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10.19.2011

Going Round in Circles

You may remember the post that I wrote when I first got to Missouri. I was just getting back into running. I had just arrived in Columbia and had found a great running trail: the MKT. The day I wrote that post, I ran 2.5 miles at a 9:33 pace. It was not easy. At the same time, I set a few goals for myself. They were:

1. Find a training program
2. Get in Shape.
3. Speed up pace.
4. Sign up for a Fall race. 

After the day of that run, I was sent to Cape Girardeau, which is about 4 hours south of Columbia (and also the home of Rush Limbaugh). I didn't get to run on that trail but that once.

Tomorrow, I am leaving Missouri. Remember the change I was talking about? It's changed again. Instead of moving to a different place in Missouri, I will be heading home for a while to see some friends and family and regroup and wait for the next job to come along.

The job here has been good. I have met and worked with some interesting people and been involved in some interesting situations. I have to say I am not totally sad that I am leaving at the onset of winter. I spent a winter in Iowa and as much as I love snow, I do not love -47 degree windchill. But I was not quite ready to go home. Oh well. I am now.

Before we leave, we have to check out through our office in Columbia. So I drove to Columbia to get all the logistics taken care of. After taking care of that, I took my last run (ever? for a while?) in Missouri. It was a lot different from the one I took 4 months ago. The weather was about 30 degrees cooler and the fall colors are out. I have satisfied all my goals from above.

1. Find a training program Hal Higdon
2. Get in Shape. lost 10 lbs
3. Speed up pace. current average: 8:45
4. Sign up for a Fall race. (x3)

What wasn't different was the trail. I went back to the location of my first ever run in Missouri and did my last run in the same place. It was very therapeutic. It felt like a place I already knew.

I have come full circle. 




Goodbye Mizzou-rah.

Have you ever been to a place that you just can't wait to go back to? That has a special place in your heart? Where is it and why did you love it?

6 comments:

  1. How neat to wrap up that. Must make you feel like you ahve come full circle there... but you really did well with your goals!

    I always want to go back to places I have been and loved, but I am such an explorer and there is still so much world to discover!

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  2. What a great post! I hear ya on the midwest winters... they are brutal, aren't they?
    Iowa definitely holds a special place in my heart - when I lived away I couldn't wait to get back.

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  3. Well glad you get to go home for a while and enjoy your time there. I would have to say Greece, a million times over Greece. Worked on the islands and will never get enough of the place. One of the few places I wouldn't mind going back to over and over again.

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  4. You have accomplished alot this year in terms of running (and in areas of your life, too, of course!).

    My answer is obvious - Paris. Whenever I see pictures of Paris, my heart aches a bit for that city.

    I also feel this way about my parents' lake cabin. It's so peaceful and beautiful up there.

    Have a safe trip home - enjoy your time with your friends & family. I hope a new gig comes along quickly - hopefully in an area that doesn't have -47 wind chills. ;)

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  5. What a beautiful post, Kyria! It must be bittersweet to be leaving a place where you have accomplished so much. I hope a new opportunity comes along very soon.

    Madrid holds a very special place in my heart. I lived there for a year and a half, and it seems cliche but it really changed me. I left a very different person. I really hope to go back this summer for research and to see friends.

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  6. I'm sure whatever is coming is going to be great, but I'm glad you were able to enjoy your time in Missouri, too.

    As for a place I long to see again...I'd have to say this beautiful path along the St. Lawrence River in Montreal. I loved it there.

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