Leah Rodenbeck moved to Atlanta from Nashville, TN in 2017 and joined one of our race teams. She is the mom of three young children, ages 8, 6, and 4.
How did you get into triathlon?
Being a runner through college, I knew I needed to cross-train if I wanted to keep up the miles and be nice to my body, so I started doing spin classes which turned into a sprint triathlon and I've never looked back.
How do you balance it with a family?
This is an ongoing process for us, but each race season we get better at it. I don't work outside of the home, so I try to get the bulk of my training done when my kids are in school. During the week I communicate with my husband about what I want to get in on the weekend and we work out the time between kid's activities and family time. Each week looks a little different and balance looks different for everyone - we're getting closer to fine-tuning ours.
How do you think it helps you be a better mom?
Making time for me to do what I LOVE helps me be more present with them.
How do you deal with mom guilt?
Gosh, does it ever go away!? ;) Knowing I'm taking care of myself helps a lot! Prioritizing their activities in and out of school and working my training around that also helps. They see how much I LOVE training too and support it curbs the guilt a bit too.
How has it impacted your kids?
They're invested! They get excited about races and ask me how my swim/bike/run was for the day. On the longer days or double days, they'll make comments like "you're STILL going" or "now you have to RUN!?" But they see hard work paying off and it is contagious - not to mention to the norm of an active lifestyle!
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