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wexford

Maximum Pace
Jul 3, 2012
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Two and 1/2 months into my new (and first) baby now. I'm trying desperately to keep my fitness in check so that if an opportunity arises I can get out on a longish mountain ride and not completely die on it. Keeping fit also helps deal with him :)

Anyway - been trying to fit in 20 to 30 minutes where I can on the rollers during the week. Usually this ends up being around 22:30 after my wife finally comes out of hiding in the bath and is ready to watch the baby monitor again. I'm usually quite knackered though by this time having worked all day and then taken over from her when I get home. So it's sometimes tough to get myself near the bike as I'd rather fall asleep...

When I do though, I've been wondering is it best to eat a little food after the ride especially if it was more intervals than recovery or just go to sleep. Obviously, I'm drinking water to replenish liquids but was wondering about food. Maybe the workouts aren't long enough to worry about this. How about an hour? If it was a daytime workout, I'd usually nibble something afterwards but then I'm not going to bed.
 
My thoughts on this -

1) You will be training your body clock as well. So - eventually your best performance peak will be that time. Thus, when you ride in the following mornings or days, your performance will be slack because your body clock is set that for recovery period. Just be aware of that.

2) Increasing effort above basal will naturally increase the sterols and adrenaline - so, getting to sleep right after a strenuous workout could be tough - at least that first 30min. Then, the body's 'recovery' mode steps in and you could very well sleep. So plan on about an hour between finishing your workout and time to hit the sack.

3) During the 1st 30min AFTER your workout is actually a great time to eat a little. That's when your muscles are open for <re>fueling and you'll get the most benefit of any meal. I'd suggest some 'slow carbs' and mix with lean protein snack. Prepare your food BEFORE you ride, btw. Then you can just sit down and eat without having to make something in a craving panic.

4) Find workout sessions that give you lots of variety in loading and HR. Many studies have shown that even just 30min a day is great for conditioning and maintaining fitness.
 
1 is interesting. Didn't think of that.
2 yeah I guess I don't sleep directly. I drink (more) water, wash my clothes, shower, and prep for bed so it takes me maybe an hour to get there at which point I'm dead to the world :)
3 is great. Ok. I'll work that into when I'm drinking water before my shower. Thanks for that hot tip! Was worrying about eating before bed.
4. yeah. trying out lots of different workouts on Trainer Road although I usually avoid the rougher ones before bed :innocent:

I'll have to drop in one of these days Tim. Been ages.
 
I found it best to cycle early mornings. Family is still asleep, and if the baby wakes up the wife can take him back to bed and they both can get to some more sleep.
I had no break in my morning 90minute training through my last baby (he is 20months now) and all was cool on the home front.

Early morning is just a time when everyone is asleep.
 
Been thinking about early mornings too but right now he seems most stable early at night. Would love to re-hit the palace again early some morning before work also. Maybe I should just go to bed when he does... Things are settling a little now that he's getting that bit more used to the big bad world. Good to hear from other fathers although I can't believe you are still counting the months...

I found it best to cycle early mornings. Family is still asleep, and if the baby wakes up the wife can take him back to bed and they both can get to some more sleep.
I had no break in my morning 90minute training through my last baby (he is 20months now) and all was cool on the home front.

Early morning is just a time when everyone is asleep.
 
I also agree about the mornings - especially in Japan. People here don't seem to really get moving until 7 or 8 (or later) and so the early morning roads are quite clear and pleasant. Asa-ren is where it's at!
 
I can also attest to mornings being a great time to get a ride in before the family wake.
Not getting up to go directly to work is also a wicked boost to my day. Work is just another thing in my day. I'm fresher and more alert having got up at 4:30 and done something.
Often I'll go to sleep at the same time as the boy or sometimes I'll do something after he goes to bed but never more than an hour or so. This doesn't kill my social life because I haven't had one for quite some time.
Mornings have never been a problem for me but I get why it isn't everyone's cup of tea.
 
Last year I almost exclusively cycled or ran at night.
I'd have lunch at a normal time, a small sandwich and a banana before riding, then have a chocolate milkshake and dinner after the ride. I'd be in bed an hour or so after dinner.

Not sure if you can wangle this (I'm not married), but maybe eat a little with the family at 'dinner time', then eat the majority of your food alone, post-workout?
 
Great to see all the different responses. Maybe I should rediscover my lost mornings.

Digging into this a bit more then... mornings - eat something before a morning ride? (I know after is recommended also).
 
I hit the start button a little late today--05:40. Mornings are great!
 
…. although I can't believe you are still counting the months...

I'm not. It was just easier to say that way.

I'm up at 5am, (ATM) 30minutes watching the soccer while getting ready and out the door. 55km on Arakawa, home to eat breakfast with my kids and see my oldest off to school. Watching the sunrise over winter, and home before the real heat in Summer. It's the only way to go, no-one is up when I leave so there is no chance that my schedule can be interrupted… get it….?

