“I just can’t believe how grateful I am. I just love being a mom, and I am an Olympian.”
This episode features a special conversation with Erin Huck recorded during the Women’s Cycling Summit at Breck Epic. Erin is a mountain biker who competed in the women’s cross-country event at the 2020 Summer Olympics, and the 2015 Pan American Games. She’s also a mom, like me.
We had a candid, emotional conversation about our journey of balancing motherhood with a flourishing athletic career, everything from postpartum physical rehab, shifts in racing perspectives, and the art of balancing multiple roles.
Life as an athlete mom
We share our experiences with unexpected challenges, like infertility and the impact of COVID-19, uncertainties and fears we grappled with in continuing our athletic careers, the complexities of sponsorship and identity in the world of competitive sports.
So, how do athlete parents find that elusive balance between racing and parenting? We break down how vital systems like childcare and meal prep are for training and maintaining flexibility in the face of change. Tune in for profound insights into resilience, determination, and the pursuit of passions amidst the challenges that motherhood and life can bring.
Reflections on motherhood
Whether you’re a parent, an athlete, or just someone looking for inspiration, this is a conversation you don’t want to miss. We share our powerful stories on postpartum fitness and how becoming mothers completely changed our perspective on racing and training. It’s raw, honest, and inspiring.
This is a topic that is super close to my heart and something I’ve explored extensively on my podcast. To learn more, check out the links below, or head to my blog and search for the Parenthood & Pregnancy category.
Here are our key takeaways about motherhood:
- The Ultimate Recovery: Learn tips for utilizing tools like rehab, fitness, and fueling after pregnancy
- Managing Expectations: Does motherhood change performance?
- Appreciating Our Bodies: Reflections on the power of motherhood and developing empathy for changes in their bodies and appearances.
- Cycling and Identity: Hear about challenges navigating the sponsorship and training in the professional cycling world as moms
- Personal Experiences: Plus, we share anecdotes from our own motherhood journeys, miscarriages, and infertility
Listen to Erin’s episode
If you found today’s episode enlightening and want to hear more, make sure to subscribe and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Be sure to share this episode with athlete parents and those curious about the joys and challenges of blending racing and parenting!
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Links
- Want to hear more from inspiring athlete moms? Check out this interview with Olympian Kara Goucher
- Work, Parent, Thrive with Yael Schonbrun
- Tune into my series about being an athlete mother
- Learn tips on training the pelvic floor with Corrine Wade
- Explore exercise guidelines for pregnancy and postpartum with Catherine Cram
Episode Chapters
- Postpartum fitness and body image. (0:00)
- Motherhood and racing perspectives among professional athletes. (6:09)
- Balancing motherhood and professional cycling. (10:24)
- Athletic goals, pregnancy, and family planning. (18:21)
- Motherhood, sponsorships, and identity in the bike racing industry. (21:59)
- Balancing parenthood and endurance racing. (27:43)
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Transcript
Imogen Smith 0:00
She was set up. Okay, so after you had your children, how long did it take you to get back to fitness? And did you get right back to where you were?
Sonya Looney 0:15
How about we both? Okay. So I think it depends a lot on the pregnancy and on the person. And also, I don’t know, I think some people can have an unhealthy relationship with how, how fast they need to get back or their identity. For me, I wanted to get back as quickly as I could just for my mental health to have time to myself outside to connect with who I am. So I got back pretty quickly, like seven to 10 days, but I wasn’t like going out for long rides, I would go for like a 15 minute pedal and then slowly work up. And I checked lots of different things because after you have a baby, you bleed for a while, so make sure Okay, The bleeding has been increased. How am I feeling? How’s everything going? And if anything, ever were to feel that way, I would have backed right off but yeah, I just kind of slowly ramped it back up, and it felt better than not doing it for me.
