Have feet will travel, broken wing

Training was not good this winter. January I had an awful cold and on day four I went to the doctor. She pretty much rolled her eyes at me, but ordered some tests that I had to go to another facility to have done. I went there, they didn't do them. I had to go to the ER to have them done.  I went home to rest and feel like I was dying.  Fever, wicked chest issue. Had to sleep sitting up in the chair because my throat would get irritated. I could only take shallow breaths. Friday afternoon I listened to my voice mail . I didn't even recall my phone ringing. Who was it? That would be my doctor calling Wednesday evening with an apologetic sound in her voice. I had RSV and she said I 'might' need to go to the hospital if I got worse. Gee, thanks lady.  This is a wicked respiratory virus that babies and elderly folks get. I have no idea how I got exposed. I guess that bottle of Purell in the car for use after shopping just didn't cut it! 

I canceled a week of physical therapy for my plantar fasciitis because of the illness.

February had to be better, right? As it happens, it takes several weeks for your body to feel normal after RSV. Then The Mike got ill. Then I got a cold.  I also 'graduated' from physical therapy and was told to continue with stretches at home.  I bought a square foam cushion like we used in PT and also a round disc that we used. When I walk in/out of one of the rooms in the house I have to use these  for an obstacle course.  I use them regularly as well, but it's added bonus for going in/out of that room.

Before I knew it, March was here!  HOW did that happen?  I had a half! I didn't buy race insurance because I had to be in DC anyway and I had trip insurance if I was going to not make the trip.  Guess there is a reason why I hovered over the race insurance button last fall!  

Cool tank tops with racer names.

 I love this idea but I wish my name was on a purple or pink shirt instead of the grey :-)

How excited can a walker be? 

 WOO HOO!  This was going to be an attempt at running some, and walking most, and I knew that. I knew my time wouldn't be great, but that I was getting it done.  I have gained about ten pounds since last spring when my plantar fasciitis took hold. This was essentially a redemption for me, since November's Tulsa run also was still on bad PF foot.

The Route

The snow

Friday's weather was awful and I was so thankful that was Friday and not Saturday!  Rain, sleet, snow--and sooo cooooold.
It brought a smile to my face to walk out of the expo and see people twirling in the light frozen precipitation--it wasn't heavy enough to show up in photos of it falling. On the metro from the airport, there was a couple from Florida heading straight to the expo (I stopped at my hotel first). I am sure they might have been a couple twirling in the snow.  Unless we have to drive in it or shovel it, most enjoy the first flakes of snow.

The pre race dinner

Outback salmon is my go-to for prerace meals. Protein, some carbs, and not heavy in the digestive track for Saturday. Had an issue today for the first time ever!  My salmon wasn't done in the middle.  Sent it back and my meal was comped. Um, OKAY.

Flat Quirky 

The Quirky Gluten Free runner runs with cancer awareness these days. While my sister is a breast cancer survivor (pink) and I am a melanoma cancer survivor (black), I run for my mom and the other 45,000 people each year who will die from pancreatic cancer. 9% survival rate is not good enough. If you know someone who is diagnosed, or needs help, visit www.pancan.org/patientcentral for information on local to you doctors, treatments, so much more, and a listening ear.  If you know someone impacted by melanoma cancer, visit www.melanoma.org  for more information and assistance. There is so much information that needs to be shared--including visiting a dermatologist and oncologist who KNOW melanoma. 

The Blue Mile. 

The most solemn mile on the steepest/toughest and quietest part of the course. What we do does not compare. 
 The course  had some rough streets-one was a really rough street, overly filled mounds of asphalt right next to a nice hole--and beautiful scenery. It was not the same course I had run a few years ago and that was great. It made it new for me. 
Before the race I was feeling bad because I hadn't trained and I couldn't believe I was going to do a half marathon without training. Ten years ago I would have been laughing had you told me that!  Today I know that a half or full or ultra is about training, but also about preparation, mental attitude, perseverance and determination.  People who haven't done a race don't understand, but those who have know that perseverance and determination will get us all past that wall we inevitably encounter!


