Providence - A Runner's Paradise

Tonight I ran through the neighborhoods of Providence and I captured some of the natural beauty that abounds.  It seemed at time as if the city was one large garden and I was allowed to tip toe my way through the splendor in my running shoes.  You all know I love taking pictures.  Well now I am sharing them in a whole new way with the Story app from Disney.


What do you think of the presentation format?

I learned about the Story app while at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration.  Disney also mailed me a promotional kit about the Story app.

I was invited to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration at the Walt Disney World Resort May 9-12, 2013.  The conference fee permitted me access to special events and experiences made available to conference attendees and their families.  I am voluntarily writing about these events and experiences.  These are my own thoughts, opinions and photographs unless otherwise stated.

CVS Caremark Downtown 5k - Providence, RI

Here are my finishing state: 

Final time 24:13, 

pace 7:48, 

17th in my division, 

118th woman to finish out of 2354, 

1st place Minnie Mouse! 

The women beat the men 2354 to 2084!  It was close, but we still edged them out!

I picked up the ears and gloves last night at Target.  The set was only $12! They also have a Mickey set, but there is no way most guys would be able to wear the gloves. I also had my Minnie Mouse earrings on!

Minnie Mouse was a city mouse today.  

The race started right in front of the CVS store!

Start line! It was a red kind of day! 

Minnie Mouse lined up right in front of the DSW store! 

We know how much she loves her shoes!

Look at all the runners in front of me.  

The corral was divided based on predicted finish times.  

I lined up around the 24 minute range.  

I have never been at a race that was laid out based on finish time rather than pace.  

The runners when off to the left back near that yellow tent and up the hill.  The corral markers started at 15 minute and went every 5 minutes up until they reached walkers.  There were about 4400 finishers.  They announced that the race had raised 1.2 million dollars for local children's charities!  What an amazing event!

After the race one of my Facebook buddies found me!  

The ears kind of gave me away!  

It was great to meet you Shawn!  He is actually wearing a runDisney hat!

After the 5k finished the high school team 3k race lined up.  

They were very excited!  The costumes were amazing.  

They had brought all kinds of entertainment with them into the corral.  

There were beach balls, silly string, and yes that is a whale breaching! 

I wonder how far the palm trees made it down the course!  I also heard a Dorthy saying that her Wizard of Oz costume really did not breath!  Test run your costume!  There were about 20 girls all dressed in pink with tiaras as Miss USA.  I so wanted their picture, but could not get it.  These kids are one step away from runDisney racing!

It was a great race with great friends!  I still feel a little cooked from the sun and wind, but it was all worth it. (I did have sun screen on.)

Girls on the Run 5K at Roger Williams Park - June 2

What a race!  What a day!  I registered myself and my youngest for this race a couple of months ago.  I thought it would be a wonderful experience for us and give her a chance to run her first 5K in friendly company close to home.

Then the over scheduling set in...and low and behold her soccer team had a tournament the same day.  Well mother nature has a way of simplifying things every now and then.  I just had a feeling that the 5K would run and the tournament would be cancelled...but not before I loaded the van full of everything for an entire day of multiple sports and clothing changes.  I almost threw in a clothing basket for all the wet clothing we were going to generate.  Did I mention it was pouring with a chance of thunder all day?

As soon as we were on the road to the race (cutting it a little close I might add) I got the call that the on-again, off-again tournament was really not happening.  Boy was I happy.  We just needed to get to the start line of the race and enjoy our soaking run.

Let me back track a bit...Last night we headed to the fabric store because we needed a costume!  If we were going to run in the pouring rain we were going to need something to lift our spirits and Duck Costumes seemed just the thing!  So at 7:30 last night I started sewing a dress for my daughter, a skirt for me, and a hat for her.  That was a far as I got by 9:30 when I decided I needed to stop and go to bed more than I needed a hat for myself.  She was really pleased with her costume and that is what matters when you are trying to convince a kid that running 3+ miles in the rain is going to be a fantastic experience.

She was happy and positive throughout the whole experience!

So our game plan was to wear our black garbage bags until we were warm enough that we no longer wanted them and we were going to take this course at a jog, walking whenever she wanted to.  We sang nursery rhymes and made up songs as we ran between the lakes that dot Roger Williams Park.  The views were spectacular and the company was even better.  Of course there was a ton of support for the kids running the race and it was great to here the announcer call out my daughter's name as she crossed the line.