Erin Huck 1:14
So I had a C section. So my I guess return was a little bit more moderate because of the the incision that I Yeah, cuz I was cut in half. Yeah, burnin also has opinions on this. But I actually don’t really, I don’t even remember because it all becomes a blur. But I did get back to fitness quicker than I thought. I didn’t push it for I would say that six week time that you’re supposed to take it easy for a C section. And I wrote inside for a little bit. And I remember, like my heart rate being really high. And I have a coach. So I was like, my heart rate is really, really high. What do you think is going on? And he was like, I think that you’re just like running hot. And then in hindsight, it was like, Jesus Christ woman, you just had major surgery, like no wonder why your heart like your heart rate was telling you to maybe to ease off. So I probably should have gone a little bit easier. I also got a stress fracture. So that was stupid. Because I knew I knew a lot of athletes that like mostly runners that that had got stress fractures. Because your bones are a little like you your calcium is depleted. If you’re nursing, so but I wasn’t running or anything, I just kind of stress fracture just by trying to mountain bike like having that pressure on my pedals. I think I went mountain biking twice, and I cracked a bone in my foot. So in hindsight again, I think it would have been better for me to ease off a little bit, because the fitness actually did come back really easily. It wasn’t worth pushing. Yeah. Yeah, keep going. Yeah. Do you want me to hand off a noisemaker?
Sonya Looney 3:09
So this is yeah. Yeah.
Imogen Smith 3:13
Did motherhood change your relationship with your body at all with the way? Yeah,
Sonya Looney 3:19
secure journalists are something Imogen. She is actually. Oh, wait for Erin to come back. Welcome to our live podcast.
Yeah, so having a baby did change my relationship with my body, but not in a way that people would think. So the things that I was probably hypercritical about previous to having babies, you know that when you look in the mirror, and you stare at that part of yourself that you don’t like, I got more compassionate towards my body because of what it was able to do. And that’s been really nice. And I don’t look as harshly at myself in the mirror as I used to. And just having that sense of awe of what your body can do. And also, just generally Parenthood has just forced me to be more flexible with everything. And that also includes with my body.
Erin Huck 4:24
Yeah, I would echo some of the things that you said but like, I was surprised because I have always you know a bit a little bit hypercritical of my body and always like tried to achieve the as lean as I could healthful, healthfully be and then after going through pregnancy and just really appreciating the way that my body changed and I will admit that, you know, I think I gained like 3540 pounds, maybe and that stressed me out I was like holy shit. I don’t know. If I’m gonna get bounce back from this. But then you pop the kid out. And I started producing milk and being able to go for long bike rides. And I was just like, I still to this day, just like, can’t believe that my body is supporting me in the way that it is. And by me, I mean, me and my child because I, I’m still nursing, and I think you are too. And it’s like, we’re like, every night, every night. Like, okay, we’re nursing is like, let’s see if anything comes out. Because I’m here at Breck epic, like, pushing my body to the absolute max. But there’s still, it’s still producing food for another human so. And it’s been. So I’ve like, my body is starting to change a little bit like I’m a little bit thicker around the middle than I ever have been. And I just don’t care. Because I mean, it has a job to do. But I also just appreciate it a whole lot more than I ever have before. So it’s a gift that I was not expecting to receive just this gratefulness, I guess
Sonya Looney 6:09
I’m going to add on to that. So after having my second kid, so both times I got pregnant, I had diastasis, which is a separation of your abs. And the second, the second time was worse and it still there. So I noticed with trail running, am I a downhill performance, I’m not as stable on my core. So I need to actually address that. I did some rehab with both, but I need to do even more rehab with my second kid. And the shape of my stomach is more like domed than it used to be. Whereas after my first kid it was It wasn’t domed. So that actually has been a little bit challenging sometimes whenever I noticed that because I thought well, with my first day like kind of went back, but this time, it hasn’t really gone back to the way it was yet. And it might never go back to the way it was because your body has to stretch out to accommodate a human. So that’s no I’m glad that you talked about that. Because that’s something that I’ve been thinking about.
Imogen Smith 7:04
Okay, okay, I’ll just keep going.
Sonya Looney 7:08
How about you introduce yourself, because we’re gonna publish this on my podcast.
Imogen Smith 7:12
I’m Imogen Smith, I ride for marathon MTV. And I’m here at Breck epic from Australia, doing a little bit of media coverage, and also racing at the back of the pro women in total, or of nursing mothers who are crushing it out there. So yeah,
Sonya Looney 7:26
but you have the coolest accent. I’ll bring the accent. You’re the one doing the interviewing.
