After I arrived downtown, it took me 10 minutes to walk from the subway station to the Intercontinental. The weather was pleasant as the air temperature at the time was in the mid 80s, which is a little lower than what I left behind in Texas. The exterior of the Intercontinental was quite nice. I decided to stay at the IC since I found a pretty decent weekend rate of $155 per night. Not too bad for a one night stay on a busy weekend. Besides, I might as well put my Ambassador status to good use.
There was quite a crowd in the lobby as many people were checking out, including a VS crew, and people like me trying to check in early. The lobby itself was airy and nicely appointed. An interesting feature of the lobby is the large screen, running the length or the front desk, which shows a real time video of Michigan Avenue in front of the hotel. The line at the front desk was quite long, but there was only a short wait at the Ambassador/Royal Ambassador desk, which was staffed by a very attractive agent. I handed her my ID and credit card, but we hit a snag checking in. Being the idiot that I am, I had inadvertently canceled this reservation when I meant to cancel my reservation at IC New Orleans for a month later. Fortunately, she was able to reinstate my reservation and I soon was on my way to my “upgraded” room, 2114.
I think I had originally booked a superior room, and my upgrade was to a deluxe room. Overall, I was pleased with my room as it was pretty spacious and comfortable. But it was a bit of a let down compared to my fantastic rooms in Hong Kong. And besides, I’d expect a little more out of an Intercontinental. The view from the room was of the building next door, so I didn’t bother to take a picture. After I settled in, I got a text from a friend, whom I was running with, saying he had just checked in. I met him up in his room after he had settled in. He’s an Ambassador too and booked a superior room as well, but his upgrade was to a superior room in the historic tower, which was about 1/3 smaller than my room.
We headed down to lobby to catch a cab to the expo, which was held at the Hyatt McCormick Place, a 15 minute ride away.
That’s some useful information to know before a night out.
A day or two before each Rock and Roll race, they hold a fitness expo where many different vendors come to demonstrate their products, of course to entice people to buy them. Runners are required to pick up race packets and swag bags at the expo, as well. The expos are fun, though it can get expensive if you start buying a few things.
Nice view of the Chicago skyline from the McCormick Center.
Expo entrance
Race route
After the expo, we hung out for a bit on balcony at the McCormick Center before heading back to the hotel.
View from the balcony
After getting back to my room, I found my welcome gift waiting for me.
When I ran the Dallas race back in March, I went out the night before the race since it was another friend’s birthday. About midnight (Keep in mind start time was at 7:30 the next morning), I ordered another round of tequila shots for all of us and called it a night. I figured a few drinks and a few shots wouldn’t a big deal at all, since it was a lot less than a normal night out and I had a few hours to sleep it off. Man, was I wrong. I woke up feeling fine, but it was a different story when I started running. I ended up getting dehydrated and cramping up. To make a long story short, the race was a fiasco.
This time around, I decided to take it easy on the night before the race. So I went with my friend to see The Dark Knight Rises, at a theatre near the hotel. And then we grabbed a quick dinner at Michael Jordan’s steakhouse, located in the lobby of the IC. It was one of the best steaks I have ever had and the mashed potato trio was absolutely fantastic. I got back to my room at around 10:30 and fell asleep the night almost immediately. It would be a long day tomorrow.