Just before the race I decided to post on my personal FB page that I was doing this race. I needed some positive vibes on a chilly morning (chilly, but not as cold as Friday was!). I walked over to the start too early, and so there was standing around in between tall buildings where the wind can seem colder.  I had a good first 5K to the race, running and walking, and enjoying the sites. The next part to the 10K was okay time (slowed slightly from the 5k) and I was still feeling good.  Mile 8 my Plantar Fasciitis poked its head out and said "watch it". I concentrated on walking with rolling my foot as I learned in physical therapy. I did that for a couple miles. My foot was feeling better. The tips I learned helped --though I'm wondering how I'll do a half and full back to back this summer! Then when I was just moving along and thinking of some things I hear my name!   I look around and see a friend who came out to see if she could spot me (and she had to walk her dog!).  That was such a pick me up!  The  next few miles to the finish were a run/walk/run/walk mix to carry me through. My time was slower than I was wanting, but it was a finish with no visit to the med tent! 

Thankfully these were moving stairs

After the race, I headed to Five Guys for lunch--and was told that I'd be the 'last bun' because their truck was late. I laughed and said I wasn't getting the bun and they could give it to someone else.  I was so thankful that the escalators at the metro stops were working! 

The City Tap House

The next night I met up with friend at The City Tap House. There are a couple locations within DC. Friend said the beer was good, the food was great, my burger and salad was great and what I needed after a light lunch of fish at the conference.  Conversation and catching up was wonderful.

My conference was fabulous and I learned a lot. Then it was time to head home. Heading west it was interesting to see how the landscape changed. I saw ice on Lake Michigan as my flight came in for arrival.

Connecting flight home was on time, and the clear fields outside of Chicago gave way to the snow covered fields of home. 

Well played Rock 'n' Roll series!  

Me heading to expo : you've done RNR before. You dont need to buy anything. 

Me at expo: OMG this shirt has runner names on it!  (silent shout) I found mine!   I *must* buy! 

Me in checkout line:  Hey, I have been looking for a large bottle opener for traveling,  to open Coca-Cola Mexican glass bottles. (real cane sugar formula)

Dang. Need to buy this new version of the glass too.

All bought... because of that tank!

Well played indeed. 

As I write this, I am mentally prepping for my surgery later today for carpal tunnel.  Apparently this is what is bothering my wrist since the car crash of Nov 2015.  I have a hard time understanding how carpal tunnel is responsible for so much, but this is what the docs tell me. I fear I'll get this part fixed and it'll still be something else. 

Last night I prepped food for a bit, froze some prep stuff as well as lasagna and chicken breasts. To improved health and one foot in front of the other.!  

2015 is in the books and 2016 is off to a slow start. Putting it out there. Keeping it real.

So long 2015. You've been an interesting year.  I had the fewest amount of races in 2015, compared to any year since 2009 when I started running. This was because of that thing called "toe melanoma" I found in January and had surgery for in April (Stage I).
  Really need to think about the longevity of photos. I'll share what I learned: 

"Get a pedicure before having a procedure on your foot/toes, as people will look at that photo for years to come".  

I've learned a lot about Melanoma this year, including that people can get it in their fingernails!  If you have a black streak suddenly appear from your cuticle in your nail, get it checked out! 

Before the surgery, I did the Marine Corps 1775K run at the end of March, as a walk with a friend who was conquering breast cancer. We were guaranteed access to the Marine Corps Marathon in October for finishing this race.  My next race didn't happen until June-- a 5K prediction run where I ran my slowest 5K, I think ever--42 minutes something--but still it was a run, a first race after foot surgery and a race in which I was able to say, "I am coming back."  I didn't do another race until September when I decided I *really* should be doing a half in order to see where I'll be for the MCM in October.  I did the Quad Cities half (Moline Illinois) and finished the second half with an 80 year old gent in PI time 3:14. My slowest half ever, but considering the training this year and that it was my first half back, it was a great time.  I did two 5Ks back to back for breast cancer in October. I actually have never done a breast cancer 5k, as I always had prior commitments that first weekend in October when the local ones are held. I did one in my town for support to a friend in her mid 30s with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer. I did one the next day for so many I know who have had this cancer,  was in a city nearby, and had over 25,000 runners and walkers. I've never encountered a 5K with so many people, and so many who were "just" walkers out for the cause!  It was an amazing experience. My final race was the Marine Corps Marathon. It was my slowest marathon ever, but I improved my first half time from September, and ran a second half that was comparable to my other marathon second portions. My toes really started to hurt about mile 21. I was worried about my legs, and my feet in general getting me to the MCM finish line, but my toes were hurting so much. I started shuffle running at the end, knowing I had huge blisters under the nails.  I ended up losing both my big toe nail and index toe nail on both feet. I tried to save the nails by taking a long soak, sterilizing a pin and popping the blisters, but it didn't work.

