Rhode Races Providence Half Marathon

Whoa. Where has the time gone? Where have I gone? I'm finding it somewhat challenging to train for a half marathon, be present in every day life, and maintain a blog. So I've (obviously) cut back quite a bit...but I'm back with an update about the Providence Half Marathon that I ran on May 7, 2017!

I had 13-14 miles on my training schedule and I thought to myself, if I have to run the distance anyways, why not get some bling for my efforts? Am I right?!

Enter Providence Half Marathon.

I signed up for the race back in November or December when I first looked at my training schedule and picked this race because it was touted as a "fast and flat course" and a "major Boston qualifier" (obviously for the marathon distance) which led me to think that if a ton of people BQ then it has to be somewhat flat...Oh silly Sara.

It was anything but flat. It was pretty. It was fun. But it was HILLY! There was one hill that literally took a HALF MILE to crest. No joke. I actually timed it on my watch.

Hello ACTUAL elevation profile
Anyways, Providence is about an hour from where I live so I got up SUPER early on Sunday and drove down for packet pickup. Parking was easy enough as the major shopping mall is attached to the hotel where the bib pickup was. I got there in plenty of time only to see that there was a huge line and only 2 people working the table, 1 for the marathon and 1 for the half marathon/5k. Talk about stressful! I eventually snaked my way through the line, hit up the nice hotel bathrooms, and made my way to the start line.
Ready to start!
We started at exactly 8am and I decided to stick with the 2:30 pacer. That maybe lasted for a mile, or at least long enough to complement her on her shoes (we were wearing the same Hokas!) and then I was off. All plans of an easy run were out the window. I don't know why I did it, maybe it was the competitive spirit in me or the fact that my legs felt really good for the first 8 or so miles, but I couldn't be stopped!

Until the hills stopped me. They just completely broke me. I remember seeing one and thinking "will it ever end?!" It was mentally and physically tough.

But alas, I made it through. I was on pace to PR, but by mile 10 I let another hill completely mentally defeat me. I ended up crossing the finish line 3 minutes over my PR, but I was happy with my time. This was supposed to be a training run after all.

The finish line was nicely stocked with waters and then there was a beer tent and donuts from a local shop. Both were delicious!
Booyah! 

So half marathon #3 in the books. #4 in 3 weeks. Whoa. What a whirlwind month! Game face.

Check out my review to the Rhode Races Providence Half Marathon on Bibrave.com


-Happy Running!

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