She is an Ironman triathlete with aspirations to one day race at the Kona Ironman World Championships, as well as being a mother of three young boys all aged under six years. And at the same time too, she also holds down a day job in the banking industry.

Friends and Coached members know her as a Super Mom

As it stands, many of her friends and fellow members at Coached, know Rowena Redbelli as a “Super Mom” because of her ability to juggle everything in her life, so efficiently.

Rowena running whilst pregnant with her third son, and with her two older sons in tow.

Coached is a boutique fitness company that focuses on heart rate based training, and the company is led by Ben Pulham, a former professional triathlete from New Zealand.

Said Rowena, who lives in Singapore with her family, “Training by time and heart rate means that I can know exactly how long a workout will take so that I can plan more precisely. The Coached plans are also flexible so that I can tweak my sessions each week to fit around the rest of my life.”

No secrets

Rowena adds too, that there are no secrets as to how she’s able to do well at everything. Said the triathlete, “I try not to waste time. For example, I hardly watch television. I also try to use the time that I have to spend on banal tasks effectively. For instance, I cycle to work, so I fit 100km extra on the bike each week in approximately the same amount of time that I would otherwise spend sitting on the bus.”

She added that sometimes, she also runs around the football field when her kids are playing the sport – so that she can watch them and get in some running training the same time. While Rowena does admit that by doing just this, people could stare at her and think she’s weird, she also adds that doesn’t care.

Added Rowena, “Or I run quite often, pushing one of the boys in the pushchair, sometimes we stop for milk breaks – I’m still breastfeeding the baby. And when I used to run with the older boys, we would chat while I was doing my long, slow runs.”

“I often have the best conversations with my husband (who is French) while he is on his bike, carrying all of my water, keys and food, and so on, while I run. There are no distractions from smart phones, television or chores; so the conversation is great quality and we are also training at the same time,” she continued.

Seven months pregnant and cycling on a stationary bike.

Rowena also pointed out that the same goes with her dad as well. She said, “We have the best chats out on the trails.”

Family support is important 

In that regard she added that having a family who shares the same hobbies is really important. Said Rowena, “It would be extremely hard to spend enough time training if it were kept completely separate from my family life. It’s also much easier to keep motivated if those around me share the passion and understand the highs and lows of training and racing.”

Continued Rowena, “I think it’s absolutely vital to be generous and appreciative of your family and kind to those who support you and put up with you. Most of us couldn’t do it without them. They are important and we must make them feel that way.”

Frolicking with her kids.

It is with this frame of mind, too, that her family holidays coincide with her overseas races. Explained Rowena, “I usually don’t race abroad unless it is a ‘racecation.’ When we look at the race calendar for the upcoming year, one of the first questions is ‘would it make a good family holiday?’ and the second is ‘is it in the school holidays?’”

Wakes up early for training 

And with regards to fitting in her work commitments into her day as well, Rowena explained that she usually wakes up early for her training sessions. She said, “I get up early. It’s much easier to go to bed early than it is to get out of the door after a hard day, to train. I fit in work, family and training by using my time as well as I can. I eat well, I sleep enough and I try not to waste time.”

She added, “If I am at work, I try and get the work done well and efficiently. If I am with family, I focus on them and try to make the time really count; quality time. Wherever I am, I try to be mindful, deliberate and not get distracted. Multi tasking does not work all of the time; sometimes we really do need to concentrate on just one thing at a time before moving on to the next.”

Cycling with her dad.

Does not feel she has made sacrifices 

Rowena does not feel that she has made many sacrifices in order to manage her time well. She said, “I don’t feel I have sacrificed anything. I spent my time, very deliberately, doing what I want and love to do. I make choices, but everyone has to.”

And at the same time, she also feels that she gets sufficient sleep and does not neglect this aspect of her recovery – by not watching television or staring at her smart phone for hours – even though Rowena did sheepishly admit that the television is her biggest distraction!

Distraction is the biggest problem of most athletes today

In fact, being frequently distracted, and not realising what is important to them, is what Rowena feels, is one of the biggest problems with many athletes nowadays, in terms of managing their time.

Running whilst pushing her two youngest sons.

Explained Rowena, “Many athletes don’t prioritise according to what is important for them. And they don’t sleep enough; quite often sleep is sacrificed for television or computer games. That’s fine if the television or computer game is a conscious choice and is something that we have decided is important to us and we really do want to spend our time that way.

She continued, “But sometimes it’s not, and that time would be better spent doing something else, even sleeping!”

Find out more about Rowena at www.IronMummy.com.

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