24 hours doesn’t seem like enough time in a day.

This months tip is how to work the seemingly endless sport of triathlon into the life of a young family. Kids and spouses need attention to make up for the long days away from home.

1. Plan your day off.

I’ve watched many athletes take days off “when they need it.” I’m not an advocate of training until you break down so much you can’t do your workout. Rather put a couple days a month on the calendar ahead of time with no training or work and plan fun activities.

On one of these days recently we announced to my 9 year old as he walked out the door to school that he wasn’t going today. After 36 consecutive spelling tests with 100% we asked his teacher permission to pl an a family day. We all went to Knott’s Berry Farm and spent a terrific family day with games and roller coasters . The kids loved it and it was honestly one of the greatest days.

2. 6 hours on your feet at a theme park is for your kids like 6 hours on your bike is for you.

Get a hotel for a local race. Too many times the kids have been awakened at 5:30 on Sunday morning to drive and then wait hours to see glimpses of mom. This weekend I ran one of my favorite races , the San Diego International Triathlon. We had a room overlooking the finish line just a block away. We had dinner on the ocean and had fun in the room playing Uno with the kids. When the morning came, there was no stress as I left for the race. The kids road their bikes with dad to the run course and cheered me on to an Overall Amateur Win and 2nd Place Overall finish.

I even got a shower in before awards. We spent the afternoon at the pool and enjoyed each other thoroughly.