Six.  6.  S-I-X races this year. Seems like a low number, but it was a tough year.

The middle of November is when I was thinking, "I need to get back to running, it's been two weeks since the marathon." I didn't and a couple days later I literally hit the gluten-mobile. . . . . pizza delivery driver. He ran the stop sign,  I hit his vehicle.  25 to 0 in seconds gave me a concussion, neck, mid back and low back pain, as well as pain in my right wrist because I went from 10/2 hand positions to 10/slamming on the horn.  I'm really thankful it was about 5pm and slightly sprinkling which meant that there were not any college students out walking to their cars on the street. I am amazed he didn't hit any pedestrians or cyclists.

One might not think the wrist would be much of an issue, but taking off a sports bra/top is painful. Using a mouse/laptop for more than 30 minutes is painful, makes the wrist make weird cracking/popping sounds. A highlight from the accident is the neck xrays which showed my neck was fine, no broken bones. However, from the jaw pain/neck issue I had in April/May/June, I had seen a chiropractor who did xrays.  That showed my neck was not curved as it should be. My xrays from November show my neck is curved as it should be :-)  My chiropractor is awesome and his cracking my C5 for the jaw issue really helped. . . .the car accident was causing issues with C7. As a result of the accident, I really didn't do much for the next 6 weeks.  I did fly for Thanksgiving, and had to hustle through the airport --in extreme pain--to make my connection. Popped Tylenol as soon as I got on the connecting flight (only med I can really take for pain because of my gut conditions).  I walked just over 4 miles on Thanksgiving day with one of my sisters, at a pace of about 2.2mph. While she could have walked faster, I really couldn't. Any faster and my lower back hurt from the twisting of my hips. Really, the *fun* part is asking people to slow down their walking. I really hate having to do this, especially with tore employees who show me where something is in the store. Thanks pizza delivery gluten man. :-( 

A few years ago a friend told me that she puts a dollar in a jar for every day she runs/exercises. I thought this was a fabulous idea. I did it last year with the proviso that I'd put a $1 coin in for any exercise I did in which I had to change clothes. So if I ran and then did yoga it was $1, but if I ran in the morning and biked or did yoga in the afternoon, then that was two changes of clothes and that meant two dollars into the jar.  I basically figured it was one long workout if it didn't involve a change of clothes.  This year I stuck with that same thought, but with the changes this year brought I didn't put as much in the jar as I had hoped.  $134 was in the jar on 31 December 2015.  I thought it was good, considering that many times I wasn't able to exercise. Except, I realized after the 4 weeks of "sit on the couch and do nothing" orders from the general surgeon that I could have probably laid down on the floor and done the Pilates 100 stomach exercises and such. At the time I had been struggling with "I'm sitting here and what can I do other than arm curls". 

Reward money jar

What did I do with the money?  From the 2014 reward jar I had a sterling silver ring made with an amethyst stone, which is The Mike's birthstone.  From the 2015 jar, I took in some pearls I had from The Mike's and my 2009 trip to Hawai'i, plus a couple freshwater pearls I had from which I had to restring a necklace. The jeweler made drop earrings with the three sets of pearls (two round whites, two round chocolate and the two white freshwater).  They're pretty. While they did cost more than the money jar had, I felt it was worth it to make something I will wear instead of having sit in a drawer :-) 

I'm putting it out there, and keeping it real. 

Most of the time in the past I haven't posted my times from workouts. I feel it's not about the times of a workout, but about the workout itself, as everyone is different and has different goals and times. I should only push myself against myself, and not push myself against someone who has a much faster pace and is unrealistic and unattainable for me. I think that pretty much just sets a person up to get knocked down. I want to be about building UP!  Therefore, I'm putting this out there:  

My workout for 1 January 2016. 

