SIGNS, SIGNS, everywhere there’s SIGNS!
February is a great time to run but I learned that Pittsburgh is not the state to run in the dead of winter. I picked the race a few weeks prior because it sounded fun and it was a quick drivable trip. It was called Cupid’s Chase 5K so of course a Valentine’s theme. Hmmm, this gives me another excuse to buy a cool running tutu on the website www.goneforarun.com. My costume consisted of a heart clad tutu, wine related tee and a fun warm hat.
I left around 9am the day before the race . Pittsburgh is about 4 hours from Detroit which isn’t too bad. It’s a straight shot across the turnpike through Ohio. The drive was non-eventful until I entered Pennsylvania . As you will see throughout this post I have a problem with SIGNS sometimes and was about to have my first encounter. I wasn’t paying attention to the last toll booth and realized way too late that I was in the wrong lane. I would of had to fly over 4 lanes to get to the proper lane so I just chose to blow through the FAST PASS lane. Well, I saw the lights go off and the flash of the camera that caught a picture of the license plate. Ugh, so now I get to look forward to a violation ticket in the mail. Well, it came 3 weeks later and was $35. Live and Learn. So back to the car ride… I chose to go directly to grab my race packet before I headed to my hotel. I chose the Homewood Suites in Downtown Pittsburgh which I would highly recommend. It was in a great location and very new. I pulled up, valeted the van, grabbed my luggage and headed inside to the elevators to the lobby. So, if you know me well, you would know that I tend to be very clumsy. And here comes SIGN encounter #2. I was walking to the elevator and apparently missed the FLUORESCENT yellow “Caution Wet Floor” sign. I completely tripped on it, dropped my bag and flew into the wall. I didn’t fall but did make an idiot out of myself in front of the kind, bearded Greek man that offered to scoop me off the wall. I am sure as the elevator doors closed, he was laughing out loud. I proceeded to check in to my room and headed upstairs to unpack. I then started to ponder my next meal and what I wanted to do the rest of the day. I found a cool area downtown called Market Square and ended up at a restaurant called Winghart’s. I ordered a baked brie appetizer and of course a plate of wings that I devoured. My healthy eating habits continue, LOL. Now with a full belly, I headed back to my hotel. I noticed they had a bar in the lobby area so I sat down and grabbed a nice glass of Chardonnay. Well, there was a pool table there and I watched a game or two and then was asked if I wanted to play a game….well, guess who asked me… that would be Mr. Bearded Greek man! We chuckled over my near death experience earlier and played a quick game. He beat me but I didn’t care, it was fun. I thanked him for the game and headed up to my room to chill, laid out my racing gear and got ready for the race. In bed by 9pm.
RACE DAY
I was up early as usual and headed down to the free buffet to grab my robust coffee and some protein aka BACON! I headed back up, got my costume on and headed to the race. This course was different than the original due to flooding so it was a 30 minute drive. I arrived and parked the van but wasn’t happy with the spot….and here come SIGN encounter #3. I backed up to move but heard a crunching sound. I jumped out and realized I had run over one of the course signs that direct the runners. For the love, here we go again. Well, there was one problem, I had no idea which way it was aiming before I hit it so I had to guess which direction it would aim… LOL, stay tuned on that decision. I finally parked, grabbed my headphones, and headed to the starting line. It was a balmy 10 degrees with a wind chill of 2 degrees! I made the best of it. The funniest part of the course was when I came upon the sign I almost destroyed and realized I had it completely wrong. If they wouldn’t of caught it, I would of sent the runners into oncoming traffic. Oh well, we all survived. Time to head back to the hotel and thaw out. I took the longest hot shower of my life and chilled before planning the rest of the day. I was starving , as usual, and ended back at the market Square area. This time I ended up at NOLA in the Square. It was a New Orleans themed restaurant. I ordered a Cajun Martini which consisted of mango vodka, jalapeno, bitters and lemon. Nice and smooth with a kick at the end, sort of like MY personality! The gentleman next to me had a Smoky Old fashioned, how do I know, because I asked. He was by himself and we struck up a conversation. We chatted about how frickin cold it was . He asked why i was in Pittsburgh and I explained my 5K quest and he thought it was cool. He was there for a conference and had mentioned that there was a casino close. Okay, sold!!! I ate my lunch (stuffed mushrooms) and finished my drink and headed over the bridge to see if I could get lucky…at the casino !
I grabbed my $20 bill, found a quarter slot machine and sat down. I pulled the handle the first time and nothing exciting happened. Well, the 2nd pull was the LUCK I had been waiting for. I won $240 ! I immediately cashed out, headed to the casino bar for a victory Chardonnay and celebrated my winnings. This win pretty much paid for my trip! I was thrilled. The rest of my day included a later dinner of shrimp and steak and finally back to my hotel to ponder my day’s events. I was up in the middle of the night because I must of been too wired still from the day so I turned the TV on and caught a few episodes of Teen Titans and an infomercial or two. I finally fell asleep around 4am. I got up around 8am and packed up and headed back to Detroit. Thank you Pittsburgh for an eventful 2 1/2 days ! Next up, Minnesota in March . Brrr!
