The 22nd Annual Fort-To-Fort Run in Rome, NY was held today. It was miserable. It was cold, 36 degrees. The wind was blowing. The rain was mixed with snow.
The Finish Line
Arriving about 1 hour prior to start time, I ran into the gymnasium to collect my t-shirt, timing chip, and number. I ran back to my car and ate 1/2 a banana with peanut butter, saving the other 1/2 for after the race. I mixed up my protein drink at 8:30am and decided it was time to go back inside and eavesdrop on all the pre-race gossip.
From the time I arrived at the race until the moment it began, I was wondering if I should go through with it. My body was shaking due to being so cold. The worst time in any race is waiting at the start line. If it’s cold and you are dressed for running and not the weather, it gets really bad.
After all the negative thoughts, I completed the race in 55.4 minutes. Not great since I began at the back of the pack and the chip timing was set off all at once. Still, it was just under 9 minutes and it WAS my first 10K. The best part of the race was running through Fort Stanwix…up the stairs, over bridges, through the mud….all good fun.
Post race eats: The banana 1/2. After a hot bath upon arriving home, a huge asparagus eggbeater omelet was made with spinach on the side, feta cheese in the middle and two small pieces of brown rice bread. Hot salsa on top.
Friday Night Restaurant Review…Perugia’s
A wonderful little gourmet restaurant sits on Seneca Turnpike, just outside New Hartford called Perugia. There is a waiter there who we see EVERYWHERE. He used to be at the gym when we went. He works in the bakery at the grocery store. He has worked at 2 other restaurants we frequent. Now he is at Perugias. Along with that very friendly Gent., there was another friendly face last night, Dennis. Dennis is a guy who reminds us of the energizer bunny. He walks, talks, and does everything fast. He is always on the move. He has a full time sales job. He teaches tennis. He is a member of Utica Road Runners. He works at Perugia’s as a waiter. These guys do it all! We had a fun evening with great food.
Perugia's Coffee Press - a bit oversized don't you think?
The bar at Perugia. Mardi-Gras mask
Warm rolls. Whole grain brown bread and sweet sour dough
Ted had an Australian Shiraz with dinner and I had Four Vines Old Vine Zinfandel. Wonderful wine choices.
The dinner rolls were served warm. The sourdough white roll was sweet and offered the most flavor.
We were surprised to receive our salad before our first course, but the chef was behind and they offered apologies in hopes we wouldn’t mind. We could have waited but weren’t asked. Oh well. It was all good.
Mixed field greens salad with pine nuts, dried cranberries and sherry vinaigrette
The salad was light and it was a good idea to have the pine nuts and cranberries because they helped the vinaigrette dressing offer a more pleasant finish on the tongue.
First course Scallops with almond caper crust and Madeira glaze
Blackened Flounder with tomato, scallion, mushroom rague over broccolini and wild rice
The blackened seasoning was a bit overwhelming for this delicate fish. It should have been toned down just a shade in order to recognize the flounder. The zesty tomato pieces did work well with the heat of the seasoning.
We enjoyed yet another Friday night of eating, sipping wine, and laughing.
Ted and I are off again tonight to an International Food presentation at Herkimer County College. That should be fun.
Enjoy your day and please come back tomorrow.
Happy to see the review of Perugia’s. Love your description of Dennis! Since you are a runner – you might want to talk to Dennis about his son Jeff – an amazing runner who just graduated from NH – great smile like his Dad.
Thanks for the info., Bonnie. We will be going back to see Dennis at Perugia’s and will be sure to ask about Jeff.