I ran the Providence Rock N Roll Half Marathon on August 7th...my birthday weekend! I use the term ran loosely because it was more of a swim than a run. By this point I have made some great friends through the RNR circuit and I look forward to seeing them at the expos/races/destination cities, but Providence was already starting out to be a slight bummer because some of my good friends were not able to make it to this one despite really wanting too....we all have travel budgets and unfortunately we can't do all of the races we want.
Despite not having all of my RNR friends at the expo I was still thrilled because I was awarded my Rock Star medal for this race! Rock Star is earned by completing 5 Rock N Roll events in one calendar year. I had already earned the Dessert Double Down (for Vegas and AZ back to back), Rock Encore (for 2 events in the calendar year), Triple Crown (for 3), and Grand Slam (for 4), but all of these are mailed to you a few weeks after the race that earns them. Once you hit Rock Star status you are able to pick up the medal at the race expo...and of course do green screen pix at the expo! Talk about a HEAVY MEDAL!! That thing is quality!
I was still looking forward to a great race in a beautiful place...and it was another new city to me. That's one of my favorite things about these destination races....while I've been all over the US I haven't really done a lot of sight seeing in many of the places I pick to race and even the ones I have you don't really see an area the same as your running through it with roads closed to traffic and just having time to focus on your thoughts, breath, and surroundings....its really amazing to get to enjoy most of these courses the way I have! ...but, back to Providence! I woke up to a misty morning...ok, so pretty much just sprinkling rain but constant. No worries...I'm a planner...I had a contractor trash bag in the trunk...1 head hole, 2 arm holes and I was off to the starting line. I figured after the mess with the jacket in the rain in the SuperHero half that I'd wear the bag and throw it away when it was no longer needed. And I must say...I didn't look half bad sporting a trash bag!
and no, I didn't wear the bag quite like that...I knotted it in the back for the pic...typically it just hangs down past the edge of my shorts in true trash bag fashion. As we waited in the starting corrals the rain picked up a bit. Then there was a delay on the course and we were unable to start on time...it was only a few minutes, but each minute the rain seemed to pick up. Before we started I was already so saturated that the bag was pointless so I threw it in the garbage by the corral. Once we were underway I kept my eyes squinted shut to avoid being pelted by rain and I did my best to dodge puddles for the first mile. By the 1 mile point it was clearly obvious that there was no need to worry with it, we were already soaked to the bone, shoes included. So I just forgot about it and ran. The pictures from the race all look ridiculously blurry..they aren't...it's just the rain pouring down so hard.
I really don't remember much about the course...just lots, and lots of rain. There was one stretch that went along the waterfront that the rain actually picked up to flat out monsoon...I remember thinking I bet that would've been a nice place to run on a drier day. The race didn't quite feel like a rock n roll event...most of the bands weren't playing (if they showed at all) because it was raining so hard and they didn't want their equipment destroyed (I couldn't blame them) and very few cheerleaders stayed out in the rain...though there were some huddled under awnings and overpasses here and there...and of course the crowd wasn't as big as usual...but all in all it was still a GREAT event with some amazing people toughing it out to support us along the way. I'd just gotten a new iPhone and was really afraid it was going to be completely trashed from water damage, but it somehow managed to survive in my neophrene race belt. Occassionally during the run (every couple of miles) I'd literally squeeze the water out of my sports bra or pony tail hoping it'd make a difference...
I finished the race in 2:22:36...nothing great for a normal day, but felt amazing for such horrible conditions. And...the bling was really nice! ;)
Once I got back to the hotel I actually had to wring the water out of my orthotics and it took my shoes most of the week to dry out.
My feet were completely prunerized.
This is where I began to first realized what a bad habit one of my mundane little race day habits is...you see, after the race I typically have two bottles of water and my phone in my hands...I take off my iPod at the finish line and don't want to drop it or lose it...so I warp the cord around the arm band and toss it in the camera bag to free up my hands. Keep that in mind until my Chicago update!!!
And Providence...I will definitely be tackling this course again...hopefully on a drier day, but I honestly think it will be worth the ran on another day...as the travel budget allows, of course!
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