Imogen Smith 7:31
I’ll bring the accent. Question. Yes.
Sonya Looney 7:36
Okay, introduce yourself, please.
Leslie K. Meyer 7:38
Hi, I’m Leslie K. Meyer, and I’m a professional photographer. And I’m here covering. I think 80% of the women’s pro field, and which is really awesome. And that’s another story. But I guess tell me I’m not a mom. But I’m curious. For the two of you. How’s your What’s one way your perspective has shifted towards racing before you were a mom? And and now being a mom?
Erin Huck 8:08
Good question. Yeah, that is probably like something that I’m really struggling with, to be honest, is because I am, I am used to really pushing myself as an athlete and focusing on my performance. And I show up at a race and I, I want to win. And now sometimes that’s just not in the cards. So I have to kind of be mindful of that, that there’s are other things that are drawing on my energy. And I can’t just show up and like, say that I want to win this race. And I have to make sure that there are other reasons for me to be there. So like this event is a good example of, you know, it’s super fun. It is challenging. The women’s field is amazing and supportive. And it’s definitely like got a community vibe. versus you know, Leadville was something that I had originally targeted. But when I was being honest with myself, it’s like, okay, can I show up to Leadville and feel successful if I don’t win? And I don’t know if I could have. So that to me meant that that was not the right event for me to do. Because I just have to approach things such that I can feel successful without winning, which was kind of how I measured success for several years.
Sonya Looney 9:31
You measure success and set goals now.
Erin Huck 9:33
Oh, like I said, it’s a transition. So I’m still working on it. But like, I mean, today I was just really focused on trying to have fun and trying to find different things to feel successful about. So I’m really one of the things that I struggle with. Now is like I don’t have a whole lot of time to ride technical trails. So my skills are just not what they would I would want them to be. So what Have the things that I want to do here is really just try and push myself and feel good. And flowy on my bike. And so I think that was, you know, like, I think I posted it on Instagram that I wanted to go through full travel on my bike, because I really wanted to like push the equipment and rider to the limit. So just finding different little goals like that. Yeah.
Sonya Looney 10:28
So the question was, how was My approach to racing changed since having kids? Celtic that headphone out, so I don’t have to hear myself talk. Yeah, it’s been hard because my process has had to completely change. Because I don’t have the time that I had before to train. And that can be really frustrating sometimes, because I like doing a lot of things, which is something that we need that we’re going to talk about in a minute, as we we were multiple, both of us wear multiple hats. So I don’t drink as much as I used to. And the quality of my training is not as good as it used to be. But I’m getting something else in return for that I get to spend time with my kids. There’s a whole level of I don’t want to say like, my kids don’t care about me being a bike racer, they don’t care about my results. So when I go out and I do a race, or I do a training ride, it just doesn’t matter. So having that sort of unconditional love that is independent of my achievement. It’s something that I desperately need in my life. So that’s been really helpful. But yeah, it’s, it’s really hard to show up for races and know that there’s a lot of things out of my control, and that I might not perform the way that I want to perform. And then I have to be okay with that. And I have to accept that. And that is not easy. This summer has been very challenging for me with my racing. And I haven’t been able to push in the way that I’ve wanted to push. And I’ve dealt with a lot of disappointment and had a bit of anxiety coming into this race of like, well, what happens if I feel the way I felt all summer, because it takes energy to raise little humans. And it’s really important to figure out what your strengths are. And then to really push on those strengths, when times get tough. So again, knowing what those are. But for me, like gratitude is my number one strength and perspective is another one of my strengths. So I use those on a daily basis, whenever I look at my career, career by career. And when I show up to races and like Aaron, like I’m used to racing for the podium, and here I’m not. And it’s one of the first stage races I’ve not been competing for the podium, and I was a bit worried. You know what, I still have fun, what I still care, like what I still want to push myself if I’m not competing for a podium. Because at some of my races earlier this year, I felt a bit apathetic. And I was questioning if I still wanted to do this. So I think kind of what like what Aaron said, doing an event that is inspiring to you. And that is fun. And that has things other than just winning the race can really help you if you’re not racing for the podium. And I’ve been having such a great time. And I’m so grateful that we have such a stacked women’s feel because no matter what results I get, I feel proud of my performance. And I feel proud to be here. And it’s so refreshing to feel that way this year. So management of expectations is something acceptance, accepting the things that you can’t change. And also realizing that this is not permanent, like all the stages of your kids lives are going to change. And it takes courage just to show up, and you have the choice to not come at all, or you have the choice to just show up and know that maybe you’re gonna not be where you want to be. But it’s still worth it
Do you want to know, I actually want to ask Aaron about all the different roles because whenever I asked you for your your speaker bio, you said and correct me if I’m quote misquoting you, but I don’t consider myself a pro rider or I don’t consider it a career. And you wear multiple hats. So can you talk about that?