If I was to train at night, in the house, there would be a million reasons why it might not happen.
 
I'm not. It was just easier to say that way.

I'm up at 5am, (ATM) 30minutes watching the soccer while getting ready and out the door. 55km on Arakawa, home to eat breakfast with my kids and see my oldest off to school. Watching the sunrise over winter, and home before the real heat in Summer. It's the only way to go, no-one is up when I leave so there is no chance that my schedule can be interrupted… get it….?

If I was to train at night, in the house, there would be a million reasons why it might not happen.
Awesome,man.

I'd love to have that drive especially during Winter!
 
There are no bugs in the early a.m. (late afternoon sucks for this, not sure about later).

And usually no wind.
 
Mornings are harder than they look. Nights too I guess. After this thread I went home yesterday and checked the weather. Friday morning rain but Thursday looked ok. Good weather makes it easier so decided Thursday (today) I'd give it a go.

Was pacing the halls, child in arms, rocking and singing him to sleep (awe), when a good friend said he'd be over in about 30 minutes with some beers. Good friends come first so after the kid was in bed, here I was having some yono yono's and even some fancy Belgium stuff. Was thinking to myself at 11 than I could still make 5am. That's 6 hours sleep! So I took the bike off the rollers, prep'd some water for the bottles and got all my gear out. In bed by 11:15.

Was feeling quite drunk at 12:30 when the little lad stirred for feeding, rolled over to try ignore things as the wife took care of it. Things were getting noisy though. It was still only 1am and he was crying. I looked over and saw him in his cot crying and the wife just staring at him. 1:30am and it was the same. I'm getting no sleep. Why does she feel we both have to get no sleep if she doesn't get sleep? Right. Gave my wife a bit of a look and picked the little lad up, changed him to happy smiles but he was not sleepy so took him downstairs for some play time. It was 2:45 before I got back to bed. Hmmm. Maybe I'm too tired to ride at 5am now. I'm still tipsy but I've drank a lot of water also while playing downstairs.

Alarm didn't wake me though. Crying started again at 4:30 and was hoping the wife would have him quiet and give me some sleep. Fat chance it seems so at 5:15 I said feck it and left the room saying I was going for a ride. Felt sorry leaving the poor lad crying but the Blob told me that nothing stops him in the morning. Was on the road by 5:30 and heading for the palace.

What a lovely ride. Fresh air. Not so many cars although I did nearly get taken out by a hybrid that had snuck up just outside my back wheel as I avoided a rough bit of road. Oh... Gotta watch out for these quiet guys. Got to the palace and did 3 laps and then hit back home totally refreshed.

The wife came down to see me when I got back and complained that she'd be up since I left with him crying. I muttered something back and hit the shower. Came out to find him crying away and her on the couch trying to sleep. Can't leave the lad crying so I picked him up and he stopped and took him around the house as I got dressed. I get the feeling that the wife prefers me to ride at night when he is sleeping for some reason. I know what I prefer though.

I guess he will get easier as he gets older. I think I'll be mixing nights and mornings around the weather to keep things easy. I was dead happy having made it out this morning when everything kind of went against me. I guess though that it was my son who ultimately made me leave the house this morning... Thanks for the motivation although I guess it wasn't his plan!

So thanks for making me re-evaluate my mornings guys. Super way to clear the head and so much nicer than being a roller rat. I'm guessing that an earlier night time and less beer would have made it even easier :innocent:
 
Time to define roles in the house mate! You work right? Full time bringing home the coin for the family? Does the wife work? Or is it full time child raising? Get my drift.

Anyway the easy solution is to announce that the mornings you want to ride that you will be sleeping in a different room, and the little fella can have your spot in the bed. That should sort things out.
 
Time to define roles in the house mate! You work right? Full time bringing home the coin for the family? Does the wife work? Or is it full time child raising? Get my drift.

Anyway the easy solution is to announce that the mornings you want to ride that you will be sleeping in a different room, and the little fella can have your spot in the bed. That should sort things out.

This.

Well done for making it out, the whole time i was thinking you hadn't got out the door at all (the twist had me).

The crying does abate, sure everyone has told you this, and the gaps between sleep and wake get shorter by the week until they sleep right through the night and stay awake through the day. You'll feel better for having done something you wanted to do and your time with the boy will be higher quality for it. I did what @theBlob suggested for a couple of months when mine was born but because of work early starts not cycling, either way lines need to be drawn.

I did most of the @Yamabushi rides last year on only a few hours kip and waking up half cut so it can be done but it isn't advisable and performance will suffer. Some nights you'll sleep better than others but get up regardless, you'll thank yourself for it in the end.
 
Sounds like she was being lazy.

Maybe portioning out nighttime feeds in advance would work? Saturdays, Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays she does it, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Sundays you do it. That's 4 good night's sleep and 4 early morning rides at least.

Mind you, my own marriages' division of parenting duties became so efficient we no longer needed to be married to carry them out. :innocent:
 
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