We left the bags on through mile 1.  It stopped raining so hard at that point.

So we ditched the bags and let our costumes get a little wet.

A self portrait along the race course.

We made it to mile 2!  There was a great cheering section at the water stop.

The water was pouring off the topped off lake to the right.

She was happy to see the mile 3 marker.  We were almost there!

We made it!  They had finishers medals for the girls that had done the 12 week Girls on the Run  program.  The girl's school is still trying to establish the program at their school.

She is a good photographer as well as runner!

It was quite the experience all in all.  I love running with my girls!  We were thinking that it was going to be too much for her to run the 5K and play 2 hour long soccer games.  In the end it all worked out.  It was cool enough that the running was not difficult and the games were a washout!  I am still on the outside of Girls on the Run, but the 2 events that we have run have been wonderful.  I am a supporter!

After the race they had a great raffle, but you had to be present to win.  (The rain had sent most people packing.)  So we bought $10 worth of tickets and tested our luck!  We picked up 2 Road ID vouchers, a free race entry for a later race (I already have a half picked out for Sept.) and a free bike tune up.  We let them re-raffle the tune up since my husband has been a bike mechanic on the side for about 25 years.  I was trilled with our prizes!  They had so many wonderful things in the raffle.  I am glad that the community is supporting the program!

Sunday's commute on my bike

Solo ride to work on Sunday...just me an my phone.  

It was such a beautiful day I had to stop and take a few photos along the way!

Self-Portrait

Lighthouse 

Island

Cove

 

Tugboat

Bridge

Providence

Sunday morning rides are so nice a quiet!

T minus 20 or so hours to marathon departure

Today's mission, which I have chosen to accept, eat lots of carbohydrates!

I do not need protein.

I do not need fats.

I have been instructed to raise my glycogen levels.  So if I want cereal after my pancakes I should eat it!  I feel like it is Fat Tuesday.  I am to eat more than I think I want.

Can you believe that such a day exists?

Well in my husbands learned opinion it is called the day before a monumental physical effort day!  I hope he is right!  There is still no way I am stuffing myself.  That would just feel too grose.

So increased carbohydrates it is and relax because tomorrow I will need tons of energy!

Cox Providence Marathon you are mine and I am yours!

Cox Providence Rhode Race Marathon Expo

I am now officially running the Cox Providence Marathon!

I went to the expo to switch from the half to the full and get my bib and guess what...I got a generic bib (Bay State Race Services)!  They ran out of official marathon bibs.  They only ordered 1500 and they have over 1800 marathoners.  So for my first ever marathon I will be running with a no name bib! :(  Maybe I will write the name of the race across the top.  That's it, it is time to get creative!

I made it in and out of the expo and I only spent $3!  I bought a magnet from Women Run.  I thought they had a cool logo.  The expo had a few interesting vendors and some charities, but for the most part it was a just a pickup for race bibs and T-shirts (which are unisex and huge).  Get there early ladies, because you are going to want a smaller shirt than usual.  I wear a women's medium race shirt and went with the unisex small.  I put it on over my long sleeve and it seemed okay.  We will see when I take it for a spin the first time.

See you on Sunday everyone!  Race strong and have fun!

Last long run before my 1st marathon

So this morning I had my husband drop me off at the start line for my upcoming Cox Providence marathon.  I am now 2 weeks out - May 6th!  It was time for the final long run and I wanted to run the race from the top.

I made two mistakes even before I started...I forgot to apply sunscreen and I forgot to take off my extra shirt before my husband drove away.  The shirt was around my waist within 9 minutes.  That seems to be my warm-up time.  If you don't know how long it takes you to get warmed up pre-race you should test it.  1 mile and I am ready to go!

I was doing fine until the 12.5 mile mark, when being the polite runner that I am, I jumped off the road and into the yard to allow the 2 passing cars more room on the road.  It only took one stride for me to hook a root and superman my way into a fully prone position.  There was a split second and no time to think about it.  Interestingly enough I hit the ground first with my water bottle in my right hand.  I road that thing down like a float plane landing on its pontoon.  That bottle saved my body!  I did end up with a bruise on my knee and a scrape on my other hand, but all in all I was in great shape.  The dog walker and the home owner were very concerned.  They had just witnessed a full blown belly flop and wanted to know if I had broken anything.  Miraculously I was essentially unharmed.  All I could think was get up, clean yourself off, and get running.