Erin Huck 14:00
Yeah, I can’t I mean, so that’s been something like aside from being a mom throughout my cycling past, I’ve always had a job outside of racing. And so whether you want to call it impostor syndrome, maybe there was some of that as well. But I really didn’t necessarily identify myself as a pro cyclist, because it was never how I paid my bills. I always had a job outside of racing. So and I know that you work outside of just pedaling, as well. So yeah, it’s just another hat that I have worn. And I think that it’s it’s important to differentiate or just acknowledge that that is another thing that we balance. How do you like balance your daily schedule? Oh, well, now it’s changed since I have added motherhood onto that list. But before it was just a matter of kind of like shifting priorities. So one day, my priority would be to execute Oh, my training ride. And my priority was not answering emails at work. And then another time it would be like, Okay, I can’t train today because I have work meetings all day. So it was just like a day, a daily. Like, I don’t think that you can ever achieve full balance on a like, yes on a lot long term scale you can but day to day, it’s always like one thing is always the highest priority. And now that one thing is almost always Brennan. But even still, it’s like sometimes, you know, we hire a nanny so that I can go for a long bike riding. That means that I’m not spending time with him. So does that mean that he’s not my number one priority, potentially not like I have to prioritize me time sometimes. So it’s just like, every day, there’s one thing that’s always on the top.
Sonya Looney 15:53
So you and I are both friends with El Schoenbrunn and her book work parent Thrive talks about having multiple roles and how having multiple roles can actually help whenever you need to change gears instead of taking away. And I think she calls it like enrichment or parenting enrichment or something like that. Can you talk about how having multiple roles and multiple identity multiple facets of your identity helps your you being a pro bike racer?
Erin Huck 16:20
Yeah, I mean, so I actually have like a very aha moment example of when that happened for me in my life. In 2016, I was gearing for try to qualify for the Rio Olympics. And I was on the long team. And well, there were four women that were vying for two spots. So I had kind of like a 50 50% chance of making it. And at that time, I was like, Okay, well, let’s put work on the backburner. And I was I took a sabbatical. So I stopped working for six months. And it kind of like, every, like, it did not work out for me, because I, I actually needed to have something else to think about, and to assign my self worth and value to other than just being a bike racer. So I was not successful. I didn’t make the Olympic team and I came back to work. So that was like one examples, like, Okay, I need balance, because I can’t put so much stake on my bike racing success. For me, that just caused me to fall apart. But then when I returned to work, and I had just been through, like, one of the worst, you know, it’s, it’s pretty devastating to go all in on something and not make it. And I’m at work, getting back, you know, into the swing of things. And I have to do a presentation to like, high level executives. And after the presentation, my boss was like, I don’t know what happened. But you have changed, like, the amount of confidence that you have. And you know, you just answered questions, and you are just totally different, like, Well, yeah, once you’ve had your heart fucking broken, after not going to the Olympics. It’s like, what are these guys gonna do? Like, they don’t know. They’re just, I just like nothing. I can if I can weather that I can weather anything. So I just it gave me a lot more confidence in my working life. To know that, yeah, I went for it. And I didn’t make it. But I can do it again. I guess?
Sonya Looney 18:21
I don’t know. And you are an Olympian. Now, you want to tell us about that?