2 mile walk. 

2.7mph (I did walk a little slower at the start)

48 minutes. 

My lower back hurt, but not as much as I thought it would. 

 I had to change how I occasionally held onto the treadmill bar because of the wrist. 

I watched the Rose Bowl Parade at the time. 

The Mike was tinkering in the basement, so we kept each other company. 

I could put out there in the Quirky world that, "I walked today" or "I did two miles today". Instead, I'm putting it out there in the universe, to keep this recovery real, that I walked at a 24minute mile pace. ARGH. I use to run double that. I use to walk at 3.7mph (I could walk over 4mph in high school, but that was a while ago).  

This is about where I am NOW and I want, *need* to get back to where I was and more.

Afterwards I did some stretching. Open leg stretching side to side which pulled the lower back area. I did dolphin pose (modified downward dog on forearms) to protect the wrist which hurts. 

Happy new year 2016. Where the only resolution is a "simple" resolution to improve.

Here is to all of US for a better 2016!

Quad City half marathon, Sept 27 (yup, late post)

September 26/27, 2015  

The last weekend of October in Iowa means it's time for our PurpleStride to raise awareness and funds for fighting Pancreatic Cancer, the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in the USA and the third cause in Iowa.  As I was volunteering this year/Saturday, instead of running, I also scoped out a half marathon to do on Sunday.  I got up at 5am and headed off to Des Moines, knowing I'd not see The Mike until Sunday evening. He is so amazing, and supportive of Quirky. 

Saturday was gorgeous weather, not too windy, not too cold and not raining (like it did last year).  The event takes place at the Raccoon River Valley park, which has a 5k loop around it. The only bad thing about this loop--if you're off to run it on your own in the summer--is that there is no place to turn off/turn around. Also, since it's along the Raccoon River, it means there could be a lot of mosquitos back in the tree area.  This day we didn't have to worry about those nasty biters!   

A good number of people came out to volunteer, out to run or walk the 5k and to raise money for this great cause.  I also got to see a cousin of mine who came to support a friend of hers, who lost her young husband to this cancer, as well as couple friends from college who came by to say hello :-)  After the race and packing up, I stopped at Wendy's for a bunless burger and baked potato and headed over to the Quad Cities to see if I could still register for the Quad Cities half marathon, or if it was sold out.  The main reason I NEEDED to do this race was to see if I could do it, feel good about myself/my run, and anticipate how I might do at the Marine Corps Marathon at the end of October.  I haven't trained/run much this fall at all, not like if I was training for a half or a full.  I know better too, but I also know this is my one chance for doing the MCM. I got in, I paid, and then I had a conflict come up which thankfully I was able to change this year.   

Mississippi River Bridge

As a kid, if we crossed this bridge we knew we were almost to Grandma's house---or a long way yet to go on the way home :-)   

Thankfully, there were still spots available and I was able to register at the expo. Happily, surprisingly, I didn't have to pay a computer fee for registering. It said it was X dollars up to the day of the race and they meant it!  

I was going to call my Cousin R when I got to town, but after the expo I went to eat my standard prerace meal in the 'big city' of Outback's Salmon and asparagus.  (My metro area of  169,000 doesn't have one).  After this I was so exhausted. Being up at 5am and driving, plus volunteering at a race just wiped me out apparently. I decided to forgo calling my cousin and instead went to Target to get a few things for race morning (yogurt, Mama Chia drink).  

At the Express Checkout stand I'm standing there looking at the lady in front of me who reminds me of my mom, who reminds me of her sister, who reminds me of my cousin.  Then I notice the "Pampered Chef" bag on this woman's hip. So I walked to the woman's outerside, as if I just wanted to browse the candy to her side, and I looked. I said, "R" and yes, this woman, at Target, in front of me, in a city/metro area of 383,000 people was, indeed, my cousin!   We decided I'd call her after I was done with the race and we'd meet for lunch :-) 

Really, what are the chances of that happening?

