training for longer races... where do you get the time?

[jschwab]

Yeah, I should also mention I

Yeah, I should also mention I run laps around a par a couple blocks from my house - I have also run around my block. Around the park is .53 miles so 6 laps is a 5K, all on sidewalk. Staying close to home makes getting runs in easier. I will also run home and add miles by adding laps.

We were cloth diaper users (with no dryer) for awhile, but my eldest has the biggest bladder ever, so it could never be contained and we gave up. Even now, it's not unusual for her to go 6 or 7 hours without peeing. And then I had two more before she turned 4 and the dreams of cloth diapers were dead forever.

 

[ajb422]

 I bet if you took your kid

I bet if you took your kid running on some of your short and mid length runs either with him biking or in a jogging stroller depending on how old he is your wife would love the extra "free time" enough to be happier about your time on long runs. Plus I bet your son would enjoy it. Extra quality alone time with you.

 

[saypay45]

Abide, I don't want to take

Abide, I don't want to take all the credit for the jogging stroller as shopping cart idea. I actually read about it in 50 Marathons in 50 Days by Dean Karnazes. He uses a jogging stroller as a place to store his food and stuff for really, really long runs.

What works to lessen the creepy factor for me is to pull down the sun shade. Then it's really hard for people to see that there's no kid in there. I suppose you could always throw in a Cabbage Patch Kid or something if you were really worried about it.

 

[Longboard]

ajb422 wrote: I bet if you

I bet if you took your kid running on some of your short and mid length runs either with him biking or in a jogging stroller depending on how old he is your wife would love the extra "free time" enough to be happier about your time on long runs. Plus I bet your son would enjoy it. Extra quality alone time with you.

Biking with kids and stuff is SO much easier than running.

Here's how we did it.

These pictures are old, the Captain no longer wears shoes for cycling, the Midshipman is currently a sophmore in college, while the Rear Admiral (now a commercial pilot) graduates with a BS in aviation flight science in five weeks.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

They are adorable, Board! 

They are adorable, Board! How old are they in those pictures?

 

[Longboard]

In the oldest pictures they

In the oldest pictures they are 2 1/2 and 4. I'm guessing around 4 and 5 1/2 in the "action" shot.

We put 6,000 miles on that thing in the first two years, and hit 10,000 miles after three years.

Unlike running, we needed no days off for rest, ran our errends and appointments on it, carried plenty of food & beverages, along with clothing changes, and many times hauled the Burly trailer behind it. My wife and daughter? They rode the tandem that started our whole long bike craze.

I toyed briefly with the idea of a quint , til I found out the frame alone would be ten G's. Learned to weld instead, then wisely gave up on the idea.



I used to be an equipment addict, now I love minimalism so much that I only reluctantly wear a Wal-Mart watch while running.

 

[stomper]

Longboard wrote:Biking with

Biking with kids and stuff is SO much easier than running... Here's how we did it.

Wow, fancy ... trandem? How do you say "three seat bike"?

Anyway, board, you may not need one of these, but as long as we're talking about transportation options, I feel I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Xtracycle (and other cargo bikes) which are quite possibly the most useful bikes the planet has ever experienced. I carry a kid +6 bags of groceries, no prob. If anyone else here is interested in going car-free, a bike like this is a major asset.

Check out one citizen's review by clicking on the picture:





awesome photo by Hen Power

 

[Longboard]

Where we live (Detroit) the

Where we live (Detroit) the challanges are roads safe to mix with traffic on and weather.

I would love to be able to depend on human power for daily activities, but it just gets worse as the years go on.

I'm more scared than ever cycling on the roads, and blame GPS, phones, I-Pods, and general impatience for most of the increased danger.

Cool cargo bike though!

 

[barefoottyler]

 If you can get out an hour a

If you can get out an hour a day and run 5-6 miles every other day or daily, throw in a long run 10+ miles on the weekend early in the morning(though now about 7 AM is great since the sun is coming up), you should be fine.

 

[Longboard]

stomper wrote: ... trandem?

... trandem? How do you say "three seat bike"?

Still a tandem. Many people think tandem means "two", but really it just refers to in-line seating as opposed to side-by side. Tandems can be triplets, quads, quints, etc. The Santana tandem company built a 7-place tandem for Disney's Seven Dwarfs to ride, but they never mastered it. After that early ninety's failure, the company stuck with quads and quints as a maximum length. In the Henry Ford (museum) near Detroit there is a ten place tandem that was only ridden once very slowly.

We routinely hit 40mph on the triplet with excellent stability and control.

With no internet to spend time on back then I had time to properly maintain the five chains on the triplet, as well as keep the 48 spoke wheels in tune. Today I'm happiest throwing on just my shorts and a watch for a run, with the only maintenence required afterwards maybe rinsing my feet off (or not). November $ucks.

 

[Last Place Jason]

My solution- run during the

My solution- run during the time when kids sleep. For me, this means many runs that start around midnight until dawn. Logistically it causes problems, but it's the sacrifice I'm willing to make.

Also, it helps to make the most of the training you do. During a training cycle, I make sure every run serves multiple purposes.

Another option- change your lifestyle: The Four Hour Work Week (thanks SayPay!)