Erin Huck 18:25
Yeah, I mean, so this time around Tokyo, we knew that we, well, there were going to be a potential of three spots. And with that potential opportunity that was hugely motivating for team USA. Like we really, really wanted to get those three spots. And we achieved that goal. So essentially meant there were four of us going for three spots. And it was super, super close. And COVID messed everything up, basically. So that made it really hard. And ultimately, it came down to arbitration. And yeah, so long story short, I was nominated to the team went to Tokyo to compete at the Olympics, it did not go, like nothing went how I had planned or wanted it to go. But I still, I guess, achieved that goal. And then I think it was a few weeks after I came home from the Olympics, I found out that I was pregnant. So that was also not according to plan. But that was like an instance transition, I guess. So.
Imogen Smith 19:49
Kind of a nice follow on from that. I’m wondering for both of you when you first found out you were pregnant, what the emotions you kind of went through as an athlete when What what it felt like to face the future? Knowing that it wouldn’t be the same? And what kind of doubts and you might have had and how you worked through that in terms of coming back to fitness and being an athlete again? What was that? Like?
Erin Huck 20:14
Yeah, I can. So for my sake, again, when I said that COVID messed everything up, it messed up our plans to have a family, because I was 39 at the time, and recently married to Andrew. And it was like, I really wanted a family. He really wanted a family. But my clock was ticking. And I was ready to like, I found the guy. Let’s get this done. And he was the one that was like, No, you were so close to little books, let’s just keep pushing. And then when COVID caused the delay, it was the same like, I’m done. I want to family like I will, I will never forgive myself if we can’t have a kid. Because I chased this dream. And I Who knows if it’ll work out. And we even got some initial fertility testing done that was like not super rosy. And all throughout that year, up until Tokyo, I was every month just like, Okay, how about now? And Andrew would be like, you’re so close. You’re the you know, you’re you just won this race, you just, you know, you’re blah, blah, blah, you’re so close. Let’s just keep going. And so we kept going, and then when the selection went to arbitration, it’s like, Okay, I’m done. And so we actually, I think, tried once, and it was right after arbitration, and I didn’t think that it was gonna go my way. And it turned out that I got both I’m gonna cry,
Sonya Looney 21:58
but so many emotions. But yeah, just like,
Erin Huck 22:01
both things happened for me. And I can’t believe like how grateful I am. That I just love being a mom. So, and I am an Olympian. And so as he because he was there. I mean, Brennan was was with me, so that was just like, I just, yeah, it wasn’t how I planned it, but it I’m so grateful.
Sonya Looney 22:28
Oh, god, that’s so incredible. Like, yeah, and the altitude and the fact,
Erin Huck 22:33
you’ve just been racing for like, 15 hours.
Sonya Looney 22:37
There’s actually been lots of crying from speakers as well, like, even on our panel. I’ve cried multiple times in the race, not not actually from happiness. Or just like, oh, like, oh my gosh, this is so beautiful. Like, I can’t even like hold my emotions in or like, today. Some guy was like, your home like, this is your home because I’m from I lived here for 10 years, and I really miss it. So yeah, that was really hard. Anyway, it’s not a video interview. Aaron’s ugly crying over here. It wasn’t ugly. That was just shedding a tear. Yeah, no, it’s the allergies. Yeah, that’s right. It’s just got something in my eye really bad. Well, it’s incredible. Aaron, like, Yeah, everybody’s so happy for you. And what a great example you’re setting for everybody.
Erin Huck 23:27
Oh, well, I don’t know about that. I just, it didn’t go like my planned and I’m an engineer and I plan everything. But yeah, it just feels like the universe gave me a gift.
