Toddler woke me at 3am finally falling asleep again and the cat wakes me up…it’s 5am…I’ll let you know how grumpy I am if I survive work and training today! 
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Just wanted to share a nice rest I had today. I was feeling especially tired after a fairly standard morning, practically falling asleep at my home office desk (HR 40) about an hour after a double shot coffee.
I was really dreading the pending afternoon workout - the day after a ramp - so I thought I’d courageously listen to my body by slinking into bed like a coward. The boss magnanimously permitted me a magnificent 3 hour nap/relax, instead of the agreed workout then clean.
Neither awake not asleep, first 90 mins clocked 7 x 10mins at 35-37bpm. Solid gold. Actual sleep for about 40 minutes.
Best sleep I’ve had since I started back on the bike 6 weeks ago.
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its really hard, but its amazing too. you roll with the punches, accept that adaptations will not come at the pace of people with no kids, or older kids because you just never get enough sleep. And thats fine i guess. I do all my training really early and make sure im back before everyone else is fully awake so we can have coffee / hot milk together in bed
I find that I am more patient, happier after a workout. I get grumpier as the day goes on, but I think that has to do with having to deal with moods, fighting, whining, etc.
Plus drama, drama, drama, laziness, SNAFU … all wear on the mood to the grumpier mode.
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@mcneese.chad worth merging this?
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I think I’ve been tired for twenty years, its trying to pick when I’m the least bit knackered to do my training!
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What do you wear to track your heart rate during sleep?
And your a have a wonderful wife right there make sure you take care of her and allow her, her time. 
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Yep me too by the end of the day I’m on edge. I’m not a talker, and my little ones like to talk, non stop. And I just want peace and quiet. Which is what i get on the trainer just me and the hum of the trainer.
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This is great advice. We just had a little girl on 7/2, and even the z2 rides are a stretch when the baby is waking you up every 2 hours. At this point, I’m just trying to make the next month or so my “fat loss” phase 
Just an Apple Watch. It can do proper sleep tracking but I only bother checking the current/resting HR if my rest feels way off like it has since I started training again.
There are automated low heart rate notifications for sub-40bpm. It’s basically my yardstick for good rest but the only problem is it buzzes the wrist in real time.
Okay I got two kids and I got most of my training in with them. It’s a win-win. Throw them in a trailer and you’re good to go and the wife will love you while she gets sleep or a break…
Ps. Don’t actually throw your kids…”put” them in the trailer.
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That sounds dreamy 
I’ve done meditation and mindfulness in the past but it’s not part of my schedule just now, but that ‘neither awake nor asleep’ is a great relaxation state.
Our little man is going through a particularly needy phase at the moment so my wife and I are doing tag-team naps - I get 90mins for a sleep and a shower, followed by the same entitlement for her. Meant all three of us are more chipper for the afternoon and evening. You do what you have to do to get through the day!
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We recently got a trailer for our son as a first birthday present for him/us as I’m doing childcare collection in the later afternoon - I was genuinely surprised by how hard it was! The extra weight and strange draggy feeling of the trailer was odd at first. He seems to really enjoy it and often falls asleep which is great.
Im going back and forth on whether to get a trailer for the little one or a disc wheel for the Tri bike (i know, i know!!!)
Any good trailer options?
surely someone in your community has one you could buy for cheap. Like all baby step, its gets passed around 12 times before actually being worn out. Id start out with a WTB on your local FB Yardsales or cycling stuff group.
Interesting read! I have a 3 year old and kiddy 2 is due in 1 month. We’re also building a house that we’ll hopefully move into next April.
I’ve kicked the structure to the curb for that time. I was really fit coming into this season and so looked forward to racing and then COVID happed 
.
For the time being, I’m in semi-structured maintenance mode. I do a mixture of sweet spot and VO2 rides on the trainer, but I don’t follow a plan.
I also bought a cargo bike for the kiddos that I take them pretty much everywhere in.
My hope is to retain some of my fitness and sanity without the pressure of a training plan. I’ll get back to structured training and racing in 1-2 years, depending on how the kids get on.
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This sounds like a very sensible plan. It’s been nearly 2 years since my daughter was born and in the last 4-5months I’ve managed to get back a lot of consistency - mainly due to better sleeping patterns.
My daughter is now also old enough to come on short rides with me. We got a Thule Yepp Mini which is on my MTB and she loves it.
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Super cool about the cargo bike!! What kind of cargo bike did you end up getting? We’re actually taking delivery of a front-loading cargo bike (bakfiets) in two weeks. I’m getting it built up with some high-end components, so it’s going to be dual-purpose as my new toy and my “I-can-take-all-three-kids-honey-so-we-can-go-as-long-as-we-want-right?” bike. It’s got a power meter. 
I’ll probably post a picture when I get it.
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We bought a Riese & Müller Load 75. We have quite a few gravel roads here and the suspension helps quite a bit there. I can also take the older one to kindergarden using a forest road and he doesn’t complain about the bumpiness :-). So far, I’m quite happy with it. Bought the dual battery thing and the range is quite good. I get about 100 km by just turboing everything :-).
When buying it, I wasn’t sure about the motor. Living in Germany the thing switches off at 25 kph, which is just a dumb speed (in the US it’s 32 kph, which is a lot better…). You can also buy a version that goes up to 45 kph, but you need a number plate and you can’t use a follow me bike thingy, that I want for the older kiddo. But that’s just legal stuff.
I really enjoy riding the thing, It doesn’t feel very boaty when you get used to it. After switching offices next year, I might get a second one with a 45 kph limit to replace one car and just use the bike for commuting and shopping.
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