So I'm one of those runners who looks around at the start and sees new gear or wonders about other gear.  This was a "I wonder how that would feel to run with a collapsible flask bouncing against my leg".  I stayed at a hotel not far from the interstate and was able to pop over the bridge to Illinois and find a parking spot fairly near the start. Yeah me :-)   I had some water left in a plastic recyclable bottle and I added some Cytomax to that, which I had pre-race.

At the start we had some music, some prayer and then a Howitzer (or some sort of loud military cannon) went off and we were off to our run: half marathon or marathon.  

Just a few blocks from the start we passed under this gigantic flag which hung down from the bridge that takes one to Rock Island Arsenal.  It might be a military bridge, but those are photographers on the bridge, not sharpshooters. 

The start of the race really reminded me of my last marathon, Detroit 2013.  We started in a business area, and quickly ran on streets with small, old, historic brick buildings, with the next turn being the on ramp to a bridge. In the Quad Cities, it was a bridge to take us into Iowa, in Detroit it was a bridge to take us into Windsor, Canada.   

Before the last big hill of mile 2 or thereabouts, we had our second bagpipe player, pictured below. The first bagpiper we saw and heard was on the river bridge. 

After running up some hills and through residential areas with a nice downhill, we came to the river front of Bettendorf or Davenport. No, I don't really know which one.  I wish the race had signs up that said "you are entering this city of the quad" which would have been really nice to have for visitors like myself.  

View of our first bridge, after running about 4 miles, entering the river front Iowa area.  

I was feeling really good in the race and running a good pace for me.  I was surprised at how quickly it came back, and then I started run/walking about the same pace with an older man.  We decided to run/walk together, have some conversation and enjoy the run.  He wanted to break 3 hours, as did I. We both thought it was possible. 

and

then

. . . 

And then we came to the Government Bridge, or how it's known now as Arsenal Bridge.  It's iron/steel/metal through and through.  For the race, they put down rugs the length of the bridge---in single file.  I encountered a bridge like this during my Rock n Roll D.C. Marathon in 2011 and I took it easy and walked it to be safe.  Mr. J and I started off walking this and he decided to start running. Okay, go for it. He ran on the rugs for about ten paces and then 'splat' he fell down. The rugs hid the joiner plates for the bridge sections and he didn't raise his feet high enough for that.  He scuffed up his hand and his knee, but since he landed on the rugs he was thankful for that only.  We took it easy. I mean, I could have left him at this point and said, "I'm on my own race buddy, see you later", but that would have been a bit mean I think on my part.  We'd stuck together for about 3 or 4 miles by this point.  About a mile down the road he looked down and his knee and hand were both bleeding. We hadn't passed a medic station since the bridge (which seems weird).  So I made the decision in my race (which was a training run, which I know people say they hate to hear a "race" being a "training run" but everyone does what one needs to do for him or herself.), to stay with Mr. J.  

We ran a bit and walked a bit.  On this trail I said I was walking it and he walked it too. It was mostly an asphalt trail, with these giant swaths of huge gravel randomly across it.  Also, it was near the river, so there were party boats hooting and hollering at us racers.  

After this we had an out and back part of about a mile each way, then we ran past the Confederate cemetery on Rock Island Arsenal, for those who probably didn't make it in military prisons because of disease, though Mr. J said there were a lot who died in this area because of lack of food. He said there was some sort of hold up on the other side of the river and they couldn't get the food to the prisoners. It is so sad to hear that people may have starved to death because of lack of communication.  It seems strange enough that people died in the Civil War because doctors didn't know about different blood types and blood diseases and they didn't wash hands between patients. 

Anyway, Mr. J and I hung together and his knee and hand stopped bleeding, but they looked horrible with the dried blood on  his skin. He had hoped to get it cleaned before the finish line and his wife.  Oh, did I mention Mr. J was over 80?  Somewhere in our conversation he mentioned that he liked races where they separated the old guys and had an 80 over class, then he did "well" in placing, but if the race director combined the "70 and 80 year olds I don't do so well" he said.  OMG this guy looked like he was maybe 65!  

We came down the arsenal bridge/off ramp, and finished on the same road we started.  We had "pi" time of 3 hours 14 minutes and some seconds. Yes, it was officially my longest ever half marathon time, my longest ever half marathon training run time but I had fun, I ran it, I walked it, and I was feeling better about the 26.2 Marine Corps Marathon in a month. I knew I'd end up walking the last part of that, but I was sure I would have the fortitude to do so.  I met Mr. J's wife and told her he looked worse than he was, while he was twenty feet away in the med tent getting his wounds cleaned. 

