It's a Family Affair

Guest Blog

By Alan Barbell (aka Robyn’s running buddy, Dad)

“Get moving Barbell, gym class is only an hour.” That is what I would hear in grade school from the gym teachers whenever we had to do a timed run.  They would use a stopwatch for the class, and for me, they used calendar. That was 40 years ago. Now that I am over 50 years old, I have just registered to run my first half marathon later this year in June.

I guess my interest in getting more fit has increased over time starting in college. There I started playing racquetball and volleyball. Not really endurance based sports. After graduation I enjoyed bicycling, which I continue to do, but I never was breaking any land speed records. It wasn’t until my kids started playing sports did I pick up jogging. I would take them to their practices, and then hang out at the fields and walk or jog.

When Robyn was playing field hockey in high school, I would try to help her by offering to run with her on the weekends as she was training. While I never did anything more than two or three miles, it was a start. A couple years ago I ran my first 5k at a local charity run. I was happy to finish that race. I ran it again this year and finished well under 30 minutes. I started running more frequently with Robyn once she got home from school and began training for her marathon. I would join in on her shorter distance runs, and I was starting to think, maybe I like this running thing.

June 2016 marked a threshold. I ran the Lancaster Red Rose 5 mile race with both my kids and my brother-in-law.  What a great day that was! I started the race running with Robyn for the first 2.5 miles. We were talking and having fun. We were running much faster than I had expected or wanted to go. I told her to go, as I did not want to hold her back. The back part of the course was a long up hill climb. I found myself shuffling along. Then my son came up from behind and told me to get moving. This was some great motivation and I got to run almost the last mile with him, before he left me in his dust. My goal at the start was to finish in under an hour. I succeeded by finishing over 9 minutes better. Yes, I do like this running thing.

Red Rose Run with Robyn and Elliot

The rest of the summer found me extending my distance, increasing my time, and spending time with my daughter.  Robyn had goals to train for including a Spartan race, several distance races, and her first marathon. My goal was just to have fun running. I found that three miles was no longer enough, a short run now looked like four to five miles. I no longer liked running on a treadmill, I longed for being outside. Even this week, I was much happier running a 10k distance in 25 degree weather than being inside on the treadmill. Yes, I am a runner.

My running journey has been a long trip, and I do not want it to end anytime soon. I am ready to start my training for my first half marathon. I am excited about the training. I am excited about racing. I am most excited to run 13.1 miles with my daughter, and have my wife and son cheering us on along the way!

Thank you Robyn for being my motivation. I am excited to see where my legs take me in 2017!