Get Pump'd!

Hello, lovelies!

First of all, this is my first blog post under the NEW website and business name! That's right, Wellness Wabbit has officially transformed into Joyful Balance. As much as I loved the "Wellness Wabbit" name, I needed to change things up to be a little more professional sounding once I decided to start my own business. But after MANY brainstorming sessions, I decided on the name Joyful Balance - and I'm loving it! So, welcome to the beginning of a new era! I'm still me, I'm just more official and legal now 😉

Anyway, let's jump in!

This past weekend I did The Great Pumpkin Run 5k! This was my second year doing this race, and it was just as much fun the second time around. I like spreading the word when I find a good race, so here I am to tell you all about my experience!

Last year I did this race with my bestie, but sadly this year she was sick and couldn't make it. However, we had invited my husband and a bunch of other friends along this time, so I was still surrounded by friendly faces! The race was in La Grange, Texas, which is about an hour and a half drive from us. It officially started at 9, but the race emails recommended getting there at 7:30 to avoid long lines at packet pickup. There was an option to pick up packets the previous day, but none of us wanted to drive that far and back TWICE in one weekend - so we opted for the early morning option. At the early hour of 5:30am I woke up, had a light breakfast, put on my autumn-themed tutu, and the hubby and I were out the door.

Once we got to the race we met up with our group, checked in at the front tables, and got our swag. I'm pretty sure they always do a pullover light-weight running hoodie for this race, but they change up the color every year. This year it was grey with a jack-o-lantern face on the front, and "get pump'd" on the back - which made me really happy, because puns are life.

Next, those of us that signed up for the Tough Pumpkin got to pick our pumpkins. What is the Tough Pumpkin you may ask? Well, basically you pay a little extra for the chance to run WHILE HOLDING A PUMPKIN. If you do so successfully, you get an extra medal at the end. And who doesn't want an extra medal? When you pick up your packet, they have you grab a pumpkin from their giant pile of selections, and then they weigh the one you pick and write it's weight on your race bib. That way you know how much extra weight you carried with you and can be proud of your accomplishments later. (Although I encourage you to be proud of your accomplishments whether or not you run a 5k while carrying a large orange squash).

Truth be told, when I did this race last year I did NOT want to run with a pumpkin. It sounded difficult and unnecessary. I pictured small little me carrying a GIANT jack-o-lantern sized pumpkin and was not interested in that scenario. But, once we did the race and I saw all of the Tough Pumpkin racers, I realized that you were able to pick a small OR a large pumpkin. So I promised myself that I would do it this year.

3 people in our group did the Tough Pumpkin. I went for a little baby pumpkin, it was just a little over 2 pounds. It was cute and adorable. My husband and our other pumpkin friend both went a little bit bigger than me and were both around 3.5 pounds.  We all definitely went on the smaller side, but there were lots of other people who went for really big ones! So, if that sounds like your jam (your pumpkin jam), you do you!

Once we got our packets we had some time to kill before needing to line up for the race. The race is held at a dairy farm (which I found quite ironic because I'm plant-based and not consuming dairy at the moment), and they always make sure to give the farm a fall-festival vibe. They had hay bales painted to look like pigs, pumpkin-painting stations for kids, alpacas dressed in costume, and a musician playing some fun country music. I, of course, was most excited about the alpacas. I knew from last year that the lines to get photos with the alpacas got pretty long if you waited until after the race (they are very popular alpacas, after all)- so we took a few photos beforehand. We also said hi to some of the other barnyard animals that were hanging around nearby. A sheep rudely tried to eat my tutu, but I saved him (and the tutu) before anything was consumed. Call me a superhero.

Around 8:45 we made our way to the starting line. This particular race has you sign up for a specific "corral" when you register. The idea is that the faster you are going to be, the further up to the front you want to be. That way, the runners don't have to push past the walkers, and the walkers aren't being stampeded by the runners. Our group had a mixture of runners and walkers, but we all wanted to be in the same corral so we could start together. We decided to sign up for one of the corrals that was suggested for a "light jog", because we figured that was a good compromise. We all started together, and then gradually broke up into groups based on what we were doing. Two of our members opted for the walking option, four ran, and I did my signature run-walk Galloway method (which you can read more about in my So You Think You Can't Run? blog post!). I decided to do a 30:30 ratio, which means I ran for 30 seconds and walked for 30 seconds throughout the race.

It was pretty chilly starting out, but we warmed up very quickly! The course is mostly flat, but it is on farmland - which means that sometimes the ground is uneven and you have to watch out for random sticks or cow patties. But that just makes the experience more unique, right? Plus, you get to run by some pigs, which automatically makes things 10 times better.

Running with my adorable baby pumpkin (who I named Jerry) was definitely a little odd. Although my pumpkin didn't add much extra weight, holding a pumpkin while you run makes you feel just a little bit awkward. I tend to focus a lot on my form while I'm running and try to make it as "correct" as I can, and holding a pumpkin in one arm made me feel strangely off balance - even though it was only 2 extra pounds. I got used to it throughout the race though, and I felt accomplished at the end! Celebrate the little things.

Once I passed the finish line, I grabbed my TWO race medals (one for the race and one for the Tough Pumpkin), grabbed some water and a complimentary banana, and found the runners of my group who had finished before me. When our walkers also finished, we grabbed the rest of our free stuff. Each racer gets a glass of apple cider and a pumpkin (which means that if you did the Tough Pumpkin you get 2 pumpkins!). We got a couple more photos for good measure and decided to head back to Austin to find some lunch.

I ended up finishing the race around 32 minutes, which I was happy with. I didn't really have a specific time goal for this race, so I wasn't exactly pushing myself to finish quickly. However, I would definitely recommend being in one of the earlier corrals if you DO have a time goal and plan on running! I ended up weaving through some of the walkers/joggers for the first few minutes of the race, even with my run/walk method, and probably would have finished a few minutes earlier if I had avoided the weaving by signing up for one of the "faster" corrals. Again, for my specific situation, I was totally fine with it. But if I have a time goal in the future, I'll definitely start a little further up.

Well, there's my Great Pumpkin Run experience! This is a great race whether you want to challenge yourself on the course or just go for a nice walk through a dairy farm. It's also super family-friendly because of all of the fall-festival activities going on. I've only ever done the one in Texas, but they have them all over the place - and there's even a virtual option if there isn't one in your area! If you are a fall fanatic and enjoy 5ks, check out the Great Pumpkin Run website to see if they have any near you!

Stay warm, and happy November!