I am as much of a mental runner as I am a physical runner.  That is why I wanted to take the course from the start line.  I wanted to know how my body was going to react to the course at each rise and fall and at every twist and turn.  There has been a course change due to construction that will not be completed in time and it seems to have quite a few people concerned.  So my plan was to run as far as the hill that has been added after mile 20.  Interestingly enough as I approached that hill all I could think was that it was nothing after the 20 miles I had already run.  That was a pretty good feeling!  Something that I can really use on race day in my mental confidence column.  The farthest I have gone in a training run is 21.25, today was a fraction off at 21.15.  I don't know how I will finish those last 5 miles, but I know that after 21 I will not let myself down.  One foot in front of the other.  The final 5 is nothing in comparison to the 21 already finished.  I know I will be hurting and out of steam, but I also know I will get it done!

For those of you who have already done a full marathon, what are your thoughts on the final 5-6 miles?  Did any of you train beyond 20 miles?  That seems to be the common max training distance that everyone throws around.  I hope race day is a little cooler than it was today.  I was seriously sweating the whole way.  At least there was a cool breeze coming up the bay.  The water stops will be a huge help.  I will carry my own Clif shot blocks, but they can supply the water.  Now I just need to taper without feeling out of shape and heavy.  I am thinking of shorter runs more often.  Any thoughts with 2 week to go?

Cox Providence Rhode Race - the northern miles

On May 6th I am going to be standing in front of The Rhode Island Foundation waiting to start my first full marathon with the the Cox Providence Rhode Races folks.  Hopefully the weather will be like it was yesterday, okay maybe 2-3 degrees warmer with a little less wind.

Downtown Providence near the start line.  The building is part of the old train station.

Mile 2.5 in the marathon (mile 10 on my run yesterday).
Whole Foods was a great place to use the facilities and refill my bottle.
 Spectators on race day can grab a morning bite here before the marathoners head to East Providence
and the 1/2 marathoners head up the East Side.

Looking across the cove at the Metacomet Country Club at mile 5.5.

Beautiful Bullocks Cove at mile 10.5.  At low tied you can see the hulls of 3 boats from years gone by.

At mile 20.25 I was met with this sign!
I had stopped to chat with some workers on the East Bay Bike Path about a mile before the sign.  I asked them if the EBBP would be open again in time for the Coxs Marathon.  They indicated that the construction was now scheduled to be finished in mid-May and the marathon was being rerouted on the Veterans Memorial Parkway both coming and going.  The sign seemed to confirm what they said. 

At mile 24 we head across the Washington Bridge back into Providence.
The Brown University boathouse is down there on the water.

Coming off the west end of the Washington Bridge there are stairs and a bike ramp leading down to street level.

India Point Park is near the base of the bridge on the route out and back for both the full and the half...and yes that is a playground in the picture.  Looks like their is a water and Gatorade stop near it.

At mile 25.25 we head under the I-Way bridge for I-195.
They managed to make the new bridge very decorative.

Downtown Providence here we come!  

The Courthouse is set into the Benefit Street hillside.  Get ready to turn left and finish this thing!

We crossed the finish line and there is the skating rink all filled with beverages and snacks.
Now we just need to get down another flight of stairs to get to it!
There are some viewing bleachers on the left there to kick back and recover on.

So those are the photos I took yesterday on my 18.25 mile run.  I was entirely on the marathon course.  I just started mid-course and had to resort the photos.  I arrived downtown at lunchtime.  It was kind of crazy  seeing everyone all bundled up against the mid to high 50s wind.  I was running in my Nuu-Muu dress and already had my long sleeve shirt tied around my waist.  I ran will all of my food stuff (Margarita Clif Shot Blocks & and a Luna bar) in my dress pockets and my phone in my water bottle pouch so it was easy to take pictures.  I decided I am NOT wearing my Jockey skimmies and will be wearing my regular compression shorts under my running dress.  I also familiarized myself with where I need more anti-chaffing gel.  All in all I think I have this marathon planning under control.  I am going to get at least one more long run in.  Maybe I will even run the course from the top.  Hopefully the race course will be officially adjusted to account for the continued construction.  Jumping a bridge that is out on the bike path is not what I want to be doing between miles 21-23.  

