Rhode Island – State #18 | Runner Ramblings

Rhode Island was our first New England state so we approached race weekend with heightened excitement and anticipation. We had a great crew on board for this race; Melodie, Kathy, Colleen, Janille, Laurie and yours truly. We had rented a VRBO home in Westerly that was within walking distance of Misquamicut Beach, the location for the race start. The planners had done their jobs and all was in place for a great running weekend on the Atlantic seaboard.

Friday morning started bright and early with a text from Southwest at 2:20 am. “We are sorry to inform you but your 6:30 am flight has been delayed and is now rescheduled for 8:20 am.” I leaped out of bed and ran downstairs to check my computer, hoping and praying that the text was an error. Alas, our plane had a mechanical malfunction and they had to bring in a replacement plane from Denver. And this takes time. Although the 6 of us were coming from 4 different locations – Oakland, Salt Lake City, Phoenix and Seattle – we had synced up our itineraries to meet in Chicago and fly the second leg together to Providence. This delay was going to put a serious wrinkle in our well-laid plans. Kathy, Laurie and I decided our best bet was to head out to SeaTac as scheduled and talk with the SW agents in person to find the best alternative available.

Two hours later, three very discouraged travelers accepted the fact that there was no way we were going to get to Chicago in time for our connecting flight. All SW flights to the east coast were totally booked and SW’s best suggestion was to take the delayed flight, and then take a red eye that would put us in Rhode Island at 1:00 am! We didn’t like that answer so we decided to do some sleuthing on our own. We decided to fly into Chicago on our delayed flight, sign up for standby on any flight we could and slowly inch our way closer to our end goal. Long story short, in Chicago, we hopped a VERY crowded flight to Orlando (no personal space available on this one) and then managed to catch a hop to Providence, getting in at 11:00 pm. By this time, Melodie, Colleen and Janille had solved their own transportation problem by using UBER, thus leaving the rental car for us, so at least we had wheels when we arrived. Just when we thought the excitement for the day was over, Melodie sent us an SOS that one of the beds in the rental home was closer to board than bed and no one could be expected to sleep on it. Using our trusty iPhones, we located a Walmart nearby, purchased a bed topper and showed up at the rental home in Westerly, RI at midnight. Of course we woke everyone up, dumped Janille out of her wooden bed and remade it with a topper, and finally, the first day was done.

The “Rock” turned out to be a very nice, comfortable place to stay, once we got the bed issue sorted out. It was located in Westerly in the beautiful Rhode Island countryside, with homes ranging from humble to mansion, and huge yards with rolling lawns everywhere.

Our transportation for the weekend was a fiery red Suburban, which quickly earned the moniker of “Tank”. Laurie, being the only one of the group with any east coast experience, was elected driver for the weekend and she did an admirable job herding both the beast and the girls around.

As with all of our running trips, the most important item on the agenda for pre-race day is finding good food to eat. We found an Irish Pub that entertained us with walls plastered with plaques and pithy sayings, as well as served a great breakfast.

Having crossed breakfast off our list, we decided to walk down to the beach to pick up our packets rather than drive. It was a mild 2 mile walk, although some of the party felt like we were gilding the lily with additional exercise. It was a day made for walking; temps in the 70’s, blue sky, and the beautiful, bucolic countryside stretching out for miles.

Once we got down to the beach, however, the weather changed for something a bit more predictable. Blustery, windy, and positively cool, enough so that we marveled at the locals sunbathing and surfing. Nonetheless, it was the ocean and endlessly fascinating to watch. For 4 of us, it was our first glimpse of the Atlantic ocean.

Heading home, we played tourists by posing on a very large child’s chair. We are easily entertained as this provoked a great deal of giggles and laughter. Not a mature woman could be found among us.

All the walking made the Fitbit users among us happy and also provided motivation for more eating. We found an Italian restaurant that served delightful pizza and proceeded to carb load in preparation for race day.

Race day always comes early, but this is particularly true when you are dealing with a three hour time difference. We dragged ourselves out of bed at 5:30 am, donned our race duds, jumped in the car, and headed down to Misquamicut Beach. An expected rainstorm had made an appearance, and the road was completely covered in water in places, making us somewhat apprehensive about race conditions. However, once the gun went off and we headed down the road, the rain eased off and the water abated quickly.

Colleen ran the 5K, so she kindly served as photographer as the half marathoners came across the finish line.

Some worthy things to note about these finish line pictures. Janille, Melodie and Kathy are all smiles, Joanne looks all business, and Laurie doesn’t look like she is ready to kill anyone! Everyone did awesome. Success.

And of course, we entertained ourselves with countless post-race pictures. Surftown Half was Laurie’s first half marathon. She trained well and had a great run. I was so proud of her! Laurie was glad to have Janille there to provide moral support as well as some much needed representation from the “younger” set.

Kathy and Laurie trained together all summer for this half. It was Kathy’s second half and Laurie’s first. They were an unstoppable team.

The crazy trio. Running a half marathon always makes you just a little more crazy than usual, so it puts this crew in a special place.

The full complement of halfers, complete with CW-X compression capris and Brooks shoes.

The sisters, minus one. Keeping it real.

The gals who started it all. We’ve run 20 half marathons together, and we intend to run 32 more! Just don’t get in our way.

Gear. You gotta love it. Compression capris and Brooks shoes were the order of day. We had complete strangers stop us and ask us about our capris. CW-X got some free advertising on Surftown Race Day.

Being old continues to have benefits. The age group awards were distinctive and original, and much appreciated.

The highlight of the entire trip came soon after. We decided to take a walk in the ocean and let the cold salt water refresh and rejuvenate our tired, achy joints. Some of us were really into this, and others, let’s just say they were taken by surprise by a cold wave that drenched their backsides. Colleen did a masterful job capturing the moment. This picture says it all; running, girl power, and embracing the moment.

We decided to treat ourselves to a special eating experience the day after our race. (I realize these blogs talk a lot about eating :).) Tim recommended the Coast Guard House, a unique coastal restaurant that overlooks the ocean at Narragansett Bay. This area was much different than Misquamicut Beach and we were glad we made the drive over to get some additional RI flavor.

The food did not disappoint, nor did the views. The clam chowder was the best part of the whole meal. It was truly exquisite.

We walked along the beach after dinner and took a few night shots of the beach and the restaurant. It was a magical moment. The ocean at night truly speaks to your soul.

We spent our last hours on Rhode Island, you guessed it, eating. We found a delightful little lunch spot called Oceanside on the Pier and ate outside while we took in the ocean views one more time. Our waitress was a delightful local that had lived in Rhode Island her entire life and spoke with a very strong Rhode Island drawl. It made the whole experience feel authentic and memorable. For such a short visit, we felt we were able to really get a feel for the area and the culture. It was truly lovely.