It’s in the Blood.

I come from a family of avid runners, starting with my Grandma. A few weeks ago Elise told me she had taken up running in the mornings as well, and I realized that meant I was nearly the last one in my family to not enjoy this form of exercise. In high school, I hated it. I had a lot of pain associated with running, which led me to believe it wasn’t for me. I started it up again in college and even ran a few races, but that was short lived since I soon started culinary school and was short on time for extracurricular activities. I have loved other forms of exercise throughout the years, which have included Pilates, my elliptical, and caring for triplets, a completely legitimate form of cardio and strength training, believe me! But, with the elliptical tucked away for the time being, and the weather so gorgeous, I felt motivated to join Elise in this new challenge. I gave myself a small goal at first, to go a couple miles just once a week, so I wouldn’t start to resent it, and sometimes it was just hard to find the time. But I have since found myself not wanting to miss a day, so I make time for it. It’s especially nice with a good book to listen to on my Ipod. I find that I love that quiet time by myself in the morning, and have really felt the great endorphins, and energy as a benefit.

I felt, with this little training I’ve done, that a 5k was in order. I knew there was one coming up that I really wanted to participate in, and luckily I registered just in time. It was the Race for the Family by the Cade Foundation, sponsored by my very own Shady Grove Fertility. This race was all about overcoming infertility! How could I NOT do this race?!

So we all made the trip early this morning. Of course it was the coldest day of the season yet, but that didn’t dampen our spirits. Elise and I had a great time doing this together. It’s so fun to have a running buddy. The trail was a bit hilly, and the cold hurt at times, but in the end it felt wonderful, and I can definitely see more races in my future. If only the whole fam was there to run with us! Though I certainly would’ve been left in in all of your dust.KC and the babies were a great support team, even if they were in the van watching Monsters Inc. most of the time. We didn’t win any awards or the raffle for the free IVF cycle (bummer!), but I was happy to support the cause, and get a good workout. I’m a beginner, so my time wasn’t too impressive, a little over 29 minutes, but I think that’s a couple minutes faster than my last 5k about 7 years ago, so hey, it’s an improvement!Thanks for this shot, Jeff. The reason for my smile at this particular moment, is that my name was misspelled on my registration, so when I crossed the finish line they announced something like, “Way to go Emil Robinson!” Not sure it was my mistake or theirs, but it made for a few laughs this morning.

I don't know how long this running kick will last. With the winter coming, this whole running operation is sure to be shut down, but at least I know I have it in me to start up again when the conditions are right. Who knew I would actually enjoy running? Not me.