Originally Posted by
rubiksoval
I don't want to race much anymore. I don't think I'm going to next year. It was fine training and stuff when my wife was at home with the little kid, but once she started working again a month or two ago, things are just so much busier and more hectic. And then I feel guilty leaving to train or race. And my results suck. I haven't cracked the top 6 in a race yet. And I haven't done a single ride over 3 hours since March, and only 4-5 rides over 1:45. Probably why my results suck.
Schools out in four days, so hanging on hoping that'll turn things around for the summer races, but pretty much decided I'll be about done by August when school starts again.
My pity party for the week.
been there. living that. our first child was born 2007, and second in 2011. i found it doable to train 10 to 12 hrs/week through about 2010, then 8 to 10 from then until 2015. it required a lot of indoor training time that was from 5 am to 630 am. racing in the Wash DC area was advantageous in that I could limit my drive time for races to 2 hours and still race as much as i wanted to from March through August, but I was definitely "missing" a lot of the kid's growing up and missing really valuable family time. my wife was super supportive, but i definitely understand the "guilty" feeling, and as my kids got older and started playing soccer/field hockey, etc., I realized that I valued participating in their childhood more than extending my own. I definitely miss the fitness I used to have, the anticipation of "race day," and being part of the scene, but it's all good.
There are some who bring their whole family to race day, and everyone seems to have a good time, but that never worked for me. it can be done, but is situation dependent.
I've attempted a half-assed comeback this year following a time crunched program of about 6 hours/week, but I haven't responded to it in a manner that = actual race fitness. I haven't jumped into a 1/2 race, couldn't really imagine doing so, but have done a couple of 35/45+ races that I was totally dropped hard ... half these 35+ guys were juniors when I started, HTF did they end up 35+ so quickly!? BUT, i've enjoyed the races I've done for the anticipation of race day, being part of the scene (which is really seeing people), and the adrenaline rush of simply riding the bike fast in a pack.
Bottom line - if you like racing, you'll find a way to maintain some level of fitness, but may require adjusting expectations, which is a big mental shift. Also, horses for courses, pick the races that suit your natural characteristics. Racing 1/2 is hard, if you're old enough, swallowing the ego of having a single/double digit # and attempting some masters stuff can be a good substitute, but those guys are fast too!