Sonya Looney 23:40
Yeah, my background is also an engineering. I did my masters at CU and worked as a solar engineer for a little bit but didn’t like engineering and then pivoted to working in the bike industry. And then pivoted pivoted into all the things I’m doing now. So there’s been lots of pivots. But for me, kids, I didn’t want kids growing up. I didn’t want kids. When I married my husband. I said, when you got married when I was 30. I was like, I don’t really know. Or maybe I was 31. And he said, That’s okay. And then we were both sitting at this place after a race we did. And I said, You know what, like, I think I’m going to regret it if I don’t like I don’t think there’s ever a good time. But I was afraid because there’s never a good time. And what does it mean? If I get pregnant? Do I have to quit my career? And will I be the same again, like some of the things we talked about earlier? Will my body be able to still race after I have babies? Well, I still want to race after I have babies. But the thing that was the most like disconcerting to me is will I still be able to get sponsors if I get pregnant? Well, because I’m, I don’t do the team thing. I am a privateer. So will all my sponsors drop me if I announced that I’m pregnant? And that was very stressful and I had missed them trying to think how many both of my pregnancies I’ve had miscarriages so that’s hard because you’re trying to plan like errands that you want to plan everything so you get pregnant but then you have miscarriage and then like it takes a little while to recover from that and then okay, like do I I go again. And and then you know, do I want to announce anything? So yeah, with my first, we actually did a documentary called benched that, hopefully will be available for everybody to watch at some point. But it was about athlete motherhood and identity and sponsorships. And a lot of my sponsors didn’t renew with me after I announced I was pregnant. And it was really hard because these were really long term relationships that I had. No one specifically said this is because you’re pregnant. And I don’t want to play like a victim. But it’s been hard. I was a privateer for probably like seven years before I had kids. And I don’t have a bike sponsor. That’s really embarrassing. Like, I lost my bike sponsor in 2019. And it’s very surprising to me that I don’t because I’m still racing at the top level, and I do lots of things. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a parent, or maybe it’s because I live in Canada. But there’s a lot of frustration on my end. I’m glad to see that people like Aaron have support. And I don’t know what your side of things look like but, and the other women seem to have support who are moms. But yeah, I didn’t want to tell anybody that I was pregnant. I didn’t want anybody to know, because I thought people are gonna think less of me, people are gonna think I’m less capable. People even made comments like people from the bike industry made comments to me like, well, it’s okay, if you don’t get back or when I was back racing, like, basically writing me off. Like it’s called the motherhood penalty where people don’t give you opportunities because you’re a mom, because they think you can’t handle it. And that’s so frustrating to me, because moms are so badass, we can do so much. And when people just undercut us opportunities, it’s just wrong. So yeah, it was really hard for me to announce my pregnancy, and it isn’t a happy ending. I wish I could say it’s a happy ending. And I had my second child. The border was closed in 2021, due to the pandemic, so I didn’t race in 2020. I had my baby in 2020, as well, the day before, lockdown is when I had my baby. And yeah, 2021 border was closed, couldn’t raise. So I said, Well, if I’m gonna have another baby, then now’s the time to do it. So we had another baby. So I had to take three years off for racing. And last year was my first race back. And this was my second race back last year. And it’s been something that’s been very interesting, because I have to ask myself, why do I race like I don’t race? For sponsors. I’ve never raced for sponsors I race because it is so important to me to challenge myself and to experience a wide range of emotions and relationships and community. And that is meaningful to me way more meaningful than having a bike sponsor or winning a race. And, again, I have to ask myself that all the time to make sure I’m doing it for the right reasons. Okay, I think we have time for one more question, because we are at our next talk starts in a couple minutes. Do you have any questions on it?
Speaker 5 27:43
I missed the first few minutes of the interview. So yours really covered? The questions I had, but I was just curious, like, how, sorry if you got this question.
Sonya Looney 27:57
Speak right into it because it’s like
Speaker 5 28:01
um, yeah, I’m trying to find out. I’m a freelance writer based here in Breckenridge doing some recaps and stuff for Mike. Yeah, I’m curious what the day to day during the race season looks like for both of you while you’re juggling parenting. I know. Sounds like you’re you’re both really organized about it and good planners. But what does that look like? With with planning and organizing your race season and your training seasons?
Sonya Looney 28:29
Yeah, so do you want to just kind of add on to the prioritization that you were talking about and how you continue to look at an entire season?