Setting out on the Cox Providence 1/2 marathon course

On Friday night I set out to re-familiarize myself with the Cox Providence Rhode Race 1/2 marathon.  I ran the race in 2011.  That was the one and only time I had been on some of the roads along the northern portion of the course.  So I printed out a map, marked it up with legible street names, slipped in into a plastic page protector and set out to hit at least part of the course.  My run started out up in the Summit neighborhood of Providence's East Side.  I ran south to pick up the course at Humbolt and Tabor.

I was already warmed up when I hit the official course at Humbolt and Tabor near mile 2 2/3 (note Gano becomes Tabor).



Nice yellow house!



This is actually the 2nd playground along the course. 
Located at Elton and Humbolt is a great play for little kids.



I am guessing it is the oldest playground/garden along the course. 



It is fully gated to keep kids in.

Hello firefighters! 
They will be on you right on Humbolt after the playground just before mile 3. 

Just after mile 3 the course swings left out onto Blackstone Blvd.

This fine lady is out along the Blvd. path near mile 3.5.  She was once in Witherby Park down near mile 10.5. 
The city moved her up to this well traveled location so that she would be better appreciated. 

"A Memorial to Young Womanhood, also known as The Spirit of Youth, is a statue of a young woman that stands alongside the running path on Blackstone Boulevard where it intersects with Clarendon Avenue. It memorializes Constance Witherby, born September 5, 1913, who died at the age of sixteen on August 30, 1929 of an unexpected heart attack while vacationing in the Swiss Alps. As a girl at the Lincoln School, Constance wrote precocious and prolific poetry. In 1939, her mother, Mrs. Dorothy H. W. Hunt, published her poetry in a limited printed volume called Sunshine & Stardust. The runners of Blackstone Boulevard and the community members of East Providence have since adopted Constance’s statue, covering her with flower garlands in spring and sitting in front of her on one of two granite benches." 
http://proteus.brown.edu/architectureandmemory/8131

“The wind roars by I feel it blow, and know that I am free to go.”  (a phrase from one of Constance’s poems)

The Lippet Park Playground is located at the top of the Blvd. near mile 4 2/3.  You can catch runners going by here at 4 2/3 as well as 7 3/4 as they head back south.  This intersection is always filled with supporters.

The Lippet Park fountain is a beautiful piece of historic architecture along the course.

Just north of Lippit Park you enter Pawtucket.  This southern edge of the city is filled with nice homes and cute neighborhoods.  The loop down Oak Hill and back up Marbury is a great example.

Oak Hill neighborhood.  Look there I am in the lower left!

Yeah - I guess you have to watch out for Greyhounds along the course.

The 4th public playground along the course is just south of the water stop at
Francis J. Varieur Elementary School near mile 6 2/3.

It is south of the school.

Heading along Alfred Stone Rd. I noticed this sign - Entering Providence...

... and in your case leaving Pawtucket.

The walls along the cemetery seem to go on for miles!

The entrance to Swan Point Cemetery will be on your left at mile 8.

The old trolley shelter is just across from the entrance to the cemetery.

Butler Campus / Hospital is next up on the left. 
They looked like they would be putting flowers in any day.

You leave the Blvd. behind when you make the left turn onto President. 
Make sure you look around.  These are some of the East Side's nicest houses!

A hillside estate & I mean hillside, as in watch the hill. 
At least you are headed downhill!

At this point you are around mile 9.5 with a great view of the river.

Do not head the double stop signs and get your motor on you are almost into your final 5K!

Naragansett Boat Club on the Seekonk River just past mile 10.

There is the Henderson Bridge that took the marathoners from the East Side of Providence into East Providence.  Another quarter mile and you will be under it!

I love the weathervane!

The old transportation bridge is permanently tilted skyward. 
Look at those beautiful blossoms in the foreground!

Back up at the Summit my run finished near Seven Stars Bakery.  This a must have experience if you are needing coffee, pastry, or a baguette sandwich after the race.  4th Street and Hope, Providence.

My map - The page protector worked great.  I ran with it in my hand when I was unfamiliar with where to turn next and stuck it in my pouch when I was confident I knew what I was doing.  It was about 50/50.

They put up the turn by turn directions this week.  I should have printed that on the back of the map.  http://www.rhoderaces.com/uploads/turn.pdf

All in all it is an enjoyable urban course.  There should be plenty of people out cheering you on.  It doubles back on itself in enough places that you get twice the spectator bang for your buck.  Plus if you are a spectator there are plenty of places of occupy the kids and get a drink and a bite to eat along the course.  It was a beautiful day for a run last year when I raced and I am hoping for the best again this year!