Anyways, back to the race. So I got up at 4:30. I went to the kitchen and hit start on the coffee maker, which I had set up the night before so all I had to do was hit "start". Just like many of you smart runners, I had set up everything I needed for the day the night before. My outfit was all set out, my running gear was pretty much packed for the bag check, or at least for the car ride until I needed to put it on. I wanted to be on the road by 5am. I was close, I almost forgot my coffee and had to run back inside.
Then I was on the road to Providence, RI for the Rock 'n' Roll Providence 1/2 Marathon!!
First off, since there were all these road closures and I don't know Providence that well, I wasn't sure how to get to the mall parking garage. So I pulled into the first one I saw off the highway. Not paying attention to price, I parked and then dilly-dallied in the garage getting my gear on, texting a friend, etc. On my way out I then noticed the price....$18 for 5hours!!! I said No Way!!! So then I had to waste more time by going out to ask someone how to get to the mall garage. I then paid my $6.00 for parking since it had been more than 15min of parking....and went to the garage at the mall....grrr...
Anyways, back to the good stuff! There was a meet-up set up for the race morning of RunDisney runners and other friends, so I headed over in hopes of finding someone.
Look who I found! It was Erin, a Run Disney enthusiast and a Rhode Island local! She was also looking for the meet-up group, but it seemed that some were late, so we didn't really see anyone else! But is was great to see her! You can read her blog For the love of Running Disney , and yes it is what is says, a blog about running at Disney! Erin is pretty awesome I must say!
So we said our hellos and got our picture taken, and then went our ways to our corrals!
There I was on corral 11. I was also waiting for one of my friends who was running her first 1/2 Marathon! She had arrived on the late side and had been texting me. She ended up just kind of jumping in at corral 3 or 4 since she was in a rush. I don't think anyone cared, there didn't seem to be anyone monitoring the corrals to make sure people were getting in the right one.
Along the course there were a lot of bands playing rock n roll music and a lot of other genres as well! This guy was cool and was hanging out in the middle of the street! There were also a lot of people with signs! As you can see I really enjoyed these girls' signs!
I caught up with some mischievous Minions along the way! There were one or two others, but they missed the photo opp! One Minion, not pictured here was someone I had met before and I didn't eve realize it until I was home on facebook! She had also participated in Run Disney races and all that and I even am facebook friends with her! Who would have known! I actually ran past another woman during the race wearing her Princess 1/2 shirt, so of course I said hello, good luck, etc.!
A selfie just before the 10 mile mark!
Here was the final hill, hitting mile marker 13 then the finish line!!
I have to give thanks to my mom for the awesome Finishing photo!
my well deserved Medal! And I have been shrink wrapped for the purpose of icing!
Here we are, two finishers! This was #3 for me and #1 for her! My friend Maria Elena did AMAZING! I was so proud of her. She had very little time for training, and still finished in 2:31:XX hr! I of course had a goal of hitting 3 hours or under. When I finished, the clock read 3:03:xx. So I knew by looking that I had done what I set out to do since the clock was the timer from the first group! But I didn't want to throw out any huge "hoorays" until I knew the official time!
So my Mom (who came to watch), my friend and I then skipped the free beer line and stretched a bit then went for some lunch! After which we parted ways to go home. I went home and sat in a cool/cold tub for about 5 minutes then a shower. I did a little stretching, then crawled back into bed for a nap before the Patriots game. Before the game I then went online to find out my official time....
2:50:43
How awesome is that! I did it!!
Not trying to be negative, but if the last 2 miles hadn't been such a struggle for me, I feel like I could have shaved 3-5minutes off of my time. But I am soooo thrilled with my time! It makes me want to do another just to beat that time! But I do know that I need to give my body a break. I will still run, and do short distance, but take a break from the long distance. If I can, I willl do this race again next year. It was a lot of fun!
-Stephanie
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