The Great Pumpkin Chase Recap

I already know that I  haven't followed through on my once a week blog post.
I'm thinking I'll have more  luck with a biweekly blog post. We usually have an exam every two weeks in nursing school, and this is a good way to procrastinate studying. I'm sure some of you know what I'm talking about... How your house or apartment is the cleanest when you need to get something else done (e.g. studying or work project).

Even though life has been crazy busy as usual with school (I'm currently in the hardest semester in nursing school). I've actually managed to have a little bit of fun these past couple of weeks.
I'm happy to report to you BB readers that I have finally broken out of my running race slump. I honestly have not run a race since my half-marathon back in 2010...2010?!! Can you believe it?!

About a month ago my good friend Cassy (healthywithsass.blogspot.com) suggested we do a race with a fun theme. I was sort of hesitant because I didn't feel prepared to run a race. I hadn't trained at all except for some random 2-3 mile runs with Shed dog around the neighborhood.  However, I checked myself and concentrated on making the run FUN! That meant no Garmin on my run, and it meant wearing a silly costume. There was a point when the half marathoner in me crept out and tried to get me to do the 10k, but I wasn't having it. I was going to do The Great Pumpkin Chase 5k and I was going to love it!  The night before I laid out my "racing witch" race outfit and tied my Shwings (Shoe-wings) to my shoes and got my little witch hat out. I was ready for the race!

Shwings!

The next morning I got all dressed up  in my "running witch" outfit and we even dressed up Shed Dog for the occasion.  I bought her a cute skeleton outfit to wear for Halloween. Yes, I'm one of those dog owners. Anyways, we met up with Sassy Cassy at the race and did a little pre-race stretching. It was freezing cold out, but we did our best to warm up.

When the 5k started I felt good! However, I couldn't feel my feet. They were completely numb from the cold.  I did start to feel better once they warmed up around the 1.5 mile mark, but it was sort of weird running when you can't feel your feet. Anyways, the race was absolutely beautiful. It went through a historical downtown neighborhood (the neighborhood where Jesse Pinkman's house is for all you Breaking Bad fans out there), and along the river trail. Although it was freezing cold during the first part of the run, as I started to warm up it became perfect running weather.

As I ran by my husband around the 1 mile mark, I was happy to see him cheering me on! I loved it when he yelled "Good job, you're running so fast!!" I also heard our dog Shed losing her shit because I was running without her. I swear, if you could translate her dog fit it would have translated to: HOW DARE YOU GO RUNNING WITHOUT ME YOU BI***!  I got a pretty good chuckle out of that whole scenario in the middle of my run. On the last leg of the run, I was smiling and cheering on my fellow runners. I was able to give Cassy a high five on the trail and that propelled me to finish strong. I finished with a time of 25.28 and placed 28th overall and 3rd in my age group, and I got a MEDAL! I never thought I would be so happy to get one of those things. It was a little shocking to me because all I got after running my half marathon was a stupid pin.

I had so much fun running in the Great Pumpkin Chase event. I really can't wait to sign up for the next silly holiday themed race.  I think I'm going to skip out on a Thanksgiving run this year, but will try and sign up for a winter holiday themed race.  My plan is to stick with 5K's for now, but I think it's helping me build up my confidence for another 13.1 in 2013.  You gotta set goals!

I spent the rest of the weekend studying and catching up on errands, and just in case you were wondering, I wore my medal the whole time. :)

Click here to see Cassy's recap of the race and check out her yummy pumpkin oatmeal recipe!