Fathers - Running with a Baby

Some really sound advice in this thread. I have two (4 and 1yo), a working class job and have been going pretty hard (not by LR Legend Standard, of course) actually since they were born. It all depends on how they sleep. Both of my kids wake up way too early so AM is not really an option for me but if your kid wakes up at 6:30, you can get in 1hr/1.5 maybe even most days of the week. I usually end up having to go between 8 and 9pm.

Stroller naps have also allowed me to maintain my mpw--when they get used to it, they can sleep for 1hr+. And they've been doing it so long that even when they're awake they enjoy it. Don't underestimate that; its not selfish to take them in the stroller, they (at least mine) really do enjoy the sights, being able to play and use our imagination together around what we're seeing etc. If you can afford it, buy a new one; I've had to buy 3 'gently used' Bob strollers on craigslist! Finally what has also been awesome for me is joining the YMCA; they have free child care for up to 2hrs. I never used treadmills before but this has also kept my mpw up and reduced stress from co-parenting with my wife.

[quote]pretty obvs wrote:

"It's hard to get away in the evening for a run during the week due to the tight routine of feeding, playing, and then bath and bed."

You can't get away for 30 min? 45 min? What is your wife doing at this point?

When I was growing up my Dad was working full time and then doing his Masters in the evening. Sometimes he came home at 9pm. My mom would walk us down the street to meet him as he came home.

What is wrong with parents these days? Such wusses. Your kid doesn't want a WUSS, it wants a parent.

Seems like that workaholic fathering did a lot of good for your emotional balance!

Bobby Sands wrote:

Not a stroller question

My son is 7 months old. Truthfully I haven't run consistently since he was born. He's a very good sleeper, 7:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. normally.

How did you manage to continue your running? When I get home from work, I want to spend as much time as possible with him while he's awake, and I think if I ran late or got up early, I'd be setting myself for getting sick from lack of sleep.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

It's definitely hard! Mine is almost 2. Havent done any serious running since she came about. Might ne a decision point for you. If youre really serious, get up at 430/5 and do your run. I figure ill try to get serious in a couple of years - better to start fresh anywyas, otherwise id just lament being slow. Im right there with you about spending time with your kid at night. If not after work, then youll never see the kid - ignore the old men giving you a hard time, its not mad mem anymore.

I have three kids, all under age 5. The answer is easy and has been mentioned many times. Early. Get up and run early in the AM. It's done and you can have the rest of your day to do what you have/want to do. If you want to run more, get up earlier.

I had a treadmill and I would often run during his naps. I was lucky in that my son was a great napper 3-4 hour naps during the day. All kids are different. One time he wouldn't nap, so I put him in the car seat next to the treadmill and the sound it make was white noise and put him to sleep.

I also ran after he went to bed many many nights. I was training for a marathon but did the absolute minimum for it. I focus on short tempos an one long run.

One thing though, it if you are going to this clear it with the wife and make sure that she gets her time w/o the baby to do what she wants to do...run, shop, hair cut, massage, etc.

I would like speak with ;your wife and see if she is okay with you skipping out on parenting.

Bobby Sands wrote:

Not a stroller question

My son is 7 months old. Truthfully I haven't run consistently since he was born. He's a very good sleeper, 7:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. normally.

How did you manage to continue your running? When I get home from work, I want to spend as much time as possible with him while he's awake, and I think if I ran late or got up early, I'd be setting myself for getting sick from lack of sleep.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Wait you're getting sleep? I haven't had an uninterrupted night's sleep since my kids have been born. That's life now. Deal with it.

You run at lunch, early morning (5:30) or not at all.

My wife and I have a dual income household and we split chores and taking care of our daughter equally. I would never dream of getting home and asking my wife to do all of the cooking, cleaning, parenting, and everything else that needs to get done at night after she's had a stressful day at work--nor would I want her to do the same to me. I married my partner in life, not a servant. That being said, your point is well taken about getting away for a bit, so we could probably work out a deal where every other night one of us gets to exercise for 45 minutes while the other one manages the chores and parenting.

I actually found that having kids actually did wonders for my running. I think was mostly because I stopped going out to bars and big meals.

In any event, I would focus on the lunch hour. If you have enough flexibility at work, it wouldn't be too hard to get a decent run in shower and be back at your desk within an hour and 15 minutes to an hour and a half. You could then eat at your desk.

I also found creative ways to get some of my long runs in on the weekends without missing too much time from my family. For example, if we had a soccer game or something like that, I would often run home from the soccer fields. That was a good way to get in a six or 7 mile run while losing only a little while with my family since they were in the car for a good portion of that time. Not exactly quality time in any event.

My situation is compounded a little bit by the fact that my wife also runs, and she really can only run in the mornings because of the way her biorhythms work. So, I have no choice but to get in afternoon or evening runs. Fortunately, my work schedule is flexible enough to allow me to do that.

Babies are women's work. Get hard. Why would you want to spend time with a baby? Loser.

This is what works for me in order of effectiveness:

-Get up early. You need less sleep than you think. Go to bed before 10. 8-10 miles between 5:30-7am timeframe is doable.

-Use the running stroller. Wait until your kid is fed and has played a bit. They may nap. Routinely do 8-10 mile runs this way.

-Always run when you have time. No putting off runs to the next day because you don't feel like it today. You left schedule is no longer that controllable.

-Run on lunch break. Hard to do for some of us but can work in a pinch.

-Use the treadmill while they're napping. The least predictable as you could easily have the run interrupted by wakeups.

Running less is a choice many make so they can do other things (sleep mainly). Best advice I can give is to live with less sleep. You might even begin to like running in the AM. I used to hate it. Spending time with kids is motivation to do it.

just do your run wrote:

Despite what your wife might think, you really aren't obligated to start babysitting the second you walk in the door... Go for your run and take the kid when you can.

its not babysitting if its your own kid.

I've got a 9 month old. She's a bad sleeper... I try to catch up on sleep on the weekends.

But yeah, I didn't run for like 8 months, and now I'm crash marathon training for NYC because I had signed up and don't want to defer.

Anywho, it's all about being very efficient with your time. I try to leave work a little early and commute run home. I have a treadmill in my building, so I do a lot of reps on the mill after she goes to sleep. For long runs, I try to barter some time with the wife on the weekend, or just be home late (which does mean I get home after my daughter is asleep, which kinda sucks, but it's just until Nov).

After the marathon, I'll reduce mileage and up the intensity because it's less time and I respond to that type of training well.

Doing a fully structured regimen with a schedule, etc is out of the question :)

Bobby Sands wrote:

Haha, I love that smart people read Letsrun. Thanks Frank.

Dang! Beat me to it!