Feels pretty dang good to be 80% of the way to my goal. 80% done with anything feels like you’re almost there. Granted, when I think about it in actual terms, that’s at least 131 more miles of racing, which sounds daunting, but I’ll just keep in mind the 80%. Glass half full and all. That also means I’ve already run more than 524 miles in my 50 states quest (if they were all half marathons, which some were fulls, but I’m not mathing that out right now). Go me!

That brings me to Rhode Island. For such a small state it sure had its challenges. It started with a flight delay that had me arriving late the night before. The plane had to wait for catering…for the next days flight. I hope those people really enjoyed their snacks.

I slept a few hours and then got up to head to the shuttle bus to the race’s start line. They told us to arrive by 7am, and I was there at 6:40am. I got in the line to get on a bus and a bus driver sticks his head out and announces that this is the last bus because it’s 7am (race is at 8). I honestly thought he was a jokester, until people start rushing the bus and cutting the line to get on board (wtf strangers?)

He was not joking. He straight up abandoned us. So I did what any normal person would do. I panicked, and posted about it on Facebook.

Only after I had shared my misfortune with my closest friends, family, and acquaintances, did I look up the race start on maps to realize it was a mile away. And damnit, I’m a runner, so I can walk a mile. So I did. With a lot of other people.

I made it to the start just fine. Albeit a little tired, grumpy, and with more steps on my legs than I would like heading into a race.

The course was moderately hilly, or as race organizers like to say, it had gently rolling hills. As the person who had to actually get their self up said hills, I didn’t find them gentle. But they weren’t the worst I’ve dealt with (I’m looking at you San Francisco and mountain in Colorado). The challenging part was the wind. We spent about 3 miles next to the ocean and it was brutal over there. Pretty views, just lots of wind gusts.

I started hurting (hamstring and knee) about mile 8. I felt a bit discouraged because I was slowing down, but I reminded myself that some days when you’re only capable of giving 80%, and you give 80%, then you’re at 100% of your max potential for that day. So after that mental pep talk, I kept on keeping on. I started counting the banana peels I spotted on the road. Who all has played Mario Kart? I imagined they were weapons of mass destruction that I needed to avoid at all costs. Thank God there were no red turtle shells or it would have been lights out for me.

This time of year they advertised that Newport is full of daffodils, so those were fun to find. Also, the architecture in the area is so varied, some buildings are hundreds of years old. I enjoyed my tour of the area.

Made it to mile 11.5 for some hydration only for them to be out of cups and helpfully offer to pour a jug of water down my throat. I passed on the water boarding option and continued on. Sometimes you just have to laugh. (Crying wasn’t an option because dehydration is bad).

Finally finished in 2:22, 12 mins slower than my race two weeks ago. Oh well. Got some new hardware to take home.

Afterwards I had some shrimp risotto for dinner. One of my favorite dishes ever. And some mussels. It seemed smart to enjoy the seafood being so close to the ocean.

Overall- the race itself is not one I would recommend, organization was a cluster, but Rhode Island was pretty and I enjoyed getting it done.

Next up – Maine