Gluten free food = chocolate milk, water and FRUIT!  I've never been to a race before which had fresh fruit, but this was a fabulous station!   

As I walked down the street to my car's parking lot, I saw the Planter's Peanut Mobile!   

Honestly, I had no clue they even had one of these!  I  have see the Hershey Kiss one on the interstate, I've seen the Oscar Mayer mobile up close, but I had no idea there was a peanut mobile.   

I got some peanuts and coupons for The Mike since I don't care for these legumes.  

Back at the hotel I enjoyed my race shirt (the bottom of the back has the bridge on it), and medal. Then I had to change up and head to the Mexican restaurant for lunch with my cousin and her family :-)  I hadn't seen her since mom's funeral almost three years ago.

After lunch I stopped at a second hand store and scored a large rectangular Longaberger basket and liner for under $40 and then headed home.  At home I discovered The Mike had found my CEP orange compression sleeves!  These things have been "lost" since Detroit. Actually, I bought them IN Detroit at the expo. Orange is my favorite color: it's so cheery, and it's the Detroit Tigers baseball team color.   I had gotten size larger there as my pink ones were getting too tight on my calves (muscles) and while I wore them for the race in Detroit because it was sooooo ccccccollld, I could not remember having had them since then.  

The Mike found them in the computer bag for our home laptop.  Seriously??

What the hay were they doing there?  

At the end of the day, 32,095 steps later, I was at home, and ready for bed.  

Day 2, race 2, Rhode Island. Dining out and race day

We continued our direct/non-direct course to Newport on the winding roads of the northeastern states.

One of the few 'state' signs I managed to see and photograph. It's amazing how fast those signs come up and disappear when on the interstate system.

The first view as we arrive near/in Newport. Up and over one large bridge (on the left) only to see the one on the right in the distance we'll be on shortly. 

Once we got to the lodging location (RV parking spot with a great star rating) where there was maybe three feet between RVs in their system, we got bundled back up and headed out to the registration site to pick up the packets, and then find food. The packet pickup was at "second beach" I suppose to not be confused with the first or third beaches in Middleton as well, ha ha. 

Registration pickup was close to the Atlantic ocean, in the party tent (below).  It looks huge from here, but the line was stretched out for about fifty yards in the nice brisk ocean breeze. Brrrr. 

While we meandered through tables to the registration line inside, our fellow vacationers took part in the sand and surf. 

We had the option of three colors for the official race shirt, Black, blue or green, and they were all short sleeve shirts, with the race name on it. I didn't get one, on purpose. 

This is the shirt I picked---it's not even the official race shirt!  

Wait--why did I pick this one, you ask?  This shirt, for their Triple Crown event, has the main sponsor's name on it "United Healthcare". I figured if my health care premiums were going in for main advertising for a race, I wanted a shirt that advertised for the healthcare company!  Strange logic sure, but this is also a pretty sea/ocean blue color that just screamed "Atlantic Ocean" to me. 

Protected sand dune

Gorgeous view of the unending ocean.

After we got our friends from the surf and tracked down a runaway three year old --who was having fun playing hide and seek with the adults who weren't playing--we loaded up the car and went 'downtown' to Smoke House Cafe which we found on the Find ME Gluten Free app (which you can also use on a computer).

Reviews called it 'family friendly'. 'know their gluten free', 'large menu'. and more.  

Boy, were we shocked when we got to the place, 5:30/6pm.  The part near the street is one large bar with pull down clear tarps.  We weren't sure where the 'family friendly' part was until one of our party went in and found a complete lower room, with real doors to close out the bar noise.  

We decided to stay. 

The gluten free menu: 

Did you see how much was on this menu? WOW.  

We were there as the afternoon drinking crowd was winding down (there were a few people in the dining section, waiting for the restroom, who looked like they thought it was 2am on a Friday night). 

The 11th was a long day for the feet. Ready to repeat it all in the morning! 

