For those interested in a more in-depth look at the Providence Rock n Roll Half this weekend, here you go!

This was the first half I did outside of NYC and it was quite a treat. I headed out of the city Saturday morning with my race partners/friends Michele, Brittany and Emily, arriving in Providence with plenty of time to hit the expo/get our race numbers, explore the city (which is very cute BTW), go out to dinner and get a good night’s sleep. It was fun to check out a place I’d never been (above you can see the “Fire Water” that they have in Providence).

Race morning we hit the road at 6am to get to the 7am start. It was COLD out, colder than expected at about 46 degrees. I knew once we started running it would be fine but for the 30 minutes we were outside before the race started it was brutal.

As we started the race I got off to a strong pace (for me), completing my first mile in 8:07. I didn’t think I could keep this pace the entire race but that was my goal and happily I did! I felt like I really was going as fast as my legs could take me and didn’t let myself slow down significantly at any point.

I wasn’t sure if I should run with my ipod or just rely on the bands that were situated about every other mile on the course and I’m very happy with my decision to bring my own music. Even though it’s a Rock n Roll half, you really only hear the music for about 20 seconds as you run past each band. There were people cheering along the course but there were definitely a ton of quiet spots so without music I think I would have gotten bored/lost some of my momentum.

The course was beautiful. It took us through pretty neighborhoods, along a park and next to a really pretty lake for waterfront views (it was cold and early so the lake had an amazing fog over it, wish I took a pic). There were a few steep hills but I was extremely happy with a ton of downhills, more than I’d ever had in a race.

I hit the finish line in 1:45:25 (average 8:03 pace), my fastest half marathon yet! I’m really happy with it as it’s my last real race before the marathon on November 3rd. This gave me good mental and physical confidence for the 26.2 miles in my future.

After the race we headed for home, of course stopping along the way for a big celebration breakfast.

Overall I’d say the race is expertly managed. The expo was organized and everything ran very smoothly. My one complaint was the bathroom situation. There were HUGE lines to go to the bathroom pre-race that by the time we got through the 20-minute line we only had about 2 minutes to get to the start.

If you’re looking for a fun and well-run race, I recommend the Rock n’ Roll series which has marathons, half marathons and mini marathons (3 miles) located in a variety of cities, likely one near you. Check out their site and let me know if you sign up, I’m looking forward to doing another one soon!

I also recommend finding a race in a new city and making a girls (or boys) weekend out of it. We had such a fun time- we bonded, explored and raced. Thanks for joining me Michele, Brittany & Emily, let’s do it again!