would've definitely skipped race #1. Prioritize finding your new normal. The body is going to need some time to adjust to the uneven sleep. Recovery will take a hit. You can push too hard in workouts by expecting everything to be the same, at least right away. So I would take a long term approach. Maybe hold off on racing for a few months. Maybe do more base building/easier miles. Sleeping will get better. No reason you can't get back to peak fitness. I think that, as an expectation, when the baby gets here isn't going to set you up for success.

Run to work, run at lunchtime in work, run home, get up early, go to bed late.

If you want to run, you will find a way.

If you're American forget about running to and from work as the country is built to make you need to drive and you wont get a lunch break anyway

I go to bed at 9/10pm, wake up at 5am, get 10 miles, then come home, get the kid ready, take him daycare/school, then go to work. This has worked great for me.

Congrats OP, your downfall begins now. I'm sure you will be a good dad, not questioning that. A lot of responsibility, hope you're ready for it. I say by the time you're 38-41 you will be divorced. Wife will initiate it. You will get weekends, maybe, as the courts are biased against men. She will get half, at least. Alimony too, maybe even palimony! Mom will start living her best life on weekends. Riding the carousel, shopping, and vacations with the girls. On your dime. As far as your concern with sleep you will manage. I sleep 5-6 a night, run 6 days a week. 100+ Marathons/Ultras. I'm rarely tired.

Congrats! I was about 5 years older than you when we had our first, and I’d guess considerably slower, but can offer this: get a BOB, and buy a car seat adapter for it. I was running with our first 5 weeks after she was born using that set up. As long as your route is flat and paved, the kid will be fine, and it usually turns into a win-win-win cuz the kid naps, you get a run in, and most importantly mom gets a break.

Also, this is something you only realize with the benefit of hindsight, but one kid is easy. Like thinking back, laughably easily. But when you’re in it, it doesn’t feel that way. Just know that you can definitely do all the things (be a good father/husband, have a career, train productively), it just might mean structuring your priorities a bit differently (for me cutting down, then completely dropping alcohol was a big one).

Good luck, as others have said, it’s the best thing you’ll ever do.

The biggest effect I can remember is that I rarely ran at my preferred time of day. My wife and I were committed to making sure each of us could keep doing things that really mattered to us. I rarely slept 8-9 hours before the kids came along so I don't recall sleeping that much less. Seven hours was a good night but even an hour less was fine. What I have found is that if I really do come up short of sleep on a given night I'd be fine the next day if I could get a 15-20 minute nap. The thing to remember is that some kids sleep well and even if yours doesn't the phase of life when that's the case doesn't last all that long.

What I learned in general about working runs into life is that if you look at your next day and wonder if there'll be be time to run that day you may not think there will be any. But if you look at that day and decide you're going to run and ask when you'll make a time. Maybe you should look into getting a treadmill.