Rock n Roll Providence Half Marathon

Sunday the hubs and I got up bright and early, to head over to the Capitol Building. The Half Fanatics were meeting there for a photo op. I got dressed, taped my knee, and we headed out.
The Hilton had a great spread for the runners: Greek yogurt, apples and bananas, granola bars, water bottles. LOVE it. I grabbed an apple and a water bottle, since I am not a great eater before a race.
The walk to the Capitol Building was quick, and  we were there before long. It was still a little dark out, so the pics aren't as bright as I would have liked!

see me alllll the way to the left?

view from the Capitol

I met some Jersey Girls in the corral!

I finally met Jen from Final Forty

SOOOO, they were delayed a bit because the lines at the potties were so long, which gave me time to meet those Jersey girls above. I fangirled over their LuLuLemon skirts and they noticed my shirt as I walked away. TOO funny.
Then, as i waited, I saw Jen from the Final Forty and was so glad to finally meet her! We have been at a lot of the same races, and just never connected. Funny, because she is a Jersey Girl too, and we met in Providence! LOVE it!
Finally, the race started. I knew that it would be hilly, but it started on a hill. By the time I got to the top, I knew I was in trouble. My knee was not so bad, but my hip and glute ached on the right side. OMG epic Half Marathon fail. I wasn't worried about time, I just wanted to finish, so I tried not to panic and gimped along.
We ran past the park where The American Indians were dancing just the day before, and past so many beautiful buildings and parks. Providence is just amazing, I want to live there!
The hubs was waiting at mile 2.5 which was very useful, as my arm sleeves were making me a sweaty mess. I posed for a pic and continued on. By now I had figured out that as long as I kept moving, the pain was more discomfort. It was when I stopped that it actually became pain. SO, I just kept moving!

front runners, the hubs took their pic as they blew by

this dude bounced by as well. For real. He is my hero. Look at that smile!

hamming for the camera, see my balled up arm sleeves? lol

On we went, past some amazing scenery. At mile 5, the Relayers switched, and there were some fasties blowing by me, all fresh and new to the race. I tried not to get discouraged, lol. Funny story, the song that came on my iPhone at that time was Sweet Home Alabama, and the band playing there was also playing that song. True Story. I had a giggle about that.
We passed Lippitt Memorial Park right there as well. It was surrounded by this wall of stones, and the out building was also all large stones. It was very grand and beautiful. We came to a river at around mile 7.5 but it was so foggy you couldn't see much. I did make out some rowers, which was cool, but not much else. I was running along, feeling sorry for myself, when I passed a man with no legs. He had those prosthetics made for running, and he was chugging along. I realized what a whiner I was being, and from that point on, I enjoyed the fact that I could run, both of my own feet on the ground. If he could do it with a smile, then so could I.
Most of the next few miles were along the river, so the scenery was fabulous. I kept seeing things I remembered from the show Providence. Remember that show? It was so Fall-like, we don't have Fall yet at the shore, so I was enjoying the colors, and the sights. We turned away from the river at mile 10, and I started looking for the hubs. He said he would be somewhere between 10 and 12. I finally found him at mile 11.5 and told him how sore I was. He told me not to slow down, keep going. Gotta love that guy. He hiked all over Providence to support me!

blowing him a kiss

The last two miles were pretty easy, for the most part. There were lots of spectators, and they were cheering and telling us we were awesome. That always helps. I totally forgot about the finish line hill, until we got there. Oh.My.Heck. So cruel, but I ran that hill to the finish.

the hubs took this with his phone, so it's a little blurry. Ten fingers for Ten Halfs this year.

I am buying these, but payday is Friday lol

The finish line was very organized. The dud with the hot accent even announced my name and where I was from. There was some guy ahead of me with no bib, and the dude totally called him out about it. I hope he didn't get swag, if he had no bib!
I got my medal right away, and the you got to go through the food line. Chocolate milk (two kinds), water, protein bars, (fruit? I think?) pretzels and mini bagels were all made available. I chugged the milk as I went to find the hubs and stretch my achey legs. I am lactose intolerant, but did you know that after a race like that, you can still drink milk? A rep told me that at RnR USA and she is so right! No stomach ache or gas. For real. I enjoyed every last drop, you can believe that!
We walked back to the hotel, so I could shower and use the Stick, and then unfortunately we had to leave. The garage we parked our car in was blocked off, and the RnR Volunteers told us 1-1.5 hours before we could leave. We were about to go hunt up some food, when the hubs asked a cop for help, and he pulled the blockades away himself and we left immediately!  Thanks, Providence PD! You rock!

I am sure I left stuff out, and I apologize! While I was writing this up, an armed man robbed a bank in our sister town, and I was getting frantic texts from my son, whose school was locked down, and talking with friends in Facebook. Luckily, he was apprehended (and shot, although not sure if he shot himself, or if a cop shot him). This is all so crazy, we live in a very small town, and things like this don't happen here!

I did want to mention that there was some talk about this race on Facebook afterwards. Rumors of people cutting the course for the 5K, and that RnR busses people to the finish and then lets them cross the line ahead of runners. I am all for bussing people who cannot finish, I was bussed during the 3 Day due to an injury. However, I don't think they should receive a finisher time, and be included in the stats.  If they did not complete all 13.1 miles, they should not have a finisher time.
Thoughts?

Do you think people who get bussed from mile 10 should receive a finisher time, and be included in the stats?