Have kids, will tri.

I have a 2 yr old also.  He hates the jogger and doesn't care much for the trailer (which is a pretty good one!).  But I always carry the rain shield in the back of the trailer for situations like you describe.  I do not have another child to collect though!

I haven't used the jogger since the time he managed to almost get out of it and is lucky he doesn't have a tread mark up the middle of his forehead.  He absolutely refused to get back in when I tried to straighten him out but he also refused to walk.  So I had to carry him a mile home.  This wouldn't be so bad except I had to push the jogger with one arm and hold him with the other.  Never again.

My son did a duathlon in our kitchen last night.  He ran a lap around the kitchen/living room, jumped on his tricycle for another lap, and then put it in transition and went for another run.  The funniest part was the arms that went up over his head as he crossed the imaginary finish line.  Priceless.  He had wanted to swim first but we don't have a pool

My favorite thing though is hearing "go mommy, go mommy" during my races.

I am a tri mom!  And now my hubby has decided to do a tri too, we take the kids to our training or we juggle it. My kids have always come to track workouts (they love to run and jump in the long jump pit!) and they watch while I do swim class. They love to ride their bikes while we run. I guess we have been a positive influence because my oldest has done 3 tris and my youngest did a duathlon (he refused to swim) last month. I have pictures in my album:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/photos/photo-thumbnails.asp?albumid=9644

Hats off to all of you training with kids in tow! 

I'm a trimom as well....my daughter just turned 4 last month.  She helped me train for my first 20k & was part of my shorter runs for my first marathon last January.  I give her kudos b/c she has even stuck it out in that jogger (which, btw, we have the most archaic model...I swear, I pushed a BOB at the IMLP last month & had to call my bf over...he goes, our jogger might as well have _ and here he inserted the name of a tank from WWII _ stamped on the side.  I joke that my runs w/her should count as weight training...) with a dynamite attitude.  Whenever I feel myself fading while we're together, she cheers me on.  We've also gotten a lot of smiles during our neighborhood runs while she sings me Twinkle Twinkle, the alphabet...the Barney song...well, you get the idea. 

She loves looking through Triathlete magazine & seems lately to have taken to Bike Nashbar & Competitive Cyclist....it seems she has interest in the bike most of all.  She's also always asking me if I'm the person posing in the Orca ad....no honey, that's not mommy, that's a man.   

I love the fact that she's interested in what we do & I hope that when she's old enough, she'll want to check it out & see if it's right for her.  Our training scheudles get a little nutty & she gets pushed around a bit when we have long days, but I think all in all, it's a very healthy lifestyle that she finds exciting.  She had a BALL at my first sprint & I can't wait to take her to our next race!

When I was training for the NYC Marathon last year, half my training runs were while pushing my son in the baby jogger.  He was three at the time.  Now he's four and a half and he's just too big for the thing!  I tried putting my 2-yr-old daughter in the baby jogger, but she only lasts a mile and a half tops and she starts crying, "Wanna go home daddy, wanna go hooome!"  You women  

I will always have fond memories of pushing my son in the baby jogger though.  He would talk and talk (babble really) but it was so much fun and I felt like we really bonded on some of our longer runs.  Once I think we did a 10-miler!  I always brought money for the ice cream man and we'd stop, get ice cream, and then he'd eat and slurp ice cream while I broke my butt running!  He'd hand me a slimy stick and say, "I'm done daddy."  I remember one day a yellow jacket went up his shorts and I had to sprint over a mile back to the house with him crying and me panicking.  But it was all fine.  Most times we'd do 6-milers and he'd be awake for the first 3 miles and fell asleep for the last three. 

Okay, I'm all mushy and emotional now ... thanks a lot

Another tri mom here. My kids are a little older 10 and 12 and I can't always get them out there but every now and then I can get them to ride while I run or something along those lines. I also take them to the track and park when I run there.  Last week I actually bought them both road bikes that I found on consignment at the LBS.  They love it.  The youngest is VERY competitive and I think he might stick with it so long as I keep giving him the opportunity to ride.  He said his goal is to be able to ride 25 miles with me.   I can't wait and am enjoying the journey along the way.

Tonight they will want to ride and I was going to run the trails at the park so I'm not sure which will win out since they were off yesterday.

Same here!  Only my 3yo is a girl.  She yells, "you can do it Mama" when I'm biking them up a hill.  Now that my 18 month old has a few words, he will probably start cheering too.  (We've been on vacation so no family training recently).  My kids do great in the trailer together.  a couple books, waters, snacktraps... good to go!  Both kids started in the bike trailer at ~1 year - the earliest recommended age for such - mostly due to neck strength needed for the helmet and jostling.  I've also not done the track/sandpit workouts but have heard it works well for some!  My 3yo has run across the finish line with me at my sprint tri and across the line at 5Ks on her own

I have a 5 yr old and a 7 yr old. This summer has been a challenge getting training in. But earlier in the summer when they had swim team I would swim laps while they had their practice. You can bet I was the only mom doing that.  I also  swim laps during the 10 minute adult swim. I usually manage a 600 or 700. Not great but better than nothing. Or I just practice my strokes.

Mostly I lack in the bike since I can't cycle with them--they are too slow. But I can run along side them while they bike.  Their pace is good. Not too much slower than what I would do anyway and in the heat, who cares. If it is just my daughter--the 7 yr old_- I can crank out my tempo pace. Usually we do 6 miles but have done quite a few 10 milers and recently a 12 miler--at an 8:10 pace. I would love it if they could get manage 20 miles --maybe next summer.

 I also do speed work with them while I run on the track. They race me on their bikes for sprints. Then they get bored and go play on the playground.

I do like running with them on the bike--they carry my crap--but I am looking forward to school starting and having the freedom to run as far and as fast as want or more importantly ride my bike.

Sometimes I feel guilty that I am subjecting them to my training when they should just get to play but my parents did it to me (they were runners) so I reassure myself in that I am teaching them the importance of discipline and a healthy lifestyle.

I have 2 boys, now almost 3 and 5 1/2....last summer was my first tri season and I trained pushing or pulling one or both almost exclusively....this year I have managed to find a way to train solo, since I enjoy the solitude of training and have been doing much longer workouts that they would not deal with in a stroller.  I do still end up pushing the stroller at times, or pulling one in the bike trailer--suddenly they are way too heavy to be pulled together! 

My oldest is interested in doing a kids' tri, although since he just opted to take off his training wheels, he's not quite ready for competition.....they will both come to my next two tris and hopefully next summer will participate on their own.

I watched my dad do tris growing up, and it took me until I was 38 to start doing this, so I am not going to push them to do it unless they want to. I will definitely be encouraging, though, you know it!

Another TriDad here

I do a lot of my runs with the 18month old in the baby jogger.  My wife and son will come to the beach while I do open water swims.  I've learned to survive on very little sleep, and a lot of coffee.

-steve

I took my 17 year old son to the Lonestar Tri Festival in March and he decided he wants to do IMAZ in two years. I told him he needed to do a couple of sprints first. He goes to the river to swim with his friends. He rides his bike to "two a day football training" most days. It has really changed our relationship.  He has a different kind of respect for me and is genuinely encouraging when I talk to him about my training. His friends even ask me about my races and training.  He's doing his second sprint this weekend (I'll be racing too) We don't train much together he is a strong runner and....dang he's a 17 year old boy and kicks my butt at everything (but the swim) I like the example that I'm setting for him, and he really is paying attention.

This is a picture of us at his first tri. In my album there is a picture of him picking up his 2nd place AG trophy.....

Tri_chic's boy's bikes are really cool!