Erin Huck 28:38
Yeah, I mean, so historically, we would target like all of the key races, right. And you can’t do that when you have a kid because you can’t travel that much. And childcare is a huge thing. So we plan out one race a month was kind of what we targeted this year. And some of them are mama races, and some of them are mom and dad races if we can get childcare figured out. And then from a training daily standpoint, like our kid is in daycare. So we take turns dropping him off at daycare, we work our day jobs, the weekday rides are typically one to maybe two hours max and then on the weekends we try and get in anywhere from three to five hours and we’ll have a babysitter or grandma come so that we can go together or we’ll take turns and dad will get one priority day and then Mom gets one priority day and we just tried to make it but the my I mean I’d training probably half as much as I used to and just try and check the box. because not I’m not able to execute every training ride like I would want to necessarily, but it’s just a matter of getting it done. And, yeah, you have meals planned and it’s it, everything is executed on a very, very fine thread that if anything goes wrong, every, all the wheels fall off. It’s, it’s a shit show. So we’ve had a lot of sickness and just travel schedules and different things. And that just means that maybe we’re not training. So it’s a good week if you’re able to execute all of your your trading rights. But yeah, it’s a lot of planning a lot of grocery delivery. I hate to admit it.
Sonya Looney 30:50
Yeah, that sounds very similar to how we arrange our life, we have a meal plan, my husband actually does most of the cooking now. And we batch cook stuff, have it in the habit in the fridge. If that goes wrong, then of course, there’s big problems. Because you got to eat when you’re athletes. And we also do meal delivery, we also train one to two hours per day, we have a nanny that comes six hours per day. And that’s about the amount of time I locked myself to fit in my training and all the other things that I do for work. And then on the weekend, we try to get a nanny to come. So Matt and I can train together but oftentimes will be trading off. Which is hard because you want to spend time with your partner, you want to ride with your partner, because that’s probably I don’t know about you, it seems like for you to it’s probably one of the things that you really enjoy doing together. And for me, that’s been the hardest thing about becoming a mom is you lost, you lose your adventure, buddy. Yeah. And there have been lots of days where stuff gets off schedule. And I like to have a schedule, I like to be organized. And I’ve really had to learn how to let go and be flexible. And it’s hard. Like, I get so frustrated if I’m trying to leave on a ride. And then now I can’t leave on my ride because something happened. And now I only have an hour to ride when I needed longer. And then I show up to that ride. And I’m tired. And now I can’t do the training I wanted to do so it’s just such a crash course, and flexibility. And also realizing that things don’t have to be perfect to be to make progress. Yeah,
Erin Huck 32:11
yeah. And I think it’s funny because I, I had a coach, you know, for the tail end of kind of like my elite career leading into the Olympics. And he would always tell me just like, you just need to get the intent of the workout done to get the benefit. You don’t need it to be perfect. And if you could just chill out, it would actually be better. And so now I am hoping he’s right, because I just try and get the intent of the workout done. And except that it can’t be perfect.
Sonya Looney 32:42
Yeah, and I mean, you’ve been national champion two times over since having a baby. Right. You just once the marathon, I guess.
Erin Huck 32:49
Yeah. Okay. Marathon national championships were last fall. Okay.
Sonya Looney 32:52
Yeah. Cool. Yeah. And it’s just amazing to see. Like you’re leading the race here. It’s a tight race, but you are absolutely blowing us all away. And it’s so cool to see.
Erin Huck 33:04
Not that’s not true. Casey’s right there.
Sonya Looney 33:07
Well, you too. I mean, are going all of us away. Yeah.
Erin Huck 33:10
It’s a pretty close race, though. Yeah. All right.
Sonya Looney 33:12
Well, unfortunately, we’re out of time. But thank you so much to everybody who asked questions. This will actually go live on my podcast at some point. So for those of you who missed the beginning, it’s all been recorded. And Aaron, thank you so much for coming. I know how important recovery is, especially when you’re leading a stage race and for sharing such valuable insights without giving up on
Erin Huck 33:31
recovery. Like, yeah, you don’t I mean, whatever. Yeah, yeah, you carrying my 25 pound kid up and downstairs is.
Sonya Looney 33:43
That’s a good point. Yep. You don’t get recovery. We got kids doesn’t matter. No, this is recovery.
Erin Huck 33:48
People said I’m sitting and my kid is someplace else. This is great.
Sonya Looney 33:53
People like how are you gonna manage during the women’s cycling summit and having your kids and racing and doing everything and I said the women’s cycling Summit is my recovery. I can just sit down and not have to do anything. Alright, well, thanks so much.