Racing Triathlons While Raising Kids a Q&A with Elite Flo Chretien
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 10:02PM 
Flo ChretienTT had a chance to catch up with new Elite team member, Flo Chretien. Flo is an ITU circuit veteran and finisher of more than a dozen Iron distance triathlons. We discussed how she juggles being a professional athlete and mom.
TT: How many kids do you have?
Flo: I have two kids: a 14 year old boy and 4 month old girl.
TT: What did you do to get back into racing shape after pregnancy?
Flo: After both kids I started working out within two weeks of giving birth. I started out with one workout a day - about 30-45 min for the first few weeks, I then started to make the workouts longer and added a second workout. A lot of it in the beginning was based on how I felt. After about 10 weeks, I got into a rhythm and have been able to get 2-4 hours of training a day in.
Baby Jackie with big brother JamesTT: Do you ever work out with your kids?
Flo: I workout out with my kids all the time, before Jackie was born my son would ride his bike during my long weekend runs. These days he bikes and I push Jackie in the jogger.
I also took James to the pool with me and he would swim a bit with me, when he was done, he would hang out at the end of the lane and time me, he especially had fun when I had a lane mate and he wanted us to race every set.
TT: Have any of your kids participated in triathlon or other related races (running, swimming, etc)?
Flo: James has been on the swim team for 4 years now and has even done a triathlon.
TT: What was the hardest part of racing while also raising children?
Flo: The hardest part of racing/training with kids is being able to ride your bike outside. I do all my rides on the trainer when my little one is napping. She loves to sleep, so I get plenty of time on the saddle!
TT: Yes – We’ve seen little Jackie at TTG when you come in to train. She is a cutie!
Reader Comments (1)
I find this very impressive. It's hard enough training for smaller races with no kids! Thanks for posting this, it's given me some inspiration.