Race morning came and we drove to a bank parking lot to ride a bus to the race start.  The race starts on a small strip of land between Newport and Middletown and there is no parking there race day---as its staged in the parking lot of Easton's Beach.

I watched the marathoners and those half marathoners who wanted more course time take off, and then walked around by the beach.  

Add caption

I was not going to take any photos, I was going to run/walk this race to the best of my abilities. No matter how sore I was when I awoke, by the time we got to the race start, my muscles were relaxed, or the adrenaline was pumping again. . .whichever way you want to view it!  

Run/Walk I did.  The course starts out fairly flat, but by half a mile you're going up a hill and warming up the body. Then it was up down and around some intersections to a point where we turned right, went up and up a boulevard street to reach Ft. Adams' State Park, where we looped around--there was a bathroom in the park as well for those who needed it--and then ran back down the boulevard entrance  where we had a car trying to pass all of us runners. Not the smartest driver!  

I kept up the running on the level areas, but did stop to take a photo of this gorgeous  Coast Guard building Castle Rock.   

A bit more of running and I passed the halfway marker and decided I'd given it a good run, but needed the loo and to stretch the legs for a bit. 

I was surprised to see this monument to the Portuguese--not really knowing much about discovery of this nation.   It is a gorgeous monument and highlighted on the course. 

Around this bend, I caught up with my event mate, who started with the 26.2 folks. She was walking with another competitor and I decided to walk with them for a bit. . . and then it turned into the 'I don't want to run again' mentality.

Great views at relatively modern homes along the ocean front.

A sign I hadn't seen since Hawai'i. 

And then the race course dumped us into the historic home section of Newport:  Gorgeous homes, it was a pleasure to go past at a walk and not a run, and not in a car. 

The Breakers.  The guard let us dash inside the metal fence just to snap an unobscured photo. Beautiful place. Wish I'd had time to visit it later in the day. 

The Breakers 

There were other houses being renovated, some completely--save the street facing.

Then, knowing the finish was near, my body was wanting to run again.  I took off, and my race friend took off as well. The 26.2 walker stayed steady.

We came down to the finish at Easton Beach the same way we started, so down a hill land then a straight away for about half a mile. It really messes with a person to know the finish is "RIGHT THERE" and the downhill pull is working to make you want to run that downhill faster than you should, but knowing that you have to still preserve enough energy to run that flatland ahead.  

While the race folks do as much as they can, it was still a bit of shouting "runner coming through" "racer coming up" to adults and adults with children who decided to cross the path without looking as to why it was partitioned off to start. 

I went through the finish chute and had to ask for a medal--although there were plenty of young adults standing with them on their forearms. Perhaps I don't look like a racer in a running skirt, tank top and **race number** on my person????  

I got a bottle of water and made it to the racer finisher/food area and found this: 

water, water and water, bagels and that was it. No fruit, no milk.  Apparently there was pizza coming, but as a gluten free, soy free runner, that wasn't necessary for me.  

We were getting ready to head back to the bus area when my race friend noticed my medal was different from hers. . . I managed to be given a 26.2 instead of a 13.1 medal. The difference was the fabric loop and the medal itself was slightly larger. Back to the medal folks I went.  

Back home, it took my 'rarely drinks a beer' hubby The Mike, to point out that the medal was also a beer bottle opener!   

The dune vegetation: 

It was sad to see people walking over this dune instead of making time to walk around the edge. Erosion happens in many forms. 

The sea wall markers.

The buildings at Easton Beach, same day race entry was occurring in the parking area under these buildings, as was same day bib pickup, and people who wanted to avoid the wind.  

Pre-race hanging around was a choice of being in the shade out of the wind,  or being out in the sun and getting *some* warmth, but being in the wind from the Atlantic Ocean. 

After the race, we rode the bus to the car/parking lot which was greatly cleaned out, changed our clothes, stopped at Wendys for the drive-thru and headed out of town. 

Baked potato and cheese, plus milk and a frosty!  

Heading back to Mass state, we stopped in Providence RI for the Brighton store, so I could add a few more charms to my race bracelet. 

Providence, RI bridge. 

34505 yesterday, 35745 to day. 

End of the weekend. . .but wait! There's more!  A 10K tomorrow in Boston, or is there?