As soon as
I got home from California, it hit me like a brick wall: I actually had to MOVE
out of Chicago before starting this new job! I looked at the calendar: 2 weeks to pack up
all my stuff, ship it to Boston, and say goodbye to everyone. Oh, and I still have to work my full-time
job. Oh, and I also booked a weekend
trip to St Louis for another half-marathon.
I know what
you’re thinking: the trip to St Louis is totally unnecessary. If I were a normal person, I’d agree. But, I had to redeem myself after the
worst-ever performance in Denver at the end of my ski vacation. Despite all the excuses (broken toe,
altitude, tired legs from skiing), I needed to prove to myself that my snail
pace was just a fluke.
In my mind,
the whole moving process would be really easy.
Despite spending 26 months in Chicago, I never felt permanent. My apartment was fully furnished and I moved
in with only 2 large suitcases full of clothes.
I do remember my parents sending two additional boxes afterwards but I
really didn’t have all that much stuff.
Every night
for the first week, I committed to packing one box - either before of
after my social plans. It seemed like a good plan until Friday
arrived and it barely looked like anything was gone.
Despite a
lengthy ‘to-do’ list swirling around in my head, I was excited to get down to
St Louis for the race. The city itself
isn’t all that appealing since I have been there countless times with my last
job, but I always enjoy weekend trips that revolve around races. I get to meet people who share a similar
passion for fitness, I get to see cities in a way that traditional sightseeing
often neglects, and I get to feel the adrenaline from people cheering me on as
I run past them!
This race
was huge (almost 12,000 runners) and the weather was perfect, but I convinced
myself not to push too hard since I had the Boston Marathon only 1 week
later. My only goal for this race was to
do well on the “holy hill”, which is a 2-mile race within a race.
 |
| The race started with this iconic view |
The course
took runners through Anheuser-Busch brewery (yes, it smelled like brewing beer
which made me want to puke a little), up through some nice neighborhoods, next
to a park, and past Union Station. The
best part was entering “holy hill”, which had a real priest sprinkling real
holy water on the runners! Once I crossed the timing mat, I literally
sprinted with all my energy up this 2-mile hill.
In fact, I used up so much energy on the hill that I actually had to jog
for a bit at the top, just to catch my breath for the last 5 miles of the race.
In the end,
I didn’t have one of my better times although I still managed to finish 27th
overall. (Random thought: Do people in St Louis eat lead for breakfast or something?? There’s
no way I should have finished in the top 0.2%!) All joking aside, I was thrilled when I looked at the results board and saw that I had earned a medal in my age group for the holy hill!
Once I got
back to Chicago, the last week felt like it lasted about 22 seconds. One thing about rush packing is that it
really forces you to throw things away that aren’t absolutely necessary. I also had some unusual meals as I tried
using up as much food as possible.
(Stove-top stuffing and frozen Asian dumplings are a nutritious
combination, right?).
Looking back on my last two weeks in Chicago, I
really think that I will miss living in the city. Even though the winter weather is miserable, overall quality of life is actually quite high. Plus, I didn’t realize how many good people I
had met there until it was difficult finding time to say goodbye to them all. At this point, it’s too early to
say whether or not I will move back, but I'm definitely not opposed to it. Until then, I will make the most of the next
stage in my life and remember my time in